title: Assessment of ecological quality of coastal lagoons with a combination of phytobenthic and water quality indices.
abstract: Coastal lagoons are ecotones between continents and the sea. Coastal lagoons of Western Greece, subjected to different human pressures, were classified into four different types based on their hydromorphological characteristics and monitored over a three year period for their biotic and abiotic features. Six ecological indices based on water quality parameters (TSI-Chl-a, TSI-TP, TRIX), benthic macrophytes (E-MaQI, EEI-c) and an integrated index TWQI, were applied to assess the ecological status of studied lagoons under real conditions. The trophic status ranged from oligotrophic to hypertrophic according to the index applied. The ecological quality of transitional water ecosystems can be better assessed by using indices based on benthic macrophytes as changes in abundance and diversity of sensitive and tolerant species are the first evidence of incoming eutrophication. The multi-parametric index TWQI can be considered appropriate for the ecological assessment of these ecosystems due to its robustness and the simple application procedure.
authors: Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, PO 26500, Greece.
authors: Chrysoula
authors: C
authors: Christia
authors: Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Via Usberti 11/a, I-43124 Parma, Italy.
authors: Gianmarco
authors: G
authors: Giordani
authors: Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, PO 26500, Greece. Electronic address: evapap@upatras.gr.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Papastergiadou
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D006115:Greece; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Benthic macrophytes; Biological indicators; East Mediterranean; Trophic indices; Typology; Water quality