Spatial and long-term analysis on reference and sewage-impacted sites of the SW Atlantic (38ºS, 57ºW) to assess sensitive and tolerant polychaetes

MA SÁNCHEZ; ML JAUBET; GV GARAFFO; R ELÍAS

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2013 vol. 74 p. 325 - 333

0025-326X

Urbanized littoral areas receive the effluent discharges producing non-linear changes on benthic organisms. The benthic community composition is often used into a quality classification to know the health of the environment. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of polychaetes associated to mussel beds and environmental variables, in both reference and sewage-impacted sites, along ten years in a rock intertidal of the SW Atlantic shore. The results of the study showed differences in the abundance and dominance of polychaetes spatial and temporally. A pattern of increasing deterioration of environmental quality of the area is also shown. This study allowed classifies the polychaetes in ecological groups in order to calculate environmental quality indexes.