Ecological quality assessment of the lower Lima Estuary.

Monitoring biotic factors is gaining in importance within Europe, due in large extent to the ecological approach of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the importance attributed to biological elements in the assessment of quality status. Despite its ecological importance, the Lima Estuary is subjected to a range of perturbations, including urban, agricultural and industrial waste discharge, dredging activities, and introduction of non-indigenous invasive species. This work uses macrozoobenthic data to study the ecological status of the lower Lima Estuary where most disturbance factors are concentrated.

Factors influencing epibenthic assemblages in the Minho Estuary (NW Iberian Peninsula).

The epibenthic community of the Minho Estuary was studied during the summer of 2006. Diversity was generally low and a total of 14 fish and five crustacean taxa were identified. Multivariate analysis revealed two site clusters (A and B).