Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed

Recovery Process on Soft-Bottom Macrobenthic Communities after Artificial Disturbance in Tropical Polluted Estuary (Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

¹ Laboratório de Pesquisas Costeiras e Estuarinas—LABCOEST/UFRJmar (Coastal and Estuarine Research Laboratory) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ Old Hidroplanes Hangar, Fund?o, Brazil; Programa de Pós Gradua??o em Biodiversidade e Biologia Evolutiva—PPGBBE/UFRJ, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
² Laboratório de Pesquisas Costeiras e Estuarinas—LABCOEST/UFRJmar (Coastal and Estuarine Research Laboratory) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ Old Hidroplanes Hangar, Fund?o, Brazil; Programa de Pós Graduacao em Biologia Marinha—PPGBM/UFF, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil; Instituto Virtual Internacional de Mudancas Globais (International Virtual Institute of the Global Change—IVIG/COPPE-UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
³ Instituto Virtual Internacional de Mudan?as Globais (International Virtual Institute of the Global Change—IVIG/COPPE-UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
⁴ Laboratório de Pesquisas Costeiras e Estuarinas—LABCOEST/UFRJmar (Coastal and Estuarine Research Laboratory) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ Old Hidroplanes Hangar, Fundao, Brazil; Instituto Virtual Internacional de Mudancas Globais (International Virtual Institute of the Global Change—IVIG/COPPE-UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Open Journal of Marine Science·Volume 03 (2013)·Pages 161–166·Published 15 October 2013·DOI10.4236/ojms.2013.34018

Abstract

The regime of disturbance with natural or anthropogenic origin can lead to the destabilization or even to a mass mortal ity of benthic communities. Due to the heterogeneity of the disturbance there is a formation of patches in different stages of ecological succession. The aim of this study is to follow and describe the resilience in artificial disturbed sediment in a polluted bay in Rio de Janeiro. The sediment was collected, sterilized and placed inside corers (10 cmdiameter ×15 cmheight) in the same place where it was collected. We allocated the samples in two structures, the dif ference between them was that one was placed closed to the bottom and the other was placed50 cmheight. We found 2352 organisms distributed in 14 taxons. The class Polychaeta and the order Amphipoda showed the highest density in all the survey and treatments. We identified the factors influencing the scenarium: different mechanisms of dispersal, the posi tion of the structures and life history of each group. Disturbance can be the main cause of the patch’s diversity found in estuaries and coastal areas. Because of this, monitoring of selected areas becomes an important tool to understand the regime of disturbance as a key factor structuring benthic communities in soft sediment, also suggesting a metapopula tion dynamics.

KeywordsSucessionRecolonizationDefaunationMetapopulation DynamicsDispersion Processes

J. A. De-la-Ossa-Carretero, Y. Del-Pilar-Russo, F. Giménez-Casalduero and J. L. Sánchez-Liazaso, “Assessing Reliable Indicators to Sewage Pollution in Coastal SoftBottom Communities,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 184, No. 4, 2012, pp. 2133-2149.
W. P. Sousa, “The Role of Disturbance in Natural Communities,” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1984, pp. 353-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.15.110184.002033
R. Rosenberg, “Benthic Faunal Dynamics during Succession Following Pollution Abatement in a Swedish Estuary,” Oikos, Vol. 27, No. 3, 1976, pp. 414-427. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3543460
S. F. Thrush and P. K. Dayton, “Disturbance to Marine Benthic Habitats by Trawling and Dredging: Implications for Marine Biodiversity,” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, No. 1, 2002, pp. 449-473.
R. D. Seitz, “Gradient Effects on Structuring of SoftBottom Benthic Infauna: Macoma balthica and Predation, Recruitment, and Food Availability,” Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Vol. 409, No. 1-2, 2011, pp. 114-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2011.08.014
J. Grant, “The Relative Magnitude of Biological and Physical Sediment Reworking in an Intertidal Community,” Journal of Marine Research, Vol. 41, No. 4, 1983, pp. 673-689. http://dx.doi.org/10.1357/002224083788520469
K. Dernie, M. Kaiser, E. Richardson and R. Warwick. “Recovery of Soft Sediment Communities and Habitats Following Physical Disturbance,” Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Vol. 285, No. 6, 2003, pp. 415-434. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0981(02)00541-5
H. Caswell, “Predator-Mediated Coexistence: A Nonequilibrium Model,” The American Naturalist, Vol. 112, No. 983, 1978, pp. 127-154.
G. Niemi, P. Devore, N. Detenbeck, D. Taylor, A. Lima, J. Pastor, J. Yount and R. Naiman. “Overview of Case Studies on Recovery of Aquatic Systems from Disturbance,” Environmental Management, Vol. 14, No. 5, 1990, pp. 571-587. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02394710
L. Lu and R. Wu, “Recolonization and Succession of Marine Macrobenthos in Organic-Enriched Sediment Deposited from Fish Farms,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 101, No. 2, 1998, pp. 241-251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(98)00041-4
P. Probert, “Disturbance, Sediment Stability, and Trophic Structure of Soft-Bottom Communities,” Journal of Marine Research, Vol. 42, No. 4, 1984, pp. 893-921. http://dx.doi.org/10.1357/002224084788520837

Menu

Recovery Process on Soft-Bottom Macrobenthic Communities after Artificial Disturbance in Tropical Polluted Estuary (Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Abstract

References (29)