Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T11:16:05.872Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Polychaete diversity and assemblage structure in the Oualidia Lagoon, Moroccan Atlantic coast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2017

Fatima El Asri*
Affiliation:
Health and Environment Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II, B.P. 5366 Maârif, 20100 Casablanca, Morocco Department of Fisheries Resources, National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH), Route Sidi Abderrahmane Club Équestre Ould Jmel – Casablanca, Morocco
Hakima Zidane
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries Resources, National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH), Route Sidi Abderrahmane Club Équestre Ould Jmel – Casablanca, Morocco
Ahmed Errhif
Affiliation:
Health and Environment Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II, B.P. 5366 Maârif, 20100 Casablanca, Morocco
Mohamed-Naoufal Tamsouri
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries Resources, National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH), Route Sidi Abderrahmane Club Équestre Ould Jmel – Casablanca, Morocco
Mohamed Maanan
Affiliation:
UMR 6554 LETG-Nantes, University of Nantes, BP 81227, 44312 Nantes, France
Mohamed Malouli Idrissi
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries Resources, National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH), Route Sidi Abderrahmane Club Équestre Ould Jmel – Casablanca, Morocco
Daniel Martin
Affiliation:
Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés a la Cala St. Francesc, 14 Blanes 17300, Girona, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. El Asri, Health and Environment Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, University Hassan II, B.P. 5366 Maârif, 20100 Casablanca, Morocco email: fatimaelasri25@gmail.com

Abstract

The polychaete assemblages inhabiting the coastal waters of the Oualidia lagoon were studied during winter 2013 and summer 2013. Taxonomic composition and diversity were determined at 43 sample sites. Among the 13 species of polychaetes recorded, 10 were newly reported for Oualidia lagoon. Hediste diversicolor and Capitella sp. were the most abundant taxa in both seasons. Temperature and salinity were higher, and chl-a and OM were lower, in summer than in winter. The structure of the polychaete assemblages was characterized by forming three main clusters, either based on sampling stations or on polychaete species. These clusters were organized according to a downstream gradient, with the stations having fine sediments and a H. diversicolor assemblage in the inner lagoon being replaced by stations with medium grain-sized sediment and a Capitella sp. assemblage in the mid-lagoon, which were in turn replaced by stations having sandy sediments and assemblages dominated by Glycera alba (winter) and P. africana (summer) in the areas closer to the lagoon inlets. The shift was, in fact, from a classical, brackish, lacunar assemblage to two different, temporal aspects of a marine assemblage (close to the inlets), with a transition assemblage in between. This corresponded with a typically paralic spatial structure whose main descriptors responded to a confinement gradient. Despite the absence of a river, the organization of the polychaete assemblages closely resembled that of an estuarine system, with the tidal regime playing a major driving role.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

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

Amanieu, M., Ferraris, J. and Guélorget, O. (1980) Organisation et évolution des peuplements des lagunes littorales. Application à la macrofaune benthique des étangs palavasiens. In Barbault, R., Blandin, P. and Meyer, J.A. (eds) Recherches d’écologie théorique. Les stratégies adaptatives. Paris: Maloin, pp. 251277.Google Scholar
Artemis, N., Petrou, K., Kormas, K.A. and Reizopoulou, S. (2006) Inter-annual variability of soft bottom macrofaunal communities in two Ionian Sea lagoons. Hydrobiologia 555, 8998.Google Scholar
Bayed, A., El Agbani, M.A., Fekhaoui, M. and Schouten, J. (1988) Benthos of soft substrates in the intertidal zone of the Khnifiss lagoon. In Dakki, M. and de Ligny, W. (ed.) The Khnifiss Lagoon and its surrounding environment (Province of La'youne, Morocco). Travaux Institut Scientifique Rabat, hors-série, 7180.Google Scholar
Bazaïri, H., Bayed, A., Glémarec, M. and Hily, C. (2003) Spatial organisation of macrozoobenthic communities in response to environmental factors in a coastal lagoon of the NW African coast (Merja Zerga, Morocco). Oceanologica Acta 26, 457471.Google Scholar
Bellucci, L.G., Frignani, M., Paolucci, D. and Ravanelli, M. (2002) Distribution of heavy metals in sediments of the Venice Lagoon: the role of the industrial area. Science of the Total Environment 295, 3549.Google Scholar
Camp, J. and Delgado, M. (1987) Hidrografía de las bahías del Delta del Ebro. Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Pesqueras 51, 351369.Google Scholar
Cao, Y., Bark, A.W. and Williams, W.P. (1997) A comparison of clustering methods for river benthic community analysis. Hydrobiologia 347, 2440.Google Scholar
Carruesco, C. (1989) Genese et evolution de trios lagunes du littoral atlantique depuis l'holocène: Oualidia – Moulay Bousselham (Maroc) et Arcachon (France), Tome I, pp. 24–100. Thèse de doctorat en Sciences.Google Scholar
Chaouti, A. and Bayed, A. (2005) Diversité taxonomique et structure de la macrofaune benthique des substrats meubles de la lagune de Smir. Travaux de l'Institut Scientifique 4, 3342.Google Scholar
Chbicheb, A. (1996) Organisation biogéologique d'un bassin paralique: la lagune d'Oualidia (Côte Atlantique Marocaine). PhD thesis. University of Nantes, Nantes, France.Google Scholar
Chaouti, A. and Bayed, A. (2008) Spatial patterns of soft-bottom macro-invertebrates and relationships with environmental conditions in a north African coastal lagoon (Smir lagoon, Morocco). Vie et Milieu 58, 2535.Google Scholar
Dakki, M. and de Ligny, W. (1988) The Khnifiss lagoon and its surrounding environment (Province of La'youne, Morocco). Travaux Institut Scientifique de Rabat, Hors-série. 1172.Google Scholar
Delle Chiaje, S. (1841 & 1844) [Polychaeta context] Descrizione e Notomia degli Animali Invertebrati della Sicilia Citeriore osservati vivi negli anni 18221830. [Tome 1, 98 pp.; Tome 2, 146 pp.; Tome 3, 142 pp. [Molluschi Acefali, Bracciopedi, Cirropedi, Crostacei, Anellosi]; Tome 4, 142 pp.; Tome 5, 165 pp. [1841, incl. Annelosi Afroditici]; Tome 6–7, pl. 1–173 [1841], pl. 174–181 [1844]; Tome 8 (Appendici, osservazioni critiche, indice generale), 48 pp. [1844] Napoli, Stabilimento Tipografico di C. Batelli e Co.Google Scholar
Dufrêne, M. and Legendre, P. (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecological Society of America 67, 345366.Google Scholar
El Alami, M., Mahjoubi, R., Damnati, B., Kamel, S., Icole, M. and Taieb, M. (1998) Sédimentologie et géochimie organique des sédiments superficiels de la lagune de Nador (Maroc nord-oriental). Journal of African Earth Sciences 26, 249259.Google Scholar
El Asri, F., Zidane, H., Maanan, M., Tamsouri, M. and Errhif, A. (2015) Taxonomic diversity and structure of the molluscan fauna in Oualidia lagoon (Moroccan Atlantic coast). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 187, 110.Google Scholar
El Kamcha, R., Bououarour, O., Boutahar, L., El Fatouani, Z., El Adnani, A., Zourarah, B., Sghaier, Y.R., Benhoussa, A. and Bazairi, H. (2015) Assessment of the environmental health status of the Marchica lagoon (Morocco, Mediterranean) using Cymodocea nodosa meadows and its associated macrofauna: preliminary results. PeerJ PrePrints 3, e1325.Google Scholar
Giangrande, A., Licciano, M. and Musco, L. (2005) Polychaetes as environmental indicators revisited. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 11531162.Google Scholar
Gil, J. (2011) The European fauna of Annelida Polychaeta. Doctoral thesis. Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/4600.Google Scholar
Gray, J. S. (1974) Animal-sediment relationships. Oceanography and Marine Biology. An Annual Review 12, 223261.Google Scholar
Gray, J. S. (2002) Species richness of marine soft sediments. Marine Ecology Progress Series 244, 285297.Google Scholar
Guelorget, O. and Perthuisot, J.P. (1992) Paralic ecosystems. Vie et Milieu 42, 215251.Google Scholar
Guelorget, O., Perthuisot, J., Frisoni, G. and Monti, D. (1987) Le rôle du confinement dans l'organisation biogéologique de la lagune de Nador (Maroc). Oceanologica Acta 10, 435444.Google Scholar
Hassou, N., Maanan, M., Hennani, M., Zourarah, B. and Assobhei, O. (2014) Spatial and temporal variation of faecal pollution indicators (Escherichia coli and faecal streptococci) and physico-chemical parameters at the Oualidia lagoon and its watershed (Morocco). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences 3, 675694.Google Scholar
Hennani, M., Maanan, M., Robin, M., Chedad, K. and Assobhei, O. (2012) Temporal and spatial distribution of faecal bacteria in a Moroccan lagoon. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 21, 627634.Google Scholar
Hernández-Guevara, N.A., Pech, D. and Ardisson, P. (2008) Temporal trends in benthic macrofauna composition in response to seasonal variation in a tropical coastal lagoon, Celestun, Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Freshwater Research 59, 772779.Google Scholar
Hilmi, K., Koutitonsky, V., Orbi, A., Lakhdar, J. and Chagdali, M. (2005) Oualidia lagoon, Morocco: an estuary without a river. African Journal of Aquatic Science 30, 110.Google Scholar
Holm-Hansen, O., Lorenzen, C.J., Holmes, R.W. and Strickland, J.D.H. (1965) Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll. Journal of Marine Science 30, 315.Google Scholar
Horst, R. (1919) Twee sedentaire Polychaeten uit he brakke water var Nederland. Zoologische Mededeelingen (Leiden) 5, 100102.Google Scholar
Idardare, Z., Chiffoleau, J.F., Moukrim, A., Ait Alla, A., Auger, D., Lefrere, L. and Rozuel, E. (2008) Metal concentrations in sediment and Nereis diversicolor in two Moroccan lagoons: Khnifiss and Oualidia. Chemistry and Ecology 24, 329340.Google Scholar
Kalloul, S., Hamid, W., Maanan, M., Robin, M. and Sayouty, E.H. (2012) Source contributions to heavy metal fluxes into the Loukous Estuary (Moroccan Atlantic Coast). BioOne 28, 174183.Google Scholar
Koaudio, K.N., Diomandé, D., Ouattara, A., Koné, Y.J.M. and Gourène, G. (2008) Taxonomic diversity and structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in Aby Lagoon (Ivory Coast, West Africa). Pakistan Journal of Biological Science 11, 22242230.Google Scholar
Lamarck, J.B. (1818) Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans Vertèbres, présentant les caractères généraux et particuliers de ces animaux, leur distribution, leurs classes, leurs familles, leurs genres, et la citation des principales espèces qui s'y rapportent; précédée d'une introduction offrant la détermination des caractères essentiels de l`animal, sa distinction du végétal et des autres corps naturels, enfin, l'exposition des principes fondamentaux de la zoologie. Volume 5. Paris: Déterville & Verdière.Google Scholar
Lefrere, L., Ouassas, M., Guillois, B., Gillet, P. and Moukrim, A. (2015) Macrobenthic community structure of soft-bottom sediments in the Khnifiss lagoon, South of Morocco. Journal of Material and Environmental Science 6, 22262236.Google Scholar
Maanan, M., Ruiz-Fernández, A.C., Maanan, M., Fattal, P., Zourarah, B. and Sahabi, M. (2014) A long-term record of land use change impacts on sediments in Oualidia lagoon, Morocco. International Journal of Sediment Research 29, 110.Google Scholar
Maanan, M., Zourarah, B., Carruesco, C., Aajjane, A. and Naud, J. (2004) The distribution of heavy metals in the Sidi Moussa lagoon sediments (Atlantic Moroccan Coast). Journal of African Earth Sciences 39, 473483.Google Scholar
McIntosh, W.C. (1908) A monograph of the British annelids. London: Ray Society.Google Scholar
Malmgren, A.J. (1866) Nordiska Hafs-Annulater. Öfversigt af Königlich Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar, Stockholm, 22, 51110.Google Scholar
Martin, D., Pinedo, S. and Sardá, R. (2000) Distribution patterns and trophic structure of soft-bottom Polychaete assemblages in a North-Western Mediterranean shallow-water bay. Ophelia 53, 117.Google Scholar
Müller, O.F. (1776) Zoologicae Danicae Prodromus, seu Animalium Daniae et Norvegiae indigenarum characteres, nomina et synonyma imprimis popularium. Havniae [Copenhagen]: Hallageriis.Google Scholar
Newton, T.J., Allran, J.W., O'Donnell, J.A., Bartsch, M.R. and Richardson, W.B. (2003) Effects of ammonia on juvenile unionids (Lampsilis cardium) in laboratory sediment toxicity tests. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 22, 25542560.Google Scholar
Palacín, C., Gili, J.M. and Martin, D. (1992) Evidence for coincidence of meiofauna spatial heterogeneity with eutrophication processes in a shallow-water Mediterranean bay. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 35, 116.Google Scholar
Palacín, C., Martin, D. and Gili, J.M. (1991) Features of spatial distribution of benthic infauna in a Mediterranean shallow-water bay. Marine Biology 110, 315321.Google Scholar
Paxton, H., Fadlaoui, S. and Lechapt, J.-P. (1995) Diopatra marocensis, a new brooding species of Onuphidae (Annelida: Polychaeta). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 75, 949955.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. (1966) Shannon's formula as a measure of specific diversity: its use and measure. American Naturalist 100, 463465.Google Scholar
Pocklington, P. and Wells, P.G. (1992) Polychaetes. Key taxa for marine environmental quality monitoring. Marine Pollution Bulletin 24, 593598.Google Scholar
Read, G. and Fauchald, K. (eds) (2017) World Polychaeta database. Available at http://www.marinespecies.org/polychaeta (accessed 16 January 2017).Google Scholar
Renier, S.A. (1804) Prospetto della Classe dei Vermi, nominati el ordinati secondo il Sistemo de Bosc. Padua.Google Scholar
Rullier, F. and Amoureux, L. (1970) Nouvelle contribution a l’étude de la faune des Annélides Polychètes du Maroc. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles et Physiques du Maroc 49, 109142.Google Scholar
Schmarda, L.K. (1861) Neue wirbellose Thiere beobachtet und gesammelt auf einer Reise un die Erdr 1853 bis 1857. Erster Band (zweite halfte) Turbellarian, Rotatorien un Anneliden. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann.Google Scholar
Shannon, C.E. (1948) A mathematical theory of communication. Bell System Technical Journal 27, 379423.Google Scholar
Sif, J., Rouhi, A., Gillet, P. and Moncef, M. (2012) Diversité et écologie des Annélides Polychètes du littoral atlantique de la région d'El Jadida (Maroc). Bulletin de l'Institut Scientifique, Rabat, section Sciences de la Vie 34, 95106.Google Scholar
Tomioka, S., Kondoh, T., Sato-Okoshi, W., Ito, K., Kakui, K. and Kajihara, H. (2016) Cosmopolitan or cryptic species? A case study of Capitella teleta (Annelida: Capitellidae). Zoological Science 33, 545554.Google Scholar
Uwadiae, R.E. (2009) Response of benthic macroinvertebrate community to salinity gradient in a sandwiched coastal lagoon. Report and Opinion 1, 4555.Google Scholar
Vakharia, A.J. and Wemmerlöv, U. (1995) A comparative investigation of hierarchical clustering techniques and dissimilarity measures applied to the cell formation problem. Journal of Operational Management 13, 117138.Google Scholar
Venturini, N., Tommasi, L.R., Bícego, M. C. and Martins, C. C. (2004) Characterization of the benthic environment of a coastal area adjacent to an oil refinery, Todos os Santos Bay (NE-Brazil). Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 52, 123134.Google Scholar
Zourarah, B., Maanan, M., Carruesco, C., Aajjane, A., Mehdi, K. and Conceição Freitas, M. (2007) Fifty-year sedimentary record of heavy metal pollution in the lagoon of Oualidia (Moroccan Atlantic coast). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 72, 359369.Google Scholar