The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the Thames estuary

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, the reports documenting the clean-up and recovery of the Thames estuary have concentrated largely on the return of the fish to the system, given their high public profile (Huddart and Arthur, 1971a,b; Doxat, 1977; Wheeler, 1979; Andrews, 1984). The return of the invertebrates has been placed somewhat in the background, especially those organisms living in and on the sediment (‘benthic’) covering both the intertidal and subtidal regions of the estuary bed. Considering most of the estuary's fish species rely on invertebrates as their primary food source (Wheeler, 1979), it could be stated that the fish would not have returned without the presence of established invertebrate communities. This chapter, together with Chapter 5, should help to restore the balance towards this important group of organisms.