Research project MS/A2/10 (Research action MS)
Study of the parameters which determine the distribution of benthic invertebrates in the brackish part of the Scheldt estuary, and in particular the pollutant load and the sediment dynamics therein.
The central question here is to what extent pollution has an effect on the macrozoobenthos, and if it does have a significant effect, at which stage of the life cycle of these invertebrates these effects are situated and how this influences the structure of the entire benthic biocenosis.
The study will consist of a combination of (1) population-dynamic oriented examination of the macrozoobenthos, (2) chemical analysis of the sediment, pore water and organisms and (3) colonisation experiments and toxicity tests.
