Intertidal macrofauna and environmental stress at a riverine–marine boundary |
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| Institution: | 1. IRTA, Sant Carles de la Rapita, 43540 Sant Carles de la Rapita, Tarragona, Spain;2. Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Center for Marine Research, P.O. Box 2214, Iraklion, Crete 71003, Greece;3. University of Crete, Department of Biology, Boutes, Iraklion 71409, Crete, Greece;4. Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rodovia Admar Gonzaga, 1346, Itacorubi, Florianópolis, SC Cx. P 476 CEP 88034-000, Brazil;5. CONACyT-UAN-Nayarit Centre for Innovation and Technological Transference, Av. Emilio M. González s/n, C.P. 63173, Tepic, Mexico;1. School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK;2. The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
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| Abstract: | A field experiment was carried out to test the effect of pore water salinity on the macrobenthic assemblages in an estuarine region of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) subjected to wide fluctuations in salinity. The conditions at the experimental site ranged from freshwater (minimum salinity 0.2) to mesohaline (maximum salinity 15.3). The experimental site was affected by an unexpected deposition of fluid mud during summer. Redundancy Analysis discriminated the experimental treatments along the first canonical ordination axis. The analysis also revealed an experimental gradient of increasing environmental stress, in which the minimal presence of organisms corresponded to treatments representing a high level of environmental stress. Sediment dynamics and saline fluctuations were the major factors that, together, determined the low macrofaunal abundance and species diversity at the experimental site. The most abundant macrofaunal species in this harsh environment were the polychaetes Hediste diversicolor and Streblospio shrubsolii. |
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| Keywords: | Saline fluctuations Fluid mud Macrofaunal abundance Species richness Environmental harshness Tagus estuary |
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