p.459-470Benthic community structure and diversity have been investigated to assess stress conditions of Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia,
Brazil, as a possible result of the extraction, transportation and refining of petroleum, activities carried out in this area for more
than 40 years. Samples were collected over two years, at four stations under the direct in¯uence of stress-causing activities and
at a control station. Benthic indices were calculated for all intertidal communities. The density, relative abundance, frequency
of occurrence, diversity, similarity and occurrence of preferential species were recorded. Linear correlation indices were
calculated to establish comparisons between ecological parameters of the studied communities and concentrations of heavy
metals, hydrocarbons, petroleum pollution indicators and sediment mud percentages. The polychaete worms were the dominant
group Ð up to 92% dominance in the community within the in¯uence of refinery activities. Diversity indices indicated significant stress related spatial gradients tied to petroleum. The refinery sample station showed notable differences in its
biodiversity figures compared to the other stations. Quantitative benthic indices showed negative correlations between the
presence of cadmium, hydrocarbons, n-alkanes and the unresolved complex mixture in the intertidal zone marine sediments
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