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Temporal and spatial variability on rocky intertidal macrofaunal assemblages affected by an oil spill (Basque coast, northern Spain)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2010

María Bustamante ,
Francisco Javier Tajadura-Martín  and
José Ignacio Saiz-Salinas
María Bustamante*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology and ACB, University of the Basque Country, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain
Francisco Javier Tajadura-Martín
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology and ACB, University of the Basque Country, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain
José Ignacio Saiz-Salinas
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology and ACB, University of the Basque Country, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Bustamante, Department of Zoology and ACB, University of the Basque Country, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain email: maria.bustamante@ehu.es
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Abstract

A large (100 km) rocky coast intertidal was sampled several times (from 2004 to 2006) to assess the affection degree of invertebrate assemblages impacted by a continuous oil spill. Twelve locations and two intertidal heights were selected along the coast representing two spatial scales (kilometres and tens of metres). Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance were used to test whether faunal assemblages exposed to different intensities of oil disturbance differ in terms of diversity, total cover, key species cover and trophic guilds. Whereas no significant differences in midshore assemblages were noted, the low intertidal zone exhibited comparatively lower abundance values of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis at worst affected sites. Besides, a generalized increasing diversity trend was found in the low intertidal from 2004 to 2006. Natural variability of communities is also discussed as the cause of the differences we observed. With respect to spatial and temporal scales of variation, mid- intertidal communities showed a more consistent structure, while lowshore assemblages were markedly heterogeneous in practically all the variables measured.

Keywords

rocky intertidalPatellaoil spillspatio-temporal variation5-way ANOVAPERMANOVA.
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 7 , November 2010 , pp. 1305 - 1317
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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