Proceedings of the Second Mediterranean Symposium on Marine
Proceedings of the Second Mediterranean Symposium on Marine
Proceedings of the Second Mediterranean Symposium on Marine
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PHYTOBENTHOS AS QUALITY ELEMENT FOR THE EVALUATION<br />
OF THE ECOLOGICAL STATUS: A CASE STUDY OF THE<br />
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER FRAME DIRECTIVE (2000/60/EC)<br />
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ECOREGION<br />
Panayotis PANAYOTIDIS., Barbara MONTESANTO and Sotiris ORFANIDIS<br />
Hellenic Center for <strong>Marine</strong> Research, Institute <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Oceanography, POB 712, Anavissos 19013, GREECE<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
A qualitative and quantitative study <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> macroalgae communities <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> three major tax<strong>on</strong>omic<br />
groups (Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae) has been carried out at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
upper infarlittoral z<strong>on</strong>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> metropolitan coastal area <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> A<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ns. The aim <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> study was<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> estimati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ecological status, using <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ecological Evaluati<strong>on</strong> Index (EEI) an<br />
original biotic index based <strong>on</strong> phytobenthos. Samples were taken from 6 stati<strong>on</strong>s and a<br />
list <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 60 taxa was dressed. The Diversity, Evenness and Similarity Index were calculated<br />
and compared with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> EEI. Based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> calculated indexes <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> sampling stati<strong>on</strong>s were<br />
ranged in classes <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> ecological status from “Low” to “High”, in terms <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Water<br />
Framework Directive 2000/60/EC.<br />
KEY WORDS: Phytobenthos, Ecological Status, WFD, phytobenthos, Aegean Sea, Greece<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
The phytobenthos is menti<strong>on</strong>ed in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Framework Directive for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Water Policy (WFD,<br />
2000/60/EC) as <strong>on</strong>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> three quality elements, proposed for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> classificati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
Ecological Status (ES) <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> coastal and transiti<strong>on</strong>al waters (<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r two quality elements<br />
are zoobenthos and phytoplanct<strong>on</strong>). The term “classes <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ecological Status” is used in<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> text <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> WFD in order to describe <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> degree <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> human impact <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> biological<br />
communities living in a water body. Five classes <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> quality (high, good, moderate, low<br />
and bad) are foreseen, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> high class reflecting <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> undisturbed or “reference” c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ecosystem (EC, 2000).<br />
The present paper is a case study <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> implementati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> WFD in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Mediterranean</str<strong>on</strong>g>,<br />
<strong>on</strong>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> eco-regi<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> European coastline. The paper aims to dem<strong>on</strong>strate that<br />
several ecological indexes based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> compositi<strong>on</strong> and abundance <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> hard bottom<br />
phytobenthos in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> upper infralittoral z<strong>on</strong>e could give good tools for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> rapid<br />
assessment <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ecological quality <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> coastal waters.<br />
MATERIAL AND METHODS<br />
Six sampling stati<strong>on</strong>s were studied at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> upper infralittoral z<strong>on</strong>e <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> marine fr<strong>on</strong>t <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
metropolitan area <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> A<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ns (coasts <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Attika in Sar<strong>on</strong>ikos and S. Evoikos gulfs, Fig. 1).<br />
ACTES DU DEUXIEME SYMPOSIUM MEDITERRANEEN SUR LA VEGETATION MARINE (ATHENES, 12-13 DECEMBRE 2003)<br />
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