Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 68, Issue 1-2, Pages 46-54Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.025
Keywords
Ecological quality assessment; Iberian Peninsula; Multi-metric index; Seagrass; Water Framework Directive; Zostera noltii
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Education
- FCT [SFRH/BPD/37368/2007]
- [COST-STSM-ES0906-9279]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/37368/2007] Funding Source: FCT
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The aim of this study was to develop an ecological quality index based on the seagrass Zostera noltii (ZoNI) according to the WFD requirements. Eleven Z noltii meadows of SW Iberian Peninsula under contrasting levels of anthropogenic disturbance were considered: 5 sites in Ria Formosa (Portugal), and 6 sites in Spain (Huelva and Cadiz). Environmental quality was assessed through nutrients of the water column and seagrass variables from different organization levels; those variables were analyzed using PCA (47% of explained variance on the first component) to calculate the ecological quality ratio (that was significantly correlated to the environmental variables, R-2 = 0.51, p < 0.01) and the ecological quality status of the sites. As a result, 4 sites were classified as good, 6 sites as moderate and 3 sites as poor ecological status. The developed index ZoNI showed to be suitable to assess the ecological status of estuarine and coastal systems in SW Iberian Peninsula reflecting their water quality. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available