Abstract
The use of benthic assemblages to assess ecological quality of estuarine environments is a major tool for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) for European aquatic ecosystems. Benthic communities show spatially heterogeneous distributions and experience seasonal variations due to both natural and anthropogenic stresses. The major goal of this study was to quantify the relationships between environmental gradients and the spatial and temporal patterns of the benthic communities along a Portuguese estuary. Seasonal and spatial variations relating macrobenthic communities and measures of water and sediment quality along the northern branch of the Mondego River estuary were examined at seven sampling stations from July 2000 to June 2001. Cluster analysis of biological data indicated three major groups of communities based on spatial distribution patterns: (1) a lower sector with stronger marine influence and dominated by Streblospio shrubsolii and Cerastoderma glaucum; (2) a middle sector with dominance of S. shrubsolii and Corophium multisetosum; (3) and an upper sector where C. multisetosum dominates a community characterized by a lower number of species. Canonical correspondence analyses of biological and environmental data determined a major salinity gradient influencing benthic communities. Seasonal changes of benthic communities were mainly determined by freshwater input and salinity changes that imposed a strong decrease in densities and number of species during winter, followed by a recovery during spring. Benthic ecological structure and contaminant levels indicated that the Mondego northern branch is moderately disturbed, although opportunistic species dominated the benthic community, suggesting that natural and anthopogenic sources of stress may be acting together. The Mondego River estuary, a poikilohaline-type estuary, characterized by strong seasonal changes in water flow and salinity, cannot be consistently stratified into salinity regions based upon the Venice classi- fication system. Biotic communities, exemplified here by the benthic communities, are seasonally displaced, compared to a homiohaline-type estuary where the Venice system can be applied without modification. Future identification of reference conditions and design of monitoring programs cannot be accomplished without understanding how interactions between biotic and physico-chemical dynamics differ between homiohaline and poikilohaline estuaries. Results obtained in this study could be used to assist future assessments in other Portuguese estuaries.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alden, R. W., S. B. Weisberg, J. A. Ranasinghe & D. M. Dauer, 1997. Optimizing temporal sampling strategies for benthic environmental monitoring programs. Marine Pollution Bulletin 34: 913–922.
Aller, R. C. & J. Y. Aller, 1998. The effect of biogenic irrigation intensity and solute exchange on diagenetic reaction rates in marine sediments. Journal of Marine Research 56: 905–936.
Aller, R. C., J. Y. Aller & P. F. Kemp, 2001. Effects of particle and solute transport on rates and extent of remineralization in bioturbated sediment. In Aller, J. Y. S. A. Woodin, & R. C. Aller (eds) Organism-Ssediment Interactions. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, USA: 402 pp.
Attrill, M. J. & M. Power, 2000. Effects on invertebrate populations of drought-induced changes in estuarine water quality. Marine Ecology Progress Series 203: 133–143.
Bilyard, G., 1987. The value of benthic infauna inmarine pollution monitoring studies. Marine Pollution Bulletin 18: 581–585.
Boesch, D. F., 1973. Classification and community structure of macrobenthos in the Hampton Roads area, Virginia. Marine Biology 21: 226–244.
Boesch, D. F., 1977a. Application of Numerical Classification in Ecological Investigations of Water Pollution. EPA Report 600/3-77-033 U.S. EPA. Corvallis, oregan, USA: 115 pp.
Boesch, D. F., 1977b. A new look at the zonation of the benthos along the estuarine gradient. In Coull, B. (ed.) Ecology of Marine Benthos. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, USA: 467 pp.
Boesch, D. F., R. J. Diaz & R. W. Virnstein, 1976a. Effects of tropical storm Agnes on soft-bottom communities of the James and York estuaries and the lower Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Science 17: 246–259.
Boesch, D. F., M. L. Wass & R. W. Virnstein, 1976b. The dynamics of estuarine benthic communities. In Wiley, M. (ed.) Estuarine Processes, Vol. I. Academic Press, New York: 541 pp.
Borja, A., J. Franco & V. Pérez, 2000. A Marine Biotic Index to establish the ecological quality of soft bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40: 1100–1114.
Borja, A., I. Muxika & J. Franco, 2003. The application of a marine biotic index to different impact sources affecting softbottom benthic communities along European coasts. Marine Pollution Bulletin 46: 835–845.
ter Braak, C. J. F. & P. Šmilauer, 2002. CANOCO Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows Useŕs Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (version 4.5). Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, New York, USA: 500 pp.
ter Braak, C. J. F. & P. F. M. Verdonschot, 1995. Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquatic Sciences 57: 255–289.
Cardoso, P. G., A. I. Lillebø, M. A. Pardal, S. M. Ferreira & J. C. Marques, 2002. The effect of different primary producers on Hydrobia ulvae population dynamics: a case study in a temperate intertidal estuary. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 277: 173–195.
Clarke, K. R. & R. M. Warwick, 1994. Change in Marine Communities: an Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation. Natural Environmental Research Council, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, United Kingdom: 144 pp.
Cowie, P. R., S. Widdicombe & M. C. Austen, 2000. Effects of physical disturbance on an estuarine intertidal community: field and mesocosm results compared. Marine Biology 136: 485–495.
Crommentuijn, T., D. Sijm, J. de Bruijn, M. Van den Hoop K. van Leeuwen & E. van de Plassche, 2000. Maximum permissible and negligible concentrations for metals and metalloids in the Netherlands, taking into account background concentrations. Journal of Environmental Management 60: 121–143.
Cunha, M. R., M. H. Moreira & J. C. Sorbe, 2000. The amphipod Corophium multisetosum (Corophiidae) in Ria de Aveiro (NW Portugal). II. Abundance, biomass and production. Marine Biology 137: 651–660.
Cunha, P. P. & J. Dinis, 2002. Sedimentary dynamics of the Mondego estuary. In Pardal, M. A. J. C. Marques, & M. A. S. Graça (eds) Aquatic Ecology of the Mondego River Basin: Global Importance of Local Experience. Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal: 43–62.
Dauer, D. M., 1993. Biological criteria, environmental health and estuarine macrobenthic community structure. Marine Pollution Bulletin 26: 249–257.
Dauer, D. M., J. A. Ranasinghe & A. J. Rodi, 1992. Effects of low dissolved oxygen events on the macrobenthos of the lower Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 15: 384–391.
Elliott, M. &, 2002. The need for definitions in understanding estuaries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 55: 815–827.
Flindt, M. R., L. Kamp-Nielsen, J. C. Marques, M. A. Pardal, M. Bocci, G. Bendoricchio, J. Salomonsen, S.N. Nielsen & S.E. Jørgensen, 1997. Description of three shallow estuaries: Mondego river (Portugal), Roskilde Fjord (Denmark) and the lagoon of Venice (Italy). Ecological Modelling 102: 17–31.
Gauch, H. G., 1982. Multivariate Analysis in Community Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom: 314 pp.
Hily, C., H. le Bris & M. Glémarec, 1986. Impacts biologiques des emissaires urbains sur les ecosystemes benthiques. Océ-anis 12: 419–426.
Holland, A. F., A. T. Shaughnessy & M. H. Hiegel, 1987. Longterm variation in mesohaline Chesapeake Bay macrobenthos: spatial and temporal patterns. Estuaries 10: 227–245.
Kimmerer, W. J., 2002. Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages?. Marine Ecology Progress Series 243: 39–55.
Lardicci, C., G. Ceccherelli & F. Rossi, 1997. Streblospio shrubsolii (Polychaeta: Spionidae): temporal fluctuations in size and reproductive activity. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 38: 207–214.
Lillebø, A. I., M. A. Pardal & J. C. Marques, 1999. Population structure, dynamics and production of Hydrobia ulvae (Pennant) (Mollusca: Prosobranchia) along an eutrophication gradient in the Mondego estuary (Portugal). Acta Oecologica 28: 289–304.
Lauff, G. H., 1967. Estuaries. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C. 757 pp.
Long, E. R., D. D. McDonald, S. L. Smith & F. D. Calder, 1995. Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. Environmental Management 19: 81–95.
Loureiro, J. J., M. C. Almeida, M. L. Machado & E. Teixeira, 1986. Bacia hidrográfica do rio Mondego. In ???D.G.R.A.H., (ed.) Monografias Hidrológicas dos principais cursos de água de Portugal continental. Lisboa, Portugal: 240–278.
Marques, J. C., P. Maranhão & M. A. Pardal, 1993. Human impact assessment on the subtidal macrobenthic community structure in the Mondego estuary (western Portugal). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 37: 403–419.
Marques, J. C., M. A. Pardal, S. N. Nielsen & S. E. Jorgensen, 1997. Analysis of the properties of exergy and biodiversity along an estuarine gradient of eutrophication. Ecological Modelling 102: 155–167.
Martins, I., M. A. Pardal, A. I. Lillebø, M. R. Flindt & J. C. Marques, 2001. Hydrodynamics as a major factor controlling the occurrence of green macroalgal blooms in a eutrophic estuary: a case study on the influence of precipitation and river management. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52: 165–177.
Pardal, M. A., J. C. Marques & G. Bellan, 1993. Spatial distribution and seasonal variation of subtidal polychaete populations in the Mondego estuary (western Portugal). Cahiers de Biologie Marine 34: 497–512.
Pearson, T. H. & R. Rosenberg, 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology. Annual Review 16: 229–311.
Queiroga, H., 1990. Corophium multisetosum (Amphipoda: Corophiidae) in Canal de Mira, Portugal: some factors that affect its distribution. Marine Biology 104: 397–402.
Rossi, F. & C. Lardicci, 2002. Role of the nutritive value of sediment in regulating population dynamics of the depositfeeding polychaete Streblospio shrubsolii. Marine Biology 140: 1129–1138.
Roux, R. M., 1964. Les sediments de l’étange de Reine. Recueil des Travaux de la Station Maritime d’Endoume 35: 257–285.
Salen-Picard, C. & D. Arlhac, 2002. Long-term changes in a Mediterranean benthic community: relationships between the Polychaete assemblages and hydrological variations of the Rhô ne river. Estuaries 25: 1121–1130.
Sardá, R. & D. Martin, 1993. Populations of Streblospio Webster (Polychaeta: Spionidae) in temperate zones: demography and production. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 73: 769–784.
Weisberg, S. B., J. A. Ranasingue, C. Schaffner, R. J. Diaz, D. M. Dauer, L. Frithsen & J.B., 1997. An estuarine benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 20: 149–158.
Williams, W. T. & W. Stephenson, 1973. The analysis of threedimensional data (sitesxtimesxspecies) in marine ecology. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 11: 207–227.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chainho, P., Costa, J.L., Chaves, M.L., Lane, M.F., Dauer, D.M., Costa, M.J. (2006). Seasonal and spatial patterns of distribution of subtidal benthic invertebrate communities in the Mondego River, Portugal — a poikilohaline estuary. In: Martens, K., et al. Marine Biodiversity. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 183. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4697-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4697-9_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4321-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4697-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)