Macrobenthos is a good indicator to evaluate the potential effects of human activities on marine benthic ecosystem. In environmental impact assessments (EIAs), macrobenthic species identification typically based morphological characteristics, time-consuming and labor-intensive process for which specific taxonomic knowledge experts are needed. DNA metabarcoding can circumvent most these shortcom...

Macrobenthos taxonomic and functional diversity are key indicators of ecosystem health. River–lake ecotones macrobenthos habitats. However, we don’t fully understand biodiversity patterns in these ecotones. We studied water environment, sediment heavy metal contents, community, which sampled simultaneously from 29 sampling sites along the Fu River–Baiyangdian Lake gradient Northern China with f...

This study examines whether or not biogeographical and/or managerial divisions across the European seas can be validated using soft-bottom macrobenthic community data. The faunal groups used were: all macrobenthos groups, polychaetes, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, sipunculans and the last 5 groups combined. In order to test the discriminating power of these groups, 3 criteria were used: (...

Biological particle mixing (bioturbation) and solute transfer (bio-irrigation) contribute extensively to ecosystem functioning in sediments where physical mixing is low. Macrobenthos transports oxygen and organic matter deeper into the sediment, thereby likely providing favourable niches to lower trophic levels (i.e., smaller benthic animals such as meiofauna and bacteria) and thus stimulating ...

 The present work has been carried out to investigate the probable effects of fish cage culture on benthic communities as a pollution and stress indicator and to evaluate the biotic health condition using BOPA index, in Ghazale Creek (Khowre-Mussa - Persian Gulf). Monthly sampling from 4 stations was carried out from June 2007 to March 2008 (during nine months). Stations were selected from unde...