The efficacy of benthic indices to evaluate the ecological quality and urbanization effects on sandy beach ecosystems

Author(s)

Checon, Helio H. ; Corte, Guilherme N. ; Esmaeili, Yasmina Shah ; Muniz, Pablo ; Turra, Alexander

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 856, p. 11-pg., 2023-01-15.

Abstract

Benthic indices have been widely used across different coastal ecosystems to assess ecological quality and detect anthropic impacts, but very few studies investigated their effectiveness on sandy beaches. Here, we evaluated and compared the efficacy of 12 assemblage-based benthic indices in assessing ecological quality in beaches, across a gradient of anthropic pressure and natural variability in 90 sandy beach sites. Overall, when sandy beaches were considered collectively, ben-thic indices had a poor performance in identifying decreases in ecological quality with increasing urbanization. However, when each morphodynamic type was evaluated separately, a few indices, especially those that were calibrated by refer-ence conditions (i.e., M-AMBI, BAT, and BEQI-2), showed promising results for dissipative, and to a lesser extent, interme-diate beaches. For reflective beaches, indices performed poorly, likely a reflection of the stronger natural disturbance these beaches are subjected to. Among functional indices, richness was found to be lower in urbanized beaches, but only in dis-sipative ones. Overall, our results show that benthic indices have the potential to be incorporated in sandy beach manage-ment and monitoring programs, especially for dissipative and intermediate beaches. For reflective beaches, given the early stage of studies with benthic indices in beaches, more research is needed to corroborate the observed patterns. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/19776-2 - Fostering the ecosystem-based approach in beach spatial planning and conservation
• Grantee: Alexander Turra
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/05099-9 - Fish communities of sandy beach surf zones: unraveling the myths, exploring different methodologies and providing knowledge for management strategies
• Grantee: Yasmina Michel Liliane Shah Esmaeili
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/22036-0 - Evaluating the potential of different benthic indicators to assess sandy beach ecological integrity: subsides for management and monitoring practices
• Grantee: Hélio Hermínio Checon
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/17071-9 - Preserving sandy beaches: biodiversity, goods and services, and impacts on a neglected ecosystem
• Grantee: Guilherme Nascimento Corte
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/03804-9 - Environmental governance of macrometropolis paulista in face of climate variability
• Grantee: Pedro Roberto Jacobi
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants