Study of the benthic macrofauna and application of AMBI index in the coastal waters of Algeria

Abstract

The aim of this of study was to examine the state of the benthic macrofauna community at six different sites in coastal waters of Algeria. The diversity of benthic macrofauna was studied and the AZTI marine biotic index (AMBI) was applied. Sampling was carried out during March and April 2018. Thus, 31 species were recorded. Higher species richness (13 species) was recorded in two sites. The highest density was estimated at 56.6 in / 0.1 m². Taxonomic analysis has shown the prevalence of Gastopoda, Bivalvia and Scaphopoda. Sediment analysis showed a low concentration of organic matter in the six sites. The AMBI index used in this study has been used extensively in Europe as indicador of marine pollution, but rarely used in Algeria. The AMBI values were quite homogeneous over all the sites, and generally correspond to undisturbed states except for one site, which is slightly disturbed.

Ecological Diagnosis of the Algerian West Coast Marine Environment by Using Benthic Macroalgae

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Biochemical Composition and Toxicity Assessment of Seaweeds from the Algerian Coast: Implications for Human Consumption and Marine Pollution

“…Algeria's coastline is over 1,200 km, consequently, the valorization of marine biomass would be of great ecological and economic interest (Ihamouchen et al, 2020). To date, works on algae in Algeria are relatively limited (Belhaouari and Zoubeyda, 2019 ;Ihamouchen et al, 2020 ;Oucif et al, 2020) and most of them are of the inventory type (Ihamouchen et al, 2020).…”

High environmental quality label proposal

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