The impact of drilling fluid and well cuttings on polychaete feeding guilds from the US northeastern continental shelf

Abstract

From the Abstract: “The effect of recent drilling operations (fluid and well cuttings) on polychaete feeding guilds from the continental shelf off Atlantic City, New Jersey, was examined. Although there were some adverse effects on macrobenthos from 2160 metric tons of cuttings and mud solids discharged into the marine environment, the composition of polychaete feeding guilds remained essentially unchanged. This key trophic relationship between polychaetes and the changing environment due to the drilling operation was apparently uninterrupted. This relationship remains to be examined in other natural and perturbed habitats.”