The effect of urban sewage on benthic macrofauna: A multiple spatial scale approach

We investigated the spatial scales of variation of macrofauna in intertidal flats subjected to different levels of contamination from urban effluents in two areas sampled in the Paranagua Estuarine Complex. The scales considered were: Conditions; Tidal flats and Plots. Although the numerically dominant taxa showed the greatest variability at a scale of Tidal flats, the variability at the Condition scale was also significant. Tubificinae sp. 1, Laeonereis culveri and Heteromastus sp. were the most abundant organisms in the Contaminated area, while Heleobia australis was most abundant in the Non-contaminated area. Our results, contrary to those frequently observed in the literature, showed that the variability was significant at the scale of hundreds of metres (Tidal flats). At this scale, the intrinsic characteristics of each tidal flat are more important in determining macrofaunal distribution, while the effects of the urban sewage contamination represent the primary forces acting at a greater spatial scale. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.