Abstract
Coastal pollution assessment is a pressing matter as the anthropogenic pressure continues to increase worldwide. A leading approach to assess coastal pollution is using bioindicators. However, identifying species is time-consuming and demands profound morphological knowledge. Our goal was to find the meiobenthic composition in each pollution level. By utilizing the meiobenthic assemblage’s ratios, we will be able to indicate the pollution level. We examined the meiobenthos distribution at three sites exposed to a pollution gradient. We quantified the changes in the fauna assemblage in the community phylum level, focusing on nematodes and foraminifera (90% of the total population). Over 400 samples were examined, covering an annual seasonal cycle. Nematodes population dominated in the polluted coast. Nematodes density increased with the pollution level, up to seemingly harmful levels of pollution. In contradiction, the foraminifera flourished in the control site and exhibited an inverse relationship to the nematodes. We witnessed drastic changes in the entire meiobenthic population in the winter, which we speculate that originated from winter turbulences. We suggest that nematodes-foraminifers’ population ratios may be utilized as bioindicators for assessing coast intertidal zone pollution levels.
Highlights
The shores of the Mediterranean contain a variety of environments populated by different species that have adapted themselves to the different niches [1]
The present study is among the few focusing on the effects of pollution on meiobenthic populations in the intertidal area of the southeastern basin of the Mediterranean
The meiobenthic population showed a dramatic change in numbers and in growth cycles, as the pollution levels rose
Summary
The shores of the Mediterranean contain a variety of environments populated by different species that have adapted themselves to the different niches [1]. The semienclosed basin and the climate lead to barren conditions in the southeast region, the Levantine Sea. Higher temperatures and higher evaporation that, in turn, cause the sea level to decrease and the salinity to increase from. Morad et al 410 west to east characterizes the climate in the Levantine Sea. The Mediterranean basin is generally oligotrophic except for its coastal regions, which change due to wind, thermoclines, currents, rivers, and anthropogenic factors. The Mediterranean basin is generally oligotrophic except for its coastal regions, which change due to wind, thermoclines, currents, rivers, and anthropogenic factors These oceanographic conditions cause spatial patterns of decrease in biodiversity and primary production from northwest to southeast [2]
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