title: Status of macrobenthic community of Manifa-Tanajib Bay System of Saudi Arabia based on a once-off sampling event.
abstract: Shallow water bays located in the western Arabian Gulf experience harsh environmental conditions. Some of these bays, including Manifa-Tanajib Bay System (MTBS), were also exposed to the 1991 oil pollution event. This study investigates the status of the macrobenthos in MTBS during 2006. This bay system is characterized by very shallow inner bays with elevated salinity and temperature compared to the rest of the bay area. As a result mainly of the hyper salinity, the inner bay communities are distinct from the outer bay communities. Overall, fairly high species richness with several rare species was observed. High Shannon-Wiener diversity values and ABC plots indicated the healthy status of the polychaete communities, while BOPA index indicated slightly polluted status in 20% of the stations. The oil sensitive amphipods were not completely re-colonized in 20% of the stations, even after 15 years of recovery from the 1991 oil spill.
authors: Center for Environment and Water, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box No. 1995, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. tvjoydas@kfupm.edu.sa
authors: T V
authors: TV
authors: Joydas
authors: P K
authors: PK
authors: Krishnakumar
authors: Mohammad A
authors: MA
authors: Qurban
authors: Said M
authors: SM
authors: Ali
authors: Abdulaziz
authors: A
authors: Al-Suwailem
authors: Khaled
authors: K
authors: Al-Abdulkader
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D044822:Biodiversity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D012624:Seaweed / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data