La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Long-Term Trends in Intertidal and Subtidal Benthic Communities in Response to Water Quality Improvement Measures
Auteurs :	Paula Chainho, Auteur ; Gilda Silva, Auteur ; Michael F. Lane, Auteur ; Jose L. Costa, Auteur ; Tadeu Pereira, Auteur ; Carla Azeda, Auteur ; Pedro R. Almeida, Auteur ; Ines Metelo, Auteur ; Maria J. Costa, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Estuaries and Coasts (33(6) NOV 2010)
Article en page(s) :	1314-1326
Résumé :	Long-term monitoring studies are needed to understand changes in ecosystem status when restoration measures are implemented. A long-term data series (1996-2007) of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) intertidal and subtidal benthic communities was collected in a degraded area where mitigation measures were implemented. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze spatial and temporal patterns in benthic community composition and trends in five benthic community metrics (i.e., taxonomic richness, density, biomass, Shannon-Wiener diversity and the AMBI index) were also examined. The results revealed a clear separation between intertidal and subtidal assemblages, although they had 50% of taxa in common, including the most abundant. Significant positive trends were found for all metrics showing that both intertidal and subtidal communities responded to the restoration measures implemented. Nevertheless, biotic indices need some adaptation before being universally applied to intertidal and subtidal habitats.

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