Adaptation of macroalgal indexes to evaluate the ecological quality of coastal waters in oceanic islands with subtropical influence: the Azores (Portugal)
Due to their sedentary characteristic and the sensibility of certain taxa to excessive nutrients or toxic substances, the benthic macroalgal assemblage of a given locality reflects the effects of long-term exposure to pollution. For this reason, seaweeds have been used to assess the environmental co...
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | article |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1646-88722014000200003 |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Oai: | oai:scielo:S1646-88722014000200003 |
| Summary: | Due to their sedentary characteristic and the sensibility of certain taxa to excessive nutrients or toxic substances, the benthic macroalgal assemblage of a given locality reflects the effects of long-term exposure to pollution. For this reason, seaweeds have been used to assess the environmental condition of coastal communities. Since the Water Framework Directive from the European Union (WFD/EU) was launched, several ecological indexes have been developed for ecological quality assessment and monitoring. Those indexes are based on different features that can be easily observed and combined into a single value, which in turn is translated to stakeholders as an ecological status. |
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