## 3 Results
### Benthic Assemblages
Although the ANOVA test did not detect seasonal differences in AMBI values, it is important to note the considerable variation in the ecological condition in RVS associated with seasonality. During the summer of 2020, eight of the ten sites evaluated were interpreted as slightly disturbed and two sites as moderately disturbed. By winter 2021, three sites were azoic and therefore extremely disturbed, four sites were moderately disturbed, and only three sites remained slightly disturbed. Figure 6: n-MDS plot of benthic assemblages considering sector and season with Bray Curtis similarity coefficient. C = Cojimies, M = Muisne; T = Tambillo, P = Palma Real. W = Winter, S = Summer. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c c c c c} \hline
**Description/** & **Global Mean** & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**SECTOR**} & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**SYSTEM**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**TYPE**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**SEASON**} \\
**Index** & **PR** & **TA** & **MU** & **CO** & **REM** & **RVS** & **SF** & **MC** & **SU** & **WI** \\ \hline
**Richness** & 7 \(\pm\) 5 & 8 \(\pm\) 5\({}^{th}\) & 10 \(\pm\) 5\({}^{st}\) & 7 \(\pm\) 4\({}^{th}\) & 4 \(\pm\) 6\({}^{th}\) & 9 \(\pm\) 5\({}^{st}\) & 5 \(\pm\) 6\({}^{th}\) & 6 \(\pm\) 5 & 8 \(\pm\) 5 & 9 \(\pm\) 9\({}^{st}\) & 5 \(\pm\) 4\({}^{th}\) \\
**Abundance** & 20 \(\pm\) 18 & 18 \(\pm\)14\({}^{th}\) & 21 \(\pm\) 13\({}^{th}\) & 31 \(\pm\) 27\({}^{th}\) & 10 \(\pm\) 10\({}^{th}\) & 19 \(\pm\) 13 & 21 \(\pm\) 22 & 21 \(\pm\) 21 & 18 \(\pm\) 12 & 20 \(\pm\) 14 & 20 \(\pm\) 22 \\ \hline
**Dominance** & 0.313 \(\pm\) 0.229 & 0.302 \(\pm\) 0.251 & 0.213 \(\pm\) 0.102 & 0.383 \(\pm\) 0.228 & 0.371 \(\pm\) 0.304 & 0.257 \(\pm\) 0.319 & 0.378 \(\pm\) 0.252 & 0.335 \(\pm\) 0.229 & 0.283 \(\pm\) 0.229 & 0.222 \(\pm\) 0.127 & 0.420 \(\pm\) 0.277 \\
**Shannon** & 1.592 \(\pm\) 0.467 & 1.627 \(\pm\) 0.746 & 1.888 \(\pm\) 0.513 & 1.314 \(\pm\) 0.663 & 1.306 \(\pm\) 0.759 & 1.758 \(\pm\) 0.637\({}^{st}\) & 1.311 \(\pm\) 0.681\({}^{st}\) & 1.485 \(\pm\) 0.700 & 1.640 \(\pm\) 0.681 & 1.824 \(\pm\) 0.465 & 1.223 \(\pm\) 0.652 \\
**AMBI** & 2.481 \(\pm\) 1.670 & 1.209 \(\pm\) 0.698 & 1.416 \(\pm\) 0.584 & 3.175 \(\pm\) 0.808 & 4.002 \(\pm\) 2.199 & 1.343 \(\pm\) 0.631 & 3.619 \(\pm\) 1.676 & 2.977 \(\pm\) 1.861 & 1.737 \(\pm\) 1.100 & 2.145\(\pm\) 1.022 & 2.817 \(\pm\) 2.136 \\ \hline
**M-AMBI** & 0.076 \(\pm\) 0.224 & 0.580 \(\pm\) 0.173 & 0.622 \(\pm\) 0.131 & 0.425 \(\pm\) 0.171 & 0.273 \(\pm\) 0.262 & 0.606 \(\pm\) 0.106 & 0.349 \(\pm\) 0.229 & 0.426 \(\pm\) 0.254 & 0.585 \(\pm\) 0.183 & 0.581 \(\pm\) 0.198 & 0.374 \(\pm\) 0.226 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Descriptors of soft bottom benthic assemblages, acquired in the confluence of drainages and navigable channels of coastal systems with mangroves in Esmeralda’s province, Ecuador. These changes were not as pronounced in REM where in the summer of 2020, six of the ten evaluated sites were considered slightly disturbed, and the remaining four were considered undisturbed sites. This proportion was preserved during the winter of 2021, with six sites that continued being slightly disturbed. In the Tambillo sector, the T1 and T4 sites remained undisturbed, while in Palma Real, the P2 and P4 sites that were considered undisturbed during the summer 2020 changed to moderate and good conditions, however, the sites P3 and P5, were considered unaltered during the winter of 2021. Finally, M-AMBI, which incorporates the variables of H\({}^{\prime}\) diversity and species richness, showed significant differences by sector (KW = 14.79, \(p<0.01\)), where Palma Real and Tambillo differed from Cojimies. This analysis establishes five intervals of ecological quality from 0, which is interpreted as the worst condition, to 1, which is understood as a pristine state. Thus, values in the interval from 0 to 0.2 suggest a poor ecological condition; from 0.2 to 0.4, an impoverished quality; from 0.4 to 0.6, a moderate quality; 0.6 to 0.8, a good ecological condition; and from 0.8 to 1 is interpreted as high ecological quality.