Effects of diesel oil on the polychaete Annelida in model benthic ecosystem

An experiment about the effect of diesel oil pollution on the model benthic ecosystem was conducted in the land-based tank at the 3rd Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration,in Xiamen,added with No.0 diesel oil at concentrations of 5,25,125,625 mg/dm³ in water of series sub-tanks for 16 h.The changes in polychaete community were studied in the period of two weeks with results that though all concentrations did not basically altered the population structure and composition,the total biomass decreased significantly and individuals tended to be smaller in size.The average weight of individual decreased with the increase of diesel pollutant stress.