Application of “taxocene surrogation” and “taxonomic sufficiency” concepts to fish farming environmental monitoring. Comparison of BOPA index versus polychaete assemblage structure

“Taxocene surrogation” and “taxonomic sufficiency” concepts were applied to the monitoring of soft bottoms macrobenthic assemblages influenced by fish farming following two approaches. Polychaete assemblage evaluation through multivariate analysis and the benthic index BOPA were compared. Six fish farms along the Spanish Mediterranean coast were monitored. Polychaete assemblage provided a suitable picture of the impact gradient, being correlated with total free sulphides. BOPA did not support the impact gradient described by the polychaete assemblage, providing erroneous categorizations. The inclusion of several polychaete families, which were locally identified as indicative of affection to recalculate BOPA, resulted in an improved diagnosis and correlation with the impact gradient. Nevertheless, frequent misclassifications occurred. These results suggest that the structure of polychaete families, sulphides and granulometry conform an appropriate strategy for fish farming monitoring. Biotic indices need to be specifically designed for concrete activities, and regionally validated, because of the environmental plasticity of benthic invertebrates.