Ecological quality of some Tunisian coast and lagoon locations, by using benthic community parameters and biotic indices

Afli, Ahmed; Ayari, Rakia; Zaâbi, Sana

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2008.08.010

Cited by 107 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Pranovi et al (2007) also found that BOPA showed low discrimination in the Venice lagoon, classifying all the samples in the high category and, in the same way, Blanchet et al (2008) found the same problem, BOPA classified a large majority of stations of the French Coast as acceptable (''good" or ''high" status). Afli et al (2008) also showed that off the Tunisian coast BOPA index appeared to be somewhat severe, classifying only two stations in moderate and poor statuses. An opposite case is the so-called 'paradox of estuarine qualitý , which established that transitional estuarine waters are naturally organic rich environments where stress-tolerant species are typical, so transitional environments would therefore likely be, by definition, characterised by low scores and hence low EcoQ values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This index has already been used for monitoring the impact of pollution on different macrobenthic communities (Quintino et al, 2006;Pranovi et al, 2007;Mistri, 2007, 2008; Afli et al, 2008;Blanchet et al, 2008;Bouchet and Sauriau, 2008). However, a biotic index is unlikely to be universally (Pranovi et al, 2007;Afli et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a biotic index is unlikely to be universally (Pranovi et al, 2007;Afli et al, 2008). Indeed, the WFD recommends the use of reference sites to assess temporal changes in the ecological quality of water types under study, therefore these indices are required to test for departure from a reference or control situation (Quintino et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing BOPA index in sewage affected soft-bottom communities in the north-western Mediterranean

de-la-Ossa-Carretero

Del‐Pilar‐Ruso

Casalduero

et al. 2009

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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a b s t r a c tThe implementation of the European directive (ELD) 2000/60/EC has produced the development of several biotic indices based in benthic communities. These indices try to summarise ecological quality status of different communities. However, a universal index that works in all situations is difficult to establish, because there are several sources of variation. Therefore, there is the need for testing and validation of these indices which is required for making management decisions on different scales, and in different regions and communities. In this study we test one of these indices, BOPA index, developed by Dauvin and Ruellet [Dauvin, J.C., Ruellet, T., 2007. Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited. Marine Pollution Bulletin 55, 215-224] in five locations affected by sewage disposal. These disposals are often released via outfall into shallow subtidal habitats, leading to a common source of pollution in coastal marine environments. BOPA index provides a valuable overview of the gradient status of a benthic environment, discriminating between stations more affected by discharge. Nevertheless, BOPA index, used to establish the ecological quality status, seemed to overestimate the status and hence there is the need to calibrate the thresholds between EcoQs classes as defined for these medium-to-fine sand communities, which are characteristics of shallow sublittoral soft-bottoms of the north-western Mediterranean Sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Testing BOPA index in sewage affected soft-bottom communities in the north-western Mediterranean

de-la-Ossa-Carretero

Del‐Pilar‐Ruso

Casalduero

et al. 2009

Marine Pollution Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This index has been tested successfully worldwide over recent years (CAI et al, 2003;ARASAKI et al, 2004;MUNIZ et al, 2005;AFLI et al, 2008;BIGOT et al, 2008;CALLIER et al, 2008;JOSEFSON et al, 2009;BAKALEM et al, 2009;TUNBERG, 2011). The classification of the identified species was based on the updated list of the AMBI program (available on AZTI´s web page: http://www.azti.es).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance comparison of biotic indices measuring the ecological status base on soft-bottom macroinvertebrates: a study along the shallow Gomishan lagoon (Southeast Caspian Sea)

et al. 2015

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This paper aims to test the suitability of some biotic indices for their application in Southeast Caspian Sea. For this purpose, the ecological quality of the Gomishan lagoon was assessed using three biotic indices (AMBI, BENTIX, BOPA) during summer and autumn 2010. The results from the application of the biotic indices do not highlight a clear distinction between the stations. The results show that two of the indices (AMBI and BENTIX) are very close in terms of diagnosis (good and high) and seem to generally perform better than BOPA. In addition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on abiotic parameters showed clear spatial and temporal differences in environmental variables. However, at this shallow sites with low human pressure and high water residence times, such benthic community composition can be associated with physical stress due to salinity increase and to changes in environmental characteristics, triggered by conventional seasonal variations. Natural variability of transitional waters is a crucial factor for a correct evaluation of the ecological condition of macroinvertebrate communities across the lagoonal system. AbstrAct

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“…This station showed high abundance of gastropods and a lower abundance of cephalopods and polyplacophores. Such an observation is probably due to the adaptative behavior of an euryhalin and eurytherm marine biocenosis where physico-chemical parameters may affect the exclusion of some species compared to others leading to the selection of one trophic group in one particular area (Afli et al, 2008(Afli et al, , 2009b.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

Elgharsalli¹,

Rabaoui²,

Aloui-Béjaoui³

2015

Turk. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Hammamet Marina is the most important touristic port in the Gulf of Hammamet (Tunisia). The present work is a contribution to the knowledge of the functional diversity and structure of the malacofauna community in this area. Three different stations (A, B and C) within the port were sampled seasonally for a year (2005)(2006). The mollusc assemblage studied was represented by 14 species (in totally 2669 ind. were found). Among the four mollusc classes recorded, bivalves were the best represented (73.76% of the total number species), followed by gastropods (22.02%), cephalopods (2.42%) and polyplacophores (1.80%). Atlanto-Mediterranean (42.85%) and Endemic Mediterranean (39.28%) taxa prevailed in the community, followed by Indo-Pacific (7.14%) and cosmopolitan species (3.57%). A clear spatial zonation was distinguished. The station B hosted the highest abundance of gastropods (309±19.92 ind. m -2 ) and a species richness of 6±0.40. The station station A hosted the most equilibrated trophic structure, with a higher bivalve abundance (1378±99.23 ind. m -2) and a species richness of 6±0.1. Station C, located close to the mooring boats, presented the lowest abundance (230±17.47 individuals m -2 ) and the most affected assemblage. This station seemed to be affected by the higher anthropogenic pressure assessed compared to the other two stations, mainly oil pollution, due to the large quantities of hydrocarbon discharged from the boats.

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Ecological quality of some Tunisian coast and lagoon locations, by using benthic community parameters and biotic indices

Cited by 107 publications

References 52 publications

Testing BOPA index in sewage affected soft-bottom communities in the north-western Mediterranean

Testing BOPA index in sewage affected soft-bottom communities in the north-western Mediterranean

Performance comparison of biotic indices measuring the ecological status base on soft-bottom macroinvertebrates: a study along the shallow Gomishan lagoon (Southeast Caspian Sea)

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