title: Distribution of macrobenthos in the coastal waters in the gulf of Oran (Western Algeria).
abstract: The prospecting of about fifty stations of the continental shelf of the gulf of Oran, allowed the study of the nature of the sediments and the macrobenthic communities. Distributed according to bathymetry, the stations closest to the coast are with -30 m and most distant with -110 m. The use of multivariate statistical analyses the such TWINSPAN (two way indicator spices of analysis) and of indices of diversity, as well as the results of the grain size analysis, led to the identification of principium sedimentary facies, to establish the faunistic inventory of the macrobenthic species and to specify the biodiversity of the various sea-bottom of the gulf. Five communities were identified and characterized. The communities of the gravel sands, the communities on more or less muddy gravel sand, the communities of the muddy gravel sands, the communities of the gravel sands and the communities of fine sands.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Eco Development of Spaces, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria.
authors.forename: Kerfouf
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Amar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Youcef
authors.forename: Boutiba
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zitouni
mesh_terms: D000462:Algeria; D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D007448:Invertebrates; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011156:Population Density; D013045:Species Specificity