title: Spatial and long-term analyses of reference and sewage-impacted sites in the SW Atlantic (38°S, 57°W) for the assessment of sensitive and tolerant polychaetes.
abstract: Discharges of effluent in urbanized littoral areas produce nonlinear changes in benthic organisms. Data on the composition of the benthic community are often used to obtain environmental quality classifications that serve to indicate the health of the environment. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the polychaetes associated with mussel beds and related these results to the values of environmental variables at both reference and sewage-impacted sites over a 10 year period in a rocky intertidal habitat on the coast of the SW Atlantic. The results of the study showed spatial and temporal differences in the abundance and dominance of the polychaetes. The study also furnished evidence of a decrease in the environmental quality of the area. This study allowed the classification of the polychaetes into ecological groups, facilitating the calculation of environmental quality indexes.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Departamento de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Deán Funes 3350, B7602AYL Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: masanchez@mdp.edu.ar.
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: María L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Jaubet
authors.forename: Griselda V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Garaffo
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elías
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000502:physiology*; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Intertidal; Polychaetes; SW Atlantic; Sensitive; Sewage impact; Tolerant