Abstract
The shallow water benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, located in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, were studied to investigate the relationship between calcareous meiofaunas and contaminant concentrations in bottom sediments exposed to prolonged industrial pollution. Both benthic foraminifers and ostracods displayed high-diversity and low-dominance, unusual features in highly contaminated environments. High-diversity values were possibly linked to the oligotrophic, well-oxygenated, and CaCO3-supersaturated coastal Mediterranean waters. The comparison with historical data suggested that assemblage composition changed in the last decades, with an increase in the relative abundance of benthic foraminiferal (Quinqueloculina seminulum, Bulimina elongata) and ostracod (Xestoleberis, Loxoconcha, Semicytherura rarecostata) taxa. They probably represent organisms tolerant to the environmental variations in the last decades. The relationships between granulometry and diversity indices, high correlation values between Quinqueloculina lata and heavy metal pollution, and the preference of the ostracod genera Urocythereis and Paracytheridea for very shallow marine waters were highlighted.
Highlights
Benthic foraminifers (Rhizaria) and ostracods (Crustacea) are meiofaunal groups generally provided with calcareous tests and valves, commonly preserved in sea bottom sediments
Benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages were studied from eleven samples collected in the infralittoral zone of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, a bay located in the Campania region (Southern Italy) with a narrow continental shelf, a shelf break at about 40 m bsl, a maximum depth of 110 m, and an average depth of ca. 60 m (Fig. 1; Somma et al, 2016)
The benthic foraminiferal assemblages included 142 species assigned to 74 genera; 127 ostracod species in 49 genera were recorded (Appendix 1; Figs. 2–3)
Summary
Benthic foraminifers (Rhizaria) and ostracods (Crustacea) are meiofaunal groups generally provided with calcareous tests and valves, commonly preserved in sea bottom sediments. The composition of their assemblages reflects environmental conditions due to both natural and human causes. The studies combining the analyses of benthic foraminifers and ostracods in areas where human-induced ecological variations occurred showed the high potential of calcareous meiofaunal assemblages as water quality indicators (Samir, 2000; Triantaphyllou et al, 2003, 2005; Vilela et al, 2003; Bergin et al, 2006; Pascual et al, 2008, Salvi et al, 2015). Puri HS (1971) Distribution of ostracodes in the oceans.
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