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<p>Urban sewage discharge is a major source of ecological degradation in coastal benthic communities worldwide, yet community-level assessments remain scarce in sub-Antarctic environments. Here, we provide a baseline assessment of low-intertidal macrobenthic assemblages in the Beagle Channel (Ushuaia, Argentina), where untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater is discharged into the coastal zone. Using a hierarchical spatial design, we sampled 300 quadrats across reference and sewage-impacted localities. More than 70,000 individuals representing 60 taxa were recorded. Species richness was higher at reference localities, and community structure and composition differed significantly between reference and impacted conditions. Although a core group of taxa occurred across the environmental gradient, sensitive taxa such as brittle stars and chitons were mainly associated with reference localities, whereas pollution-tolerant taxa, including <i>Capitella</i> spp. and Nematoda, were restricted to or more abundant at impacted localities. Beta-diversity partitioning showed that richness differences were more important in reference areas, whereas species replacement prevailed in impacted ones. Total dissolved solids and fecal coliforms were higher in impacted localities and explained 60% of the variation in community structure. Overall, the observed patterns were consistent with localized sewage-related alteration of rocky intertidal assemblages in this sub-Antarctic coastal environment.</p>

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Sewage effects at the end of the world: impact on the intertidal macrobenthic community in the Beagle Channel

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月22日

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  • Facundo Manuel Llompart,
  • Sergio Matías Delpiani,
  • Julieta Sánchez,
  • Lourdes Higueras,
  • Cecilia Paula Alonso,
  • Antia Hervias,
  • Melina Pellegrino,
  • Sebastián Poljak

摘要

Urban sewage discharge is a major source of ecological degradation in coastal benthic communities worldwide, yet community-level assessments remain scarce in sub-Antarctic environments. Here, we provide a baseline assessment of low-intertidal macrobenthic assemblages in the Beagle Channel (Ushuaia, Argentina), where untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater is discharged into the coastal zone. Using a hierarchical spatial design, we sampled 300 quadrats across reference and sewage-impacted localities. More than 70,000 individuals representing 60 taxa were recorded. Species richness was higher at reference localities, and community structure and composition differed significantly between reference and impacted conditions. Although a core group of taxa occurred across the environmental gradient, sensitive taxa such as brittle stars and chitons were mainly associated with reference localities, whereas pollution-tolerant taxa, including Capitella spp. and Nematoda, were restricted to or more abundant at impacted localities. Beta-diversity partitioning showed that richness differences were more important in reference areas, whereas species replacement prevailed in impacted ones. Total dissolved solids and fecal coliforms were higher in impacted localities and explained 60% of the variation in community structure. Overall, the observed patterns were consistent with localized sewage-related alteration of rocky intertidal assemblages in this sub-Antarctic coastal environment.