Monitoring nitrogen pollution in seasonally-pulsed coastal waters requires judicious choice of indicator species

Autor(es)

Gorman, Daniel ; Turra, Alexander ; Connolly, Rod M. ; Olds, Andrew D. ; Schlacher, Thomas A.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Marine Pollution Bulletin; v. 122, n. 1-2, p. 149-155, SEP 15 2017.
• Citações Web of Science: 10

Resumo

We compared the sensitivity of algae and hermit crabs to seasonal shifts in the dominance of continuous sewage discharge vs. pulsed inputs of terrestrial material to a subtropical bay. During periods of low rainfall, when sewage was proportionately more important than diffuse loads from adjacent catchments, algae and crabs provided comparable information on the spatial distribution of N pollution. Conversely, during the wet season, when diffuse nitrogen loads from the catchment were of greater importance, the isotope signal of algae de coupled from that of crabs, indexing a greater magnitude of change and a more pronounced spatial gradient. Overall, algae better indexed the short-term impacts of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution whereas the signals provided by crabs provided a longer-term integrated measure of N inputs. Our results demonstrate the value of including multiple taxa with variable traits when monitoring the spatial and temporal extent of nitrogen inputs to coastal waters. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/07576-5 - Ecologia populacional de invertebrados bentônicos na baía do Araçá, Litoral Norte do Estado de São Paulo
• Beneficiário: Daniel Gorman
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 11/50317-5 - Biodiversidade e funcionamento de um ecossistema costeiro subtropical: subsídios para gestão integrada
• Beneficiário: Antonia Cecília Zacagnini Amaral
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático