Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T14:37:49.568Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trophic organization of the macro-zoobenthic assemblages within coastal areas subjected to anthropogenic activities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2008

Ahmed Afli ,
Rakia Ayari  and
Mouldi Brahim
Ahmed Afli*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Marines
Rakia Ayari
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Marines
Mouldi Brahim
Affiliation:
Laboratoire du Milieu Marin, Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer 28, Rue de 2 Mars 1934–2025 Salammbô, Tunisia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Ahmed Afli Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies MarinesInstitut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer 28Rue de 2 Mars 1934–2025 SalammbôTunisia email: afli.ahmed@instm.rnrt.tn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Coastal areas, in general, are affected more and more by anthropogenic activities. Benthic macrofauna assemblages react to this disturbance and constitute, then, an effective biological tool to study the degree of contamination of the biotope. For this study three coastal sites, more or less exposed to anthropogenic activities but differing according to their opening to the sea, were studied. Sediments were sampled aboard a research vessel and using a 0.1 m2 Van Veen grab. Results show that Tunis bay and Dkhila coast, which are more open to the sea, appear more balanced on the trophic plan, and the biodiversity state is more satisfactory. However, Bizerte lagoon is closed, except for a limited communication with the sea via a narrow ship canal. So, the ecosystem presents some eutrophication signs and a great trophic imbalance in which carnivores largely dominate the benthic assemblages. In this situation, the herbivore chain is substituted by a microbial chain and only some opportunistic species can survive in these anoxic sediments related to the strong fluctuations of the environment factors during the year.

Keywords

benthic macrofaunatrophic groupslagoon of Bizertebay of Tuniscoast of Dkhila
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 663 - 674
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Afli, A. (1999a) Variabilité temporelle des peuplements macrobenthiques de la partie orientale du golfe du Morbihan (Bretagne). PhD thesis, University of La Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France.Google Scholar
Afli, A. (1999b) Utilisation des peuplements de la macrofaune benthique pour déceler les signes de perturbation du milieu: exemple du golfe du Morbihan (Bretagne, France). Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 26, 147–163.Google Scholar
Afli, A. and Chenier, F. (2002) Etat de santé de la macrofaune benthique et rôle des espèces invasives dans la partie orientale du golfe du Morbihan (Bretagne, France). Life and Environment 52, 43–57.Google Scholar
Afli, A. and Ben Mustapha, K. (2004) Réponses des peuplements zoobenthiques aux perturbations. Exemple de la région côtière de la Dkhila (Tunisie) et comparaison avec le golfe du Morbihan (France). Biologia Marina Mediterranea 11, 304–311.Google Scholar
Afli, A. and Glémarec, M. (2000) Fluctuation à long terme des peuplements macrobenthiques dans le golfe du Morbihan (Bretagne, France). Cahiers de Biologie Marine 41, 67–89.Google Scholar
Albertelli, G., Covazzi-Harriague, A., Danovaro, R., Fabiano, M., Fraschetti, S. and Pusceddu, A. (1999) Differential responses of bacteria, meiofauna and macrofauna in a shelf area (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean): role of food availability. Journal of Sea Research 42, 11–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aloisi, J.C. and Monaco, A. (1975) La sédimentation infralittorale, les prodeltas méditerranéens. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris 280, 2833–2836.Google Scholar
Aloisi, J.C., Monaco, A. and Pauc, H. (1975) Mécanisme de la formation des prodeltas dans le Golfe du lion. Exemple de l'embouchure de l'Aude (Languedoc). Bulletin de l'Institut de Géologie du Bassin Aquitaine 18, 3–12.Google Scholar
Ayari, R. and Afli, A. (2003) Bionomie benthique du petit golfe de Tunis. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 30, 79–90.Google Scholar
Azouz, A. (1973) Les fonds chalutables de la région nord de la Tunisie: 1. Cadre physique et bicoenoses benthiques. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences Techniques d'Océanographie et de Pêche, Salammbô, Tunisia 2, 473–565.Google Scholar
Bejaoui, N. (1998) Ecobiologie de la population de moules Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamark (1819) du lac de Bizerte. PhD thesis, University of Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Bellan-Santini, D., Lacaze, J.C. and Poizat, C. (1994) Les biocénoses marines et littorales de Méditerranée. Synthèse, menaces et perspectives. Collection Patrimoines naturels, Secrétariat de la faune et de la flore / Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle publication, Paris, no. 19, 246 pp.Google Scholar
Ben Charrada, R. (1997) Etude hydrodynamique et écologique du complexe petit golfe—Lac de Tunis. Contribution à la modélisation de l'écosystème pélagique des eaux côtières—petit golfe de Tunis. PhD thesis, Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Ben Souissi, J. (2002) Impact de la pollution sur les communautés macrobenthiques du lac sud de Tunis avant sa restauration environnementale. PhD thesis, University of Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Beyrem, H. (1999) Ecologie des nématodes libres de deux milieux anthropiquement perturbés: la baie de Bizerte et le lac Ichkeul. PhD thesis, University of Bizerte, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Beyrem, H., Mahmoudi, E. and Aissa, P. (2002) Evolution spatiale de la structure trophique des peuplements de nématodes libres de la lagune de Ghar El Melh pendant l'hiver 2000. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Tunisia 1, 104–117.Google Scholar
Borja, A., Franco, J. and Pérez, V. (2000) A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine coastal environments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40, 1100–1114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudouresque, C.F. and Belsher, T. (1979) Le peuplement algal du port de Port-Vendres: recherches sur l'aire minimale qualitative. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 20, 259–269.Google Scholar
Brandes, J.A. and Devol, A.H. (1997) Isotopic fractionation of oxygen and nitrogen in coastal marine sediment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61, 1793–1801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cain, S.A. and Castro, G.M. (1959) Manual of vegetation analysis. New York: Harper, 325 pp.Google Scholar
Cauwet, G. (1985) Dynamique de la matière organique dans les milieux marins et polyhalins, son rôle dans les processus géochimiques aux interfaces. PhD thesis, University of Perpignan, France.Google Scholar
Castelló, J. and Carballo, J.L. (2001) Isopod fauna, excluding Epicardea, from the strait of Gibraltar and nearby areas (southern Iberian peninsula). Scientia Marina (Barcelona) 65, 221–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chassé, C. and Glémarec, M. (1976) Principes généraux de la classification des fonds pour la cartographie sédimentaire. Journal de Recherche Océanographique 1, 1–12.Google Scholar
Dauvin, J.C., Ruellet, T., Desroy, N. and Janson, A.L. (2007) The ecological quality status of the Bay of Seine and the Seine estuary: use of biotic indices. Marine Pollution Bulletin 55, 241–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dauvin, J.C., Thiébaut, E., Gomez Gesteira, J.L., Ghertsos, K., Gentil, F., Ropert, M. and Sylvand, B. (2004) Spatial structure of a subtidal macrobenthic community in the Bay of Veys (western Bay of Seine, English Channel). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 307, 217–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dellali, M. (1996) Etat de pollution de la lagune de Bizerte et effet à court terme de certains polluants sur Sphaeroma serratum (Fabricius, 1787), Idotea balthica (Pallas, 1772) et Ruditapes decussatus (Linnaeus, 1758). Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies, University of Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Dellali, M., Elbour, M. and Aïssa, P. (2001) Evaluation de la pollution bactérienne dans la lagune de Bizerte: résultats préliminaires. Journal de Recherche Océanographique 26, 18–28.Google Scholar
Desroy, N., Warembourg, C., Dewarumez, J.M. and Dauvin, J.C. (2003) Macrobenthic resources of the shallow soft-bottom sediments in the Eastern English Channel and Southern North Sea. ICES Journal of Sea Research 60, 120–131.Google Scholar
Desroy, N. and Retière, C. (2001) Long-term changes in muddy fine sand community of the Rance Basin: role of recruitment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 81, 553–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumay, D. (1971) Ecologie et biologie du genre Cymodoce (Isopoda Flabellifera) dans la région de Marseille. Tethys 2, 827–858.Google Scholar
Essid, N. and Aissa, P. (2002) Etude quantitative des nématodes libres des secteurs Nord et Est de la lagune de Bizerte (Tunisie). Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 29, 53–63.Google Scholar
Fauchald, K. and Jumars, P.A. (1979) The diet of worms: a study of Polychaete feeding guilds. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 17, 173–284.Google Scholar
Glémarec, M. and Hily, C. (1981) Perturbations apportées à la macrofaune benthique de la baie de Concarneau par les effluents urbains et portuaires. Acta Oecolgica, Oecologica Applicata 2, 139–150.Google Scholar
Glémarec, M. and Grall, J. (2000) Les groupes écologiques et zoologiques d'invertébrés marins face aux dégradations de l'environnement côtier. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 125, 37–48.Google Scholar
Grall, J. and Glémarec, M. (1997) Using biotic indices to estimate macrobenthic community perturbations in the bay of Brest. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 44, 43–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grall, J. and Glémarec, M. (2003) L'indice d'évaluation de l'endofaune côtière. In: Bioévaluation de la qualité environnementale des sédiments portuaires et des zones d'immersion. Alzieu Claude (coordinator). Edition IFREMER51–85.Google Scholar
Gómez Gesteira, J.L. and Dauvin, J.C. (2005) Impact of the Aegean Sea oil spill on the subtidal fine sand macrobenthic community of the Ares-Betanzos Ria (Northwest Spain). Marine Environmental Research 60, 289–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamouda, R. (1996) Etude des hydrocarbures des sédiments superficiels de la lagune de Ghar El Melh et de la lagune de Bizerte. Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies, University of Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Harzallah, A. (2003) Transport de polluants dans la lagune de Bizerte simulé par un modèle de circulation de l'eau. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 30, 121–133.Google Scholar
Heilskov, A.C. and Holmer, M. (2003) Influence of benthic fauna on organic matter decomposition in organic-enriched fish farm sediments. Life and Environment 53, 153–161.Google Scholar
Hill, M.O. (1974) Correspondence analysis: a neglected multivariate method. Applied Statistics 23, 340–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hily, C. (1984) Variabilité de la macrofaune benthique dans les milieux hyper-trophiques de la rade de Brest, Volume 1. PhD thesis, University of La Bretagne Occidentale, France.Google Scholar
Kiørboe, T. and Mohlenberg, F. (1981) Particle selection in suspension-feeding bivalves. Marine Ecology Progress Series 5, 291–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lardicci, C., Rossi, F. and Castelli, A. (1997) Analysis of macrozoobenthic community structure after severe dystrophic crises in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Marine Pollution Bulletin 34, 536–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Bris, H. (1988) Fonctionnement des écosystèmes benthiques au contact des estuaires: la rade de Lorient et la baie de Vilaine. PhD thesis, University of La Bretagne Occidentale, France.Google Scholar
Lebart, L., Morineau, A. and Fenelon, J.P. (1982) Traitement des données statistiques, méthodes et programmes. Paris: Dunod, 518 pp.Google Scholar
Legendre, L. and Rassoulzadegen, F. (1996) Food-web mediated export of biogenic carbon in oceans: hydrodynamic control. Marine Ecology Progress Series 145, 179–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansouri, M.R. (1979) Contribution à l'étude de la sédimentation littorale historique et actuelle au voisinage du delta de la Medjerda (étude du lac Ghar El Melh et la sebkha de l'Ariana). PhD thesis, University of Bordeaux I, France.Google Scholar
Margalef, R. (1968) Perspectives in ecological theory. Chicago Series in Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 111 pp.Google Scholar
Martín, D., Ballesteros, E., Gili, J.M. and Palacín, C. (1993) Small-scale structure of infaunal polychaete communities in an estuarine environment: methodological approach. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 36, 47–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muniz, P., Venturini, N., Pires-Vanin, A.M.S., Tommasi, L.R. and Borja, A. (2005) Testing the applicability of a Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) to assessing the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthic communities, in the South America Atlantic region. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 624–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Odum, E.P. (1969) The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 1964, 262–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oueslati, A. (1993) Les côtes de la Tunisie. Géomorphologie, environnement et aptitudes à l'aménagement. Publications de la Faculté des Sciences Humaines et Sociales de Tunis, Tunisia, 387 pp.Google Scholar
Pearson, T. and Rosenberg, R. (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 16, 229–311.Google Scholar
Pérès, J.M. (1972) Quantitative investigations of sand-bottom macrofauna along the Mediterranean north-west coast. Marine Biology 15, 209–220.Google Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1966a) Shannon's formula as a measure of specific diversity: its use and measure. American Naturalist 100, 463–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1966b) The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology 13, 131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reiss, H. and Kröncke, I. (2005) Seasonal variability of benthic indices: an approach to test the applicability of different indices for ecosystem quality assessment, Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 1490–1499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riera, P. (2007) Trophic subsidies of Crassostrea gigas, Mytilus edulis and Crepidula fornicata in the Bay of Mont Saint Michel (France): a δ13C and δ15N investigation. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 72, 33–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riera, P., Stal, L.J. and Nieuwenhuize, J. (2002) δ13C versus δ15N of co-occurring molluscs within a community dominated by Crassostrea gigas and Crepidula fornicata (Oosterschelde, The Netherlands). Marine Ecology Progress Series 240, 291–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riera, P., Stal, L.J., Nieuwenhuize, J., Richard, P., Blanchard, G. and Gentil, F. (1999) Determination of food sources for benthic invertebrates in a salt marsh (Aiguillon Bay, France) by carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes: importance of locally produced sources. Marine Ecology Progress Series 187, 301–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, R., Blomqvist, M., Nilsson, H.C., Cederwall, H. and Dimming, A. (2004) Marine quality assessment by use of benthic species-abundance distributions: a proposed new protocol within the European Union Water Framework Directive. Marine Pollution Bulletin 49, 728–739.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sakka, A., Legendre, L., Gosselin, M. and Delesalle, B. (2000) Structure of the oligotrophic planctonic food web under low grazing of heterotrophic bacteria: Takapoto Atoll, French Polynesia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 197, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakka Hlaili, A., Chikhaoui, M.A., El Grami, B. and Hadj Mabrouk, H. (2003) Variation hiverno-estivale de la communauté phytoplanctonique de la lagune de Bizerte en milieux naturel et fertilisé en nutriments. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Tunisia 2, 37–49.Google Scholar
Salen-Picard, C. and Arlhac, D. (2002) Long-term changes in a Mediterranean benthic community: relationships between the polychaete assemblages and hydrological variations of the Rhône River. Estuaries and Coasts 25, 1121–1130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, R.W. and Wickham, S.A. (1993) Planctonic protozoa and metazoa: predation, food quality and population control. Marine Microbial Food Webs 7, 197–223.Google Scholar
Shannon, F.P. and Weaver, W. (1963) The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University Illinois Press, 117 pp.Google Scholar
Shepard, F.P. (1954) Nomenclature based on sand–silt–clay ratios. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, Tulsa, Oklahoma 24, 151–158.Google Scholar
Simboura, N. (2004) Benthic index vs biotic index in monitoring: an answer to Borja et al., 2003. Marine Pollution Bulletin 48, 403–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simboura, N. and Zenetos, A. (2002) Benthic indicators to use in ecological quality classification of Mediterranean soft bottom marine ecosystems, including a new biotic index. Mediterranean Marine Science 3, 77–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solis-Weiss, V., Aleffi, F., Bettoso, N., Rossin, P., Orel, G. and Fonda-Umani, S. (2004) Effects of industrial and urban pollution on the benthic macrofauna in the Bay of Muggia (industrial port of Trieste, Italy). Science of the Total Environment 328, 247–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soussi, N. (1981) Mécanismes de sédimentation et évolution paléogéographique de la lagune de Bizerte (Tunisie) durant le quartenaire récent. PhD thesis, University of Toulouse, France.Google Scholar
Zaabi, S. and Afli, A. (2005) Structure générale des peuplements d'annélides polychètes dans le secteur nord-est du golfe de Tunis. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 32, 53–58.Google Scholar
Zaabi, S. and Afli, A. (2006) Significations écologiques de la variabilité des polychètes dans le golfe de Tunis. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô, Tunisia 33, 29–36.Google Scholar
Zaouali, J. (1993) Les peuplements benthiques de la petite Syrte, golfe de Gabès, Tunisie. Résultats de la campagne de prospection du mois de juillet 1990. Etude préliminaire. Biocénose et thanatocénose récentes. Marine Life 3, 47–60.Google Scholar
Zarrad, R. (2001) Contribution à l'étude de l'ichtyoplancton dans le golfe de Tunis. Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies, Institut National Agronomique de Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Zghal, F. and Bouaziz-Azzouna, A. (1982) Annélides Polychètes de Tunisie. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Tunisia 2, 115–120.Google Scholar