Biodiversity of Amphipoda Talitridae in Tunisian Wetlands

Abstract

Although wetlands were remarkable habitats with their fauna and flora diversity, few studies have been devoted to the study of amphipod biodiversity in this ecosystem type. The amphipod communities of six wetland types belonging to 117 stations were studied with respect to species composition, abundance and their relationship with environmental parameters. Amphipods were collected during spring. At each station, eight quadrats of 50 × 50 cm 2 were randomly placed. Animals were preserved in alcohol at 70°C. In the laboratory, the specimens collected were identified and counted. Physicochemical parameters (organic matter, particle size, heavy metals) of sampled soils were determined. The results showed that the highest species richness was observed in lagoons with the presence of eight species namely Orchestia montagui, Orchestia gammarellus, Orchestia mediterranea, Orchestia stephenseni, Orchestia cavimana, Platorchestia platensis, Deshayesorchestia deshayesii and Talitrus saltator, whereas in the hill lakes and dams banks, no specimens were collected. The biodiversity of amphipod species depends on climatic (temperature, humidity) and edaphic (organic matter, particle size, heavy metals) factors.Quantitative samples of amphipods were taken in spring of 2008, 2009 and 2010 in the early morning hours using quadrates method [36,37]. In the bank of each site, eight quadrates of 50 × 50 cm 2 were randomly placed. The content of each quadrat (7 cm depth) was placed in an Selected Studies in Biodiversity 102 Stations Wetland type Governorate GPS Sediment type Selected Studies in Biodiversity 116