title: Assessment of the ecological quality status of soft-bottoms in Reunion Island (tropical Southwest Indian Ocean) using AZTI marine biotic indices.
abstract: The ability of the two synthetic marine biotic indices, AMBI and M-AMBI, to account for changes in the ecological quality of coastal soft bottoms of Reunion Island according to disturbances was assessed from macrobenthic samples collected in five sectors between 1994 and 2004. Samples were collected under non-perturbed conditions and at two sites subjected to heavy organic enrichment. Both indices are based on a classification of macrofauna into ecological groups (EG), and their transfer to tropical waters required some adaptations. These indices proved efficient in detecting a degradation of habitat quality. Their use resulted in the classification of all sites sampled between 1996 and 1998 as "good" or "high". M-AMBI nevertheless tended to result in the attribution of a slightly worse ecological quality status than AMBI. Together with an update of the EG species list for the Indian Ocean area, our results support the extension of both indices for the assessment of tropical soft bottoms.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine, ECOMAR, Université de La Réunion, Avenue René Cassin - BP 7151, 97715 Saint Denis Cedex, France. lionel.bigot@univ-reunion.fr
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bigot
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grémare
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Amouroux
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Frouin
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Maire
authors.forename: Jean Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gaertner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007195:Indian Ocean Islands; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors