title: Comparison of benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal indicators of the impact of oil-based drill mud disposal.
abstract: We compare foraminifera and macrofauna as bio-indicators of oil-based drill mud disposal site off Congo. The most polluted sites are characterized by poor faunas, dominated by some very tolerant taxa. Slightly further from the disposal site, there is an area with strongly increased densities, heavily dominated by opportunistic taxa. Still further, macrofauna appears to be similar to that at the reference area, but the foraminiferal meiofauna still suggests a slight environmental perturbation. The foraminiferal FIEI index, based on the species distribution in the study area, appears to be more discriminative than the macrofaunal ITI index, based on a priori definitions of the trophic guilds of the various taxa. Our comparative approach allows us to point out the benefits of (1) the use of macrofauna and foraminifera together and (2) the definition of the species groups used in biotic indices on the basis of observations made directly in the study area.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Recent and Fossil Bio-Indicators, UPRES EA 2644 BIAF, Angers University, 2 Bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers, France. marieva.denoyelle@etud.univ-angers.fr
authors.forename: Mariéva
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denoyelle
authors.forename: Frans J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Jorissen
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galgani
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miné
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003223:Congo; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D020387:Food Chain; D056908:Foraminifera; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007448:Invertebrates; D010578:Petroleum; D012037:Refuse Disposal
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D010578:Petroleum