Benthic recovery after the cessation of a gilt-head seabream, sparus aurata, farm in the Mediterranean sea

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Morata T.; Falco, S.; Sospedra, J.; Gadea, I.; Rodilla, M. (2014). Benthic Recovery after the Cessation of a Gilt-head Seabream, Sparus aurata, Farm in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 45(4):380-391, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12128. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.[EN] An environmental recovery study was carried out after the cessation of a gilt-head seabream farm off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Physicochemical variables of sediments, in situ benthic fluxes of oxygen and nutrients, and benthic macrofauna were measured in the farming area and at a control station. Five sampling campaigns were done, one before the closure and the others at 1, 3, 9, and 24 mo after cessation. Benthic flux of ammonium was the first variable to recover, followed by benthic fluxes of phosphate and dissolved oxygen and percentage organic matter in the sediments, which 3 mo after the cessation of farming already showed levels similar to those in the control station. Nine months after cessation, the other abiotic variables of the sediments disturbed by the activity had recovered, such as percentage coarse fraction, total phosphorus concentrations, and redox potential measurements. The recovery of the macrofauna was slower than the abiotic variables. Three months after cessation, Capitella capitata abundance had reduced drastically in the farming area, but similar specific richness levels were not observed between the two sampled zones until 2 yr after farming cessation.We would like to thank the Caja del Mediterraneo (CAM) for a predoctoral fellowship fund for this research. We are grateful for the valuable comments of anonymous reviewers on previous versions of the manuscript.Morata, T.; Falco, S.; Sospedra, J.; Gadea, I.; Rodilla, M. (2014). Benthic recovery after the cessation of a gilt-head seabream, sparus aurata, farm in the Mediterranean sea. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 45(4):380-391. doi:10.1111/jwas.12128S38039145