The need to find efficient indices and indicators to assess the status of the marine enviroment and prevent further deterioration of coastal areas is one of the hot topics in today’s marine research. However, a detailed knowledge of benthic communities’ responses to anthropogenic impacts is essential to develop those indices. The studies on the response of benthic communities to sewage pollution and the management measures to remove that pollution on rocky shores are generally based on semiquantitative data and do not take into account both intertidal and subtidal levels. In order to fulfil this gap, the objetives of this study were: (i) to analyse the responses of benthic communities (both fauna and flora) to different phases in the management of wastewater discharges; and (ii) to determine wether if trophic guilds could be an adequate indicator of the changes shown after different management decisions. Hence, fauna and flora data from a quantitative (biomass) monitoring from three ar
