Work

Functional Groups to Establish the Ecological Quality of Soft Benthic Fauna Within Tunis Bay (western Mediterranean)

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: The distribution of the marine biotic index (BI) and the trophic groups is proposed in this paper to assess the impact of environmental factors on the macro-zoobenthic assemblages of Tunis bay. The first approach is based on the subdivision of benthic fauna into five ecological groups. This subdivision is related to the degree of sensitivity to an environmental stress gradient. This enables to characterize the assemblages and the degree of dependence of their health on the disturbances. On the other hand, the spatial distribution of trophic groups gives a general tendency of population evolution. The method of functional groups shows that Tunis bay seems to be in a good state, except some areas which are more affected by disturbances and which could constitute, in the future, a potential threat if the environmental conditions get worse.

Source: HAL

Authors: Ayari, R., Afli, A.

Institution: Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer

Language: English

Topic: Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life below water, Life on land

Open Access status: green

Funder: Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali

OpenAlex ID: W2486516111