Response of benthic macrofauna to an oil pollution: Lessons from the “Prestige” oil spill on the rocky shore of Guéthary (south of the Bay of Biscay, France)

The benthic community on the rocky foreshore of Guéthary (France) has been monitored since 2002. The standardized and quantitative monitoring method counts 20 geographically referenced quadrats spread on three littoral zones: upper mediolittoral, lower mediolittoral and infralittoral zones. The setting up of this monitoring occurred when the “Prestige” sunk close to the Finistere Cape in Galicia (Spain). The oil slick following the shipwreck impacted the Guéthary foreshore in early 2003.After the “Prestige” oil spill, the taxonomic richness decreased in the studied area with a loss of 16 species – from 57 in 2002 (before the shipwreck) to 41 species in 2004. Two or 3 years later, taxonomic richness increased to a level observed prior to the oil spill.Along the years, temporal variations in community structure of benthic macrofauna are revealed by detailed analysis. Some polluo-sensitive species disappeared after 2002 and have not reappeared yet (e.g.: Hymeniacidon perlevis). Some others reappeared two or three years after the spill or even later (e.g.: Amphipholis squamata, Botryllus schlosseri, Calliostoma zizyphinum, Echinus esculentus, etc.). Noteworthy changes were found in 2004 driven by the sudden increase in abundance of grazers. The following years, these abundances went back to a stable level. The benthic community seemed to recover almost 5 years later, although a new composition of macrofauna populations was observed.In overall aspect, the complexity of the benthic ecosystem response to oil spills confirms the need of regularly updated baselines to assess the impact of pollutions and more generally to maintain marine biodiversity.