Suficiência taxonômica e indicadores ecológicos como ferramenta de avaliação da condição ambiental de estuários tropicais

Abstract

Estuaries are environments that run important ecosystem services, such as nurseries and feeding places for numerous species. However, are subject to various anthropogenic impacts that directly affect their operation. This study aimed to test which taxonomic level is sufficient to evaluate the environmental condition as well as assess the relative efficacy of ecological indicators in estuaries assumed as subject to anthropogenic pressures of different intensities. The research was conducted in the estuaries of the River Paraíba do Norte and Mamanguape River (Northeastern Brazil), in November 2013, totaling 27 sampling sites, parted into four zones according to the values of salinity, sediment composition and depth. The organisms collected were sorted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. This study is divided into two chapters, the first taxonomic depicts sufficiency by addressing the hypothesis that the family level would be more efficient to detect the environmental condition and the second test whether the combined use of the thermodynamically oriented indicators, functional trophic groups wealth rate and diversity index Shannon-Wiener would provide consistent answers in the evaluation of the ecological condition of estuaries. Fill Taxonomic showed that for the purpose of this study, both the family level as gender were enough to detect changes in environmental conditions, for this sample period. Regarding the use of associated ecological indicators to detect changes in ecological conditions of the estuaries, the indicators based on taxa richness, diversity, specific eco- exergy and functional feeding groups did not respond concurrently in the detection of changes in the ecological condition of estuaries with different levels of human impacts. Only eco-exergy index indicated differences in the ecological condition of the assessed ecosystems. Thus, the results obtained from the survey showed the importance of the study on the taxonomic sufficiency and ecological indicators based on benthic communities as a biomonitoring tool, which aims to understand the variations and fluctuations of ecosystems as well as the basis for measures proposed to mitigation of human impacts, conservation and environmental management.