title: Recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages and their relationship to environmental variables on the shoreface and inner shelf off Valencia (western Mediterranean).
abstract: The environmental variables that determine the distributions of benthic foraminiferal assemblages on the shoreface and inner shelf of the north of Valencia province (Western Mediterranean) are identified. The possible influence of variables such as water depth, distance from shore, hydrodynamics, substrate type, carbonate content, organic matter content and human activity is evaluated. Multivariate cluster-Q-type analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) are used to identify the environmental variables that have the greatest influence on the assemblage distribution. The spatial distribution of the assemblages is closely associated with water depth and substrate. The diversity and abundance of foraminifera shells increase with depth and their conservation improves. The most common species in the study area are Ammonia beccarii, Rosalina globularis, Buccella granulata, Planorbulina mediterranensis, and Lobatula lobatula. The presence of wastewater in the study area has not polluted the foraminiferal assemblages (absence of anomalous shells). The direction of the discharge plume is a potential source of nutrients for deep water.
authors: Environmental and Marine Sciences Research Institute, Catholic University of Valencia, C/ Guillem de Castro 94, Valencia 46003, Spain. Electronic address: malobel.belzunce@gmail.com.
authors: María
authors: M
authors: López-Belzunce
authors: Environmental and Marine Sciences Research Institute, Catholic University of Valencia, C/ Guillem de Castro 94, Valencia 46003, Spain. Electronic address: ana.blazquez@ucv.es.
authors: Ana M
authors: AM
authors: Blázquez
authors: Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, Barcelona 08028, Spain. Electronic address: jpretus@ub.edu.
authors: Joan Lluís
authors: JL
authors: Pretus
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D056908:Foraminifera / Q000502:physiology*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: Benthic ecology; Coastal waters; Foraminifera; SE Spain; Western Mediterranean