title: The well sorted fine sand community from the western Mediterranean Sea: A resistant and resilient marine habitat under diverse human pressures.
abstract: The Biocoenosis of Well Sorted Fine Sands (WSFS) (SFBC, Sables Fins Bien Calibrés in French) is a Mediterranean community very well delimited by bathymetry (2-25 m) and sedimentology (>90% of fine sand) occurring in zones with relatively strong hydrodynamics. In this study focused on sites located along the Algerian, French, Italian and Spanish coasts of the Western Basin of the Mediterranean Sea (WBMS) we aim to compare the structure, ecological status and diversity of the macrofauna of the WSFS and examine the effects of recent human pressures on the state of this shallow macrobenthic community. We assess the ecological status and functioning of these WSFS using three categories of benthic indices: a) five indices based on classification of species into ecological groups, AMBI, BO2A, BPOFA, IQ and IP, b) the ITI index based on classification of species in trophic groups, and c) the Shannon H' index, and the Biological Traits Analysis (BTA), which is an alternative method to relative taxon composition analysis and integrative indices. Cluster analyses show that each zone show a particular taxonomic richness and dominant species. The seven benthic indices reveal that the macrobenthos of the WSFS of the four coastal zones show good or high Quality Status, except for one location on the Algerian coast (the Djendjen site) in 1997. BTA highlights the presence of three groups of species: 1) typical characteristic species; 2) indicator species of enrichment of fine particles and organic matter, and 3) coarse sand species which are accessorily found on fine sand. Finally, the WSFS which are naturally subject to regular natural physical perturbations show a high resilience after human pressures but are very sensitive to changes in the input of organic matter.
authors.affiliation: Normandie Univ, France, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, CNRS UMR 6143 M2C, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France. Electronic address: jean-claude.dauvin@unicaen.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dauvin
authors.affiliation: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique (ENSA), Avenue Hassan Badi, 16200, El Harrach, Algiers, Algeria.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakalem
authors.affiliation: Normandie Univ, France, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, CNRS UMR 6143 M2C, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France.
authors.forename: Alexandrine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baffreau
authors.affiliation: Normandie Univ, France, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, CNRS UMR 6143 M2C, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delecrin
authors.affiliation: Université d'Aix-Marseille, IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue Batterie des Lions, 13007, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bellan
authors.affiliation: Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Derna, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lardicci
authors.affiliation: Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Derna, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balestri
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Estudis, Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Carrer d'accés a la Cala Sant Fransesc, Blanes 17300, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sardá
authors.affiliation: Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de la Mer et de l'Aménagement du Littoral (ENSSMAL), BP 19, Campus universitaire de Dely Brahim, Bois des Cars, Algiers, Algeria.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grimes
mesh_terms: D000462:Algeria; D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000145:classification*; D044822:Biodiversity; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000145:classification*; D007558:Italy; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D013030:Spain
keywords: Benthic indices; Benthic structure; Biological Traits Analysis; Diversity; Human pressures; Mediterranean Sea