Complement to the knowledge of the Haploops species (Crustacea, Gammaridea, Ampeliscidae), with the description of two new species from North Atlantic Ocean. [Contribution to the knowledge of the Haploops genus. 10.].

Two new Haploops species are described from the North Atlantic Ocean: a blind species Haploops faroensis spec. nov. and Haploops truncata spec. nov. with a single pair of corneal lenses. In addition, Haploops vallifera Stephensen 1925 and Haploops similis Stephensen 1925, are re-described and the status of Haploops spinosa Shoemaker 1931, is re-established as a valid species. A table is given of the 75 morphological characters of the studied species.

Two new Haploops species (Crustacea: Gammaridea: Ampeliscidae) from the North Atlantic Ocean: H. bjarnii and H. quebecoisis [Contribution to the knowledge of the Haploops genus. 9.].

Two new Haploops species are described, both from the North Atlantic Ocean: Haploops bjarnii nov. sp. from around the Faeroe Islands and Iceland, and Haploops quebecoisis nov. sp. from the Saint Lawrence Gulf, off Canada. Haploops bjarnii is a species morphologically close to H. islandica Kaim-Malka, Bellan-Santini Dauvin, 2016. These are two blind Haploops species, with long antennae. Haploops quebecoisis is morphologically similar to H. sibirica Gurjanova 1929, both species having 2 pairs of corneal lenses in the same position. A table of the 75 morphological characters is presented that can be used permitting to distinguish the new species from similar species.

Benthic ecological status of Algerian harbours.

This work is an overview of all available benthic data collected in the Algerian harbours between 1983 and 2001. So, total of 571 stations were reported in the 10 major Algerian harbours along the Algerian coast (1200km). Two main categories of harbours were distinguished according to their hydrodynamic regime and volume of water exchange between inner harbour basins and the entrance of the harbours. Univariate, multivariate, benthic indices and Biological Traits of Life approaches were applied on stations sampled in the late 1990s and long-term observations in six out of these ten harbours. These approaches assessed the main characteristics and ecological statuses from these south Mediterranean harbours. One of the main characteristics of the Algerian harbours was the very high species diversity (847 species). Although all the fauna was dominated by pollution-tolerant species; some harbours such as Bethioua and Djendjen hosted normal benthic communities as found in the open sea, but also included some pollution indicator species typical of a slight polluted system. On the contrary, the newly constructed port of Skikda showed perturbed benthic communities in relation to hydrocarbon pollution. Biological Traits of Life analysis reinforced the separation of benthic species along a gradient reflecting their sensitivity or tolerance to pollution. This response was related to an increase in organic matter content, probably associated with a general organic and metal contamination, from the entrance of the harbour to the innermost basins in areas with weak circulation, high sedimentation rate and concentrations of pollutants. Except for Oran harbour, where the poor to moderate ecological status remained unchanged with time, the other harbours showed an improvement or a slight degradation. A strategy of long-term monitoring should be promoted, based on a restricted and selected number of stations characteristic of the different basins and water masses occupying the harbours.

On some Haploops species collected in the North Atlantic Ocean with the description of Haploops islandica n. sp. (Crustacea: Gammaridea: Ampeliscidae) [Contribution to the knowledge of the Haploops genus. 8.].

Four Haploops species collected in the North Atlantic Ocean are studied. One of them, H. islandica is a new species for the science. The three other species, H. carinata, H. setosa, H. robusta, were described from a long time, but many confusions exist about these species because their morphological nearness. The four species are described and illustrated in detail, and their distribution around the Iceland is specified. A key of the 23 species known nowadays is given permetting to separate the different species of the Haploops genus.

Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited.

