Response of estuarine free-living nematodes assemblages to habitat conditions at Sado estuary (SW coast, Portugal)

Abstract

Estuarine ecosystems suffer significant pressures with the anthropogenic activities, the major challenge is monitoring these effects in order to preserve the ecosystem functioning. Sado estuary, at Southwest coast of Portugal provides habitat for many species, nevertheless is influenced by several anthropogenic activities and it is unknown how the ecological quality is being affected. How do communities shape themselves in response to different environmental conditions? To fill this gap, the diversity and density patterns of nematode assemblages will be analysed in spatial and temporal scale perspective. Three sites were selected with different ecological conditions and were sampled on two occasions. We hypothesised that significant differences were detected in nematode assemblages’ diversity and density patterns between sites and across sampling occasions. PERMANOVA test reported significant differences only between sites (p<0,05). We concluded that different sediment biogeochemical composition in each site was determinant to shape in diversity and density the nematode assemblages.