Poluição, exploração de recursos, erosão e atividades recreativas são os impactos mais comuns que de alguma forma alteram o equilíbrio natural do ecossistema praial. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar a riqueza e a abundância da macrofauna bentônica entre um setor não urbanizado e outro urbanizado de duas praias morfodinamicamente distintas. Os setores de cada praia foram analisados levando em consideração aspectos morfodinâmicos, antrópicos (atividades recreativas) e ecológicos. Morfodinamicamente, uma das praias apresentou sedimentos formados por areia fina, suave inclinação e morfodinamismo com características dissipativas. A outra praia apresentou sedimentos formados por areia média, perfil íngreme e características morfodinâmicas entre intermediárias a refletivas. Em ambas as praias, durante o verão, o setor urbanizado apresentou maior abundância de usuários do que o setor não urbanizado. Na praia com morfodinamismo dissipativo, relações negativas foram observadas entre a abundância de usuários e a dos organismos Bledius bonariensis, Donax hanleyanus, Thoracophelia furcifera, Excirolana armata, Phoxocephalopsis sp. e Tholozodium rhombofrontalis. Já na praia com morfodinamismo intermediário a refletivo, foram registradas baixas abundâncias de Atlantorchestoidea brasiliensis e Excirolana braziliensis no setor urbanizado. Assim, os resultados do presente estudo sugerem a utilização de algumas espécies como indicadores de impactos antrópicos nos ecossistemas praiais.

Pollution, exploitation of resources, erosion and recreational activities produce the most common impacts that somehow alter the natural balance of beach ecosystems. The aim of this study was to compare the richness and abundance of the benthic macrofauna of two sectors, one non-urbanized and the other urbanized, on each of two morphodynamically different beaches. Sectors of each beach were analyzed taking into account morphodynamic, anthropogenic (recreational activities) and ecological aspects. Morphodynamically, one of the beaches presented sediment formed of fine sand with a gentle slope and morphodynamism with dissipative characteristics. The other was of sediment formed of medium sand with a steep profile and of intermediate to reflective morphodynamic characteristics. On both beaches during the summer, the urbanized sector was frequented by a greater number of users than the non-urbanized sector. On the beach with dissipative morphodynamism, negative relationships were observed between user abundance and the species Bledius bonariensis, Donax hanleyanus, Thoracophelia furcifera, Excirolana armata, Phoxocephalopsis sp. and Tholozodium rhombofrontalis. On the beach with intermediate to reflective morphodynamics, low abundances of Atlantorchestoidea brasiliensis and Excirolana braziliensis were recorded in the urbanized sector. Thus the results of this study suggest the use of certain species as indicators of human impacts on beach ecosystems.

Ocean rocky formations are known as islands. When islands become completely submerged, they are called stone slabs. Like reefs, these formations alter the flux of water produced by the waves, which in turn interacts with the adjacent sediment, altering the sediment and its undulation marks. The alterations caused by the interaction between the waves and emerged or submerged rigid structures can potentially alter the composition and the distributional patterns of the infauna of the adjacent, unconsolidated substrate. In order to evaluate the strength of these alterations, we sampled the infauna and the sediment adjacent to two ocean structures, one emerged and one submerged. Collecting was performed in winter and summer, while discriminating between the faces of the structures, the distances from them, and the troughs and crests of ripple marks. The granulometric characteristics of the sediments and the dimensions of the undulation marks differed in regards to the orientation of and the distance from the structures. Infaunal associations showed differences that can be explained by the sedimentation patterns. However, there were no differences in sediment characteristics and composition of the infauna when troughs and crests were compared. The waves interacted most intensely with the submerged structure, where the sediment showed larger grains next to the undulation marks, what resulted in a more pronounced differentiation of the infauna.

A ordem Mysidacea compreende um grupo de pequenos crustáceos muito comuns na maioria dos ecossistemas costeiros. A presente contribuição descreve a composição, abundância e distribuição dos misidáceos em duas praias arenosas representando as condições extremas do espectro morfodinâmico. Foram achadas seis espécies de misidáceos. A espécie mais abundante foi Metamysidopsis neritica Bond-Buckup & Tavares, 1992, com mais de 97% do total dos indivíduos coletados nas duas praias. Na praia dissipativa, M. neritica foi dominante no espraiamento da onda e na zona de arrebentação, com as maiores abundâncias na arrebentação interna. Na praia refletiva esta espécie foi muito abundante na arrebentação e imediatamente atrás da mesma. Bowmaniella brasiliensis Bacescu, 1968 esteve presente em baixas densidades na zona de arrebentação da praia dissipativa, com as maiores abundancias na arrebentação externa e praticamente ausente nas águas rasas por trás da arrebentação. Sugerimos que a zonação de misidáceos em praias arenosas foi primeiramente desenvolvida como resposta à disponibilidade de alimento determinada pelo padrão de correntes de circulação e, secundariamente, como resultado de exclusão competitiva. Resulta surpreendente o fato das espécies de misidáceos dividirem recursos espaciais e de alimentação num ambiente de praia arenosa que é geralmente caracterizado como de baixa heterogeneidade espacial e submetido a um forte estresse físico.

The order Mysidacea comprises small and very common crustaceans that inhabit most coastal ecosystem. The present contribution describes the composition, abundance and distribution of mysids in two sandy beaches representing the extreme conditions of the morphodynamics spectrum. Six species of mysids were found at the studied beaches. Metamysidopsis neritica Bond-Buckup & Tavares, 1992 was the most abundant species with more than 97% of the total individuals collected at the two beaches. At the dissipative beach was dominant in the swash and surf zone, with the greater abundance in the inner surf zone. At the reflective beach, this species was extremely abundant in the surf zone and backward the breaker. Bowmaniella brasiliensis Bacescu, 1968 occurred in low density at the surf zone of the dissipative beach, with the greater abundance in the outer surf zone, and it was practically absent in the nearshore zone. We suggest that mysids zonation in sandy beaches may be first developed as a response to food availability patterns imposed by the nearshore circulation systems, and in the second place as a result of competitive exclusion. The suggestion of partitioning of food and spatial resources shown by the mysid species is surprising in view of the apparent physical harshness and low spatial heterogeneity that seem to characterise the beach environment.