In this paper, we reexamine the opportunistic polychaete/amphipod ratio, modifying it to allow estuarine and coastal communities to be divided into the five classes suggested by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The resulting biological index, called the BOPA index, considers the total number of individuals collected in the samples, the frequency of opportunistic polychaetes, and the frequency of amphipods (except the genus Jassa). After comparing this new index to AMBI and BENTIX, two other indices that have been proposed in the literature, we tested it in two situations involving soft-bottom communities in the English Channel (Bay of Morlaix and Bay of Seine). Our results show that the BOPA index is simple to use. Amphipods and opportunistic polychaetes (21 species, nine genus and two families from the AZTI list for a total of 3459 taxa) are easy to identify, providing that both the number of these organisms in a sample and the total number of individuals collected (independent of the sampling surface) is known. The BOPA is appropriate for use in the poorest communities whose total number of individuals exceeds 20 individuals.

Recent changes in estuarine benthic and suprabenthic communities resulting from the development of harbour infrastructure.

Using a Before/During/After sampling protocol, the effects of the Le Havre harbour extension, which was started at the end of 2001, on the macrobenthic and suprabenthic communities in the eastern Bay of Seine (English Channel) were examined. As the construction phase has not yet been completed, the results presented here reflect only the data collected before and during the operations (September 2000 and 2002 for benthos sampling and March 2001, September 2001, October 2002 and March 2003 for suprabenthos sampling). Although bio-sedimentary changes did occur at the mouth of the Seine river, an analysis of benthic assemblages reveals that the dredging and construction operations do not seem to have influenced assemblage structure or the spatial distribution of organisms. Comparisons of the suprabenthic assemblages at each sampling date indicate that seasonal dynamics was mainly responsible for determining species distribution. We conclude that, 1 year into the harbour management plan, the observed changes in benthic and suprabenthic assemblage abundance do not exceed the range of spatial variability that exists naturally in the Seine estuary. Despite this compensatory actions designed to protect the aquatic habitats and to preserve a sustainable and healthy ecosystem have been added to the infrastructure development plan.

Impact of the Aegean Sea oil spill on the subtidal fine sand macrobenthic community of the Ares-Betanzos Ria (Northwest Spain).

Two sites located in the sublittoral fine-sand macrobenthic community of the Ares-Betanzos Ria were sampled over four years (December 1992-November 1996) in the wake of the Aegean Sea oil spill. This sampling revealed that the petroleum had affected the structure and abundance of this community, as well as the number of taxa present. In this context, the results of the biotic index and the biotic coefficient were insufficient; however, study of the synthetic parameters, particularly through multivariate analysis, showed that the community went through three successive and distinct phases over time. A short period of high mortality in some species, especially amphipods, was followed by a period of low abundance that lasted until the spring of 1995. A period of recovery began in the second half of 1995 and continued through to the end of 1996, when the survey ended. The community showed a gradual evolution back towards the conditions observed immediately after the spill, when abundance of the more resistant species was still high. Despite this similarity, the last period exhibits a new structure, clearly separate from the two previous periods. This study provides information about the short-term effects of the Aegean Sea oil spill on the fine sand bottoms of the sites surveyed in the Ares-Betanzos Ria. This information could also serve as a baseline for identifying the effects of a more recent accident, the Prestige oil spill, in which similar communities in other Galician rias were polluted in 2002-2003.

Taxonomic level for assessing oil spill effects on soft-bottom sublittoral benthic communities.

Infralittoral soft-bottom macrofauna abundance data collected during four-year surveys after the Aegean Sea (Galicia, Spain) and the Amoco Cadiz oil spill (Brittany, France) at a total of seven sites were analysed at three different taxonomic levels (species, genus, and family). The effects of the spills on macrofauna populations were very similar in the two areas. The post-spill time-courses of Shannon-Weaver diversity values were similar regardless of whether species-, genus- or family-level data were used. Non-metric multidimensional scaling identified well-defined groups of samples corresponding to different times post-spill, and again the results obtained were very similar regardless of the taxonomic level considered. In general, the use of genus- or family-level data did not lead to relevant information loss by comparison with species-level data. In view of these findings and those of previous studies of this type, we conclude that family-level data is generally sufficient for monitoring pollution effects in infralittoral soft-bottom environments.