Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown
An Excellent Opportunity to Study the Effects of Trawling Disturbance on Macrobenthic Fauna in the Shallow Waters of the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Central Mediterranean Sea)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15470396 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nawfel Mosbahi (0000-0003-3285-0387, University of Sfax, corresponding author), Jean‐Philippe Pezy (0000-0002-8293-5090, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Jean–Claude Dauvin (0000-0001-8361-5382, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Lassâd Neifar (0000-0002-2690-5233, University of Sfax) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1282-1282 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph19031282 |
| PMID | 35162301 |
| OpenAlex | W4210765743 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 64 |
This study describes for the first time in the central Mediterranean Sea the effects of bottom trawling on macrobenthic fauna in tidal channels of the Kneiss Islands in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia. Following a BACI protocol, two control stations (protected by artificial reefs) and two trawled stations (impacted stations) were sampled during a period with the absence of bottom trawling activity (the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period from March to May 2020) and during a trawled period. Although bottom trawling had no impact on sediment composition, this anthropogenic activity reduced the concentration of dissolved oxygen and had a noticeable effect on water column turbidity. The absence of trawling led to a significant increase in biomass, number of species, and abundance of total macrofauna. This illustrated the negative effect of trawling activity in shallow waters and the high resilience of macrobenthic communities of the tidal ecosystem of the Kneiss Islands. In the future, it would be very important to control the use of this destructive fishing gear due to its negative impact on the marine habitat and