Effects of dredged sediment disposal on the coastal marine macrobenthic assemblage in Southern Brazil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the deposition impact of dredged material from Patos lagoon estuary on a benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure in an adjacent coastal marine area. Nine sampling stations were chosen at random in the disposal area, and nine others in the same way in an adjacent control area. Samples were collected at a 19 m depth before sediment disposal (11 July 2000), during dredging and disposal operations (25 Oct. 2000), and three months thereafter (24 Aug. 2001). Statistical analysis indicated that sampling periods presented similar characteristics in both the control and disposal sites. Disposal of dredged sediment from Patos lagoon had no detectable detrimental effects upon macrobenthic faunal assemblage at the dumping site. This result is attributed both to adaptation of resident biota to dynamic sedimentary conditions and to the fine estuarine sediment dredged, the dispersion of which in the water column might have minimized sediment deposition and consequent damage to the benthic fauna.