ABSTRACT: In a previous note, Warwick & Clarke (1995; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 129:301-305) used 2 indices, Delta and Delta*, to demonstrate a continuous decrease in taxonomic distinctness of marine macrofaunal assemblages along a gradient of increasing environmental contamination, in a situation where species diversity remained constant, in the vicinity of 1 oilfield in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. These indices are tested here using species abundance data from 3 other oilfields in the Norwegian sector, each sampled on 3 different occasions. No consistent pattern of decreasing taxonomic distinctness with increasing environmental contamination is evident.

KEY WORDS: Taxonomic distinctness · Macrobenthos · Norway · Offshore · Oilfields · Biodiversity

Published in MEPS Vol. 154 (1997) on July 31
ISSN: 0171-8630. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1997