Tourism impacts on benthic communities of sandy beaches

This study evaluated the effect of human trampling on the benthic macrofauna of two beaches in Southeast Brazil with different levels of intensity of tourism, Grussai (more impacted) and Manguinhos (less impacted), during periods of high and low tourism activity. The macrofauna of urbanized (U) and non-urbanized (NU) sectors of the inter-tidal zone was sampled and the number of visitors was recorded. General linear models revealed a decreasing in abundance of macrofauna species in the urbanized sectors of analyzed beaches, which are exposed to higher trampling impact than in non-urbanized areas. At Manguinhos Beach, trampling did not affect the macrofauna (<1 visitors.m(-2)), except for the polychaete Scolelepis sp., which was less abundant in the U sector. Considering the benthic community, Atlantorchestoidea brasiliensis, Hemipodia californiensis and Scolelepis sp. were more sensitive to human trampling pressure and may be used as potential bioindicators of tourism impact. Management plans should consider mitigation of the effects of tourism, such as the control of the visitor number and their decentralization.