One Step forward: Benthic Pelagic Coupling and Indicators for Environmental Status.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26496714.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0141071 and PMC identifier 4619684.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
A large data set from the Eastern Mediterranean was analyzed to explore the relationship between seawater column variables and benthic community status. Our results showed a strong quantitative link between the seawater column variables (Chlorophyll a and Eutrophication Index) and various indicators describing benthic diversity and community composition. The percentage of benthic opportunistic species increased significantly in the stations with high trophic status of the seawater column and so did the strength of the coupling between values of seawater column and benthic indicators. The Eutrophication Index threshold level of 0.85, separating the "Bad and Poor" from "Moderate to High" conditions could serve as an acceptable critical value above which there is a readily observable change in benthic community composition.
Medical subject headings
- Chlorophyll
- Environmental Monitoring
- Eutrophication
- Geologic Sediments
- Seawater