Assessing sewage impact in a South-West Atlantic rocky shore intertidal algal community

• The sewage outfall of Mar del Plata alters the specific composition of intertidal algal community.
• Berkeleya sp. emerged as an indicator species for the sewage impact area.
• C. uruguayense emerged as an indicator species for the non impacted area.
• The typical pattern of Ulva spp. in sewage polluted areas was not observed.

The spatial and seasonal variation of the specific composition and community parameters (abundance, diversity, richness and evenness) of the intertidal algal assemblages was studied at four coastal sampling sites, distributed along an environmental gradient from the sewage water outfall of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two of them were located close to the sewage outfall (< 800 m) (impacted area) and the two other were 8 and 9 km distant (non-impacted area). The algal abundance was monthly analyzed from October 2008 to May 2009. The algal assemblages varied according to the pollution gradient in spring, summer and autumn, being autumn the season when the highest difference was observed. Ceramium uruguayense was recognized as an indicator species for the non-impacted areas, while Berkeleya sp. represented an indicator species for the sewage outfall impact. Ulva spp. did not reflect the typical pattern observed for other sewage pollution areas.

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