Issue |
Aquat. Living Resour.
Volume 28, Number 2-4, April-December 2015
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 111 - 118 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2016002 | |
Published online | 30 March 2016 |
Short-term impact of bait digging on intertidal macrofauna of tidal mudflats around the Kneiss Islands (Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia)
1 Laboratoire de Biodiversité et
Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax,
BP 1171,
3038
Sfax,
Tunisie
2 UNICAEN, CNRS, UMR 6143 M2C,
Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000
Caen,
France
a Corresponding author:
nawfelmosbahi@hotmail.fr
Received:
26
August
2015
Accepted:
18
January
2016
In the Gulf of Gabès (South-eastern Tunisia), polychaete bait digging is widely practiced for recreational and commercial fishing and is an economically significant activity. The present study aims to assess the short-term effects of intertidal bait digging on macrobenthic communities from the Kneiss Islands. Following a protocol with a control station (not impacted) and three impacted stations for polychaete collection, the study was conducted during March and April 2015 at spring tides. After digging, immediate significant decreases were observed in the abundance of total macrofauna as well in numerous families of polychaetes. Control of this activity should be proposed for the future to protect the biodiversity of this intertidal area of high heritage interest.
Key words: Bait harvesting / Macrofauna diversity / Gulf of Gabès / Polychaetes
© EDP Sciences 2016
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.