title: Detecting human mitigation intervention: effects of sewage treatment upgrade on rocky macrofaunal assemblages.
abstract: The effectiveness of secondary vs primary treatments of wastewaters in mitigating the effects of sewage discharge on the multivariate structure and diversity of rocky invertebrate assemblages was assessed over a nine-year period through a beyond-BACI experimental design. Assemblages from different tidal levels (i.e. mid-shore, low-shore, 3 m and 8 m subtidal) were sampled at the impact location (I) and three control locations (Cs) at a hierarchy of spatial scales. The improvement in water treatment significantly changed the structure, diversity and cover of low intertidal assemblages. Faunal cover at 8 m subtidal increased significantly after the treatment upgrade at I. The secondary treatment also affected patterns of spatial heterogeneity between I and Cs for mid-shore and 3 m subtidal assemblages. This study demonstrates that powerful experimental designs combined with univariate and multivariate analytical approaches are fundamental in distinguishing the subtle effects of human impact from those of natural processes.
authors: Department of Zoology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain. maria.bustamante@ehu.es
authors: María
authors: M
authors: Bustamante
authors: Stanislao
authors: S
authors: Bevilacqua
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Tajadura
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Terlizzi
authors: José Ignacio
authors: JI
authors: Saiz-Salinas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology; D012722:Sewage; D013997:Time Factors; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage