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forestry industry is one of
British-Columbia's most commercially
valuable industries and evidence of this
industry is present almost everywhere.
The intertidal and subtidal flats of the
Cowichan estuary is extensively used for
storage. The effects of booming on the
estuarine environment include shading and
gouging of substrates, leaching of toxins
and deposition of bark and wood fragments
(Bell and Kallman, 1976). These deposits
can potentially smother benthos, and by
leaching ands decomposition may generate
toxic dissolved wastes over many years
(Conlan & Ellis, 1979). Many benthic
organisms are effectively sessile and,
with time, act as integrators of the
effects of the various kinds and levels
of environmental stress (Hartley &
Dicks, 1987). The monitoring of the
benthic population in Cowichan Bay, in
the long run, could therefore potentially
provide valuable information relating to
log handling pollution-induced change. The purpose of
this report was to evaluate two sites
within Cowichan Bay, examining both the
sediment and the benthic community that
could be collected with a 0.05m2 Ponar
grab. My goal was to determine what, if
any differences were present in the two
sites and if log handling in the area
played any part in these differences. The
first site was chosen because of its
proximity to a major shipping dock, the
Westcan terminal, while the second site,
approximately 600 m away, and further out
in the estuary, was chosen to act as a
contrast site. Since the goal of this
paper was not to provide an extensive
taxonomical analysis of the benthic
community, organisms were only identified
as belonging to a certain phylum or class
rather than by species unless this could
be definitely determined.
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