Effects of hydrocarbon pollution in the structure of macrobenthic assemblages from two large estuaries in Brazil

Changes in the structure of benthic macrofauna and its relationship with hydrocarbon contamination were determined at different spatial scales in sublittoral sediments of two large estuaries in Brazil. Guanabara Bay (GB) is a heavily polluted estuary due to the presence of a large industrial complex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2017-12, Vol.125 (1-2), p.66-76
Main Authors: Camargo, Manuela Zeglin, Sandrini-Neto, Leonardo, Carreira, Renato S., Camargo, Maurício G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aromatic hydrocarbons
Bays
Bays - analysis
Biodiversity
Brazil
Contamination
Demographics
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollution - adverse effects
Environmental Pollution - analysis
Environmental protection
Estuaries
Estuarine dynamics
Estuarine environments
Gastropoda
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Guanabara Bay
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons - analysis
Invertebrates
Macrofauna
Multivariate analysis
Oligochaeta
PAH
Paranaguá Bay
Petroleum Pollution
Pollution effects
Polychaeta
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - toxicity
Sediments
Spatial variation
Spatial variations
Studies
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Zoobenthos
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Summary:Changes in the structure of benthic macrofauna and its relationship with hydrocarbon contamination were determined at different spatial scales in sublittoral sediments of two large estuaries in Brazil. Guanabara Bay (GB) is a heavily polluted estuary due to the presence of a large industrial complex and high demographic density. Laranjeiras Bay (LB) lies in an Environmental Protection Area and can still be considered as preserved from human activities. Despite some spatial differences within each bay, the PAHs concentrations were significantly and consistently higher in GB, with values generally above the threshold effect levels. No signs of hydrocarbon contamination were observed in LB. Macrofauna abundance, diversity and overall assemblage structure were largely different between bays. Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP), used to model the relationship between macrofauna and PAHs levels, indicated that this class of hydrocarbons is the main structuring factor of soft-bottom assemblages in both bays. •We assessed macrofauna distribution at different scales in two large bays in Brazil.•We modelled changes in assemblage structure along a PAH contamination gradient.•Abundance, diversity and assemblage structure were largely different between bays.•There was a strong relationship between soft-bottom macrofauna and PAH concentration.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.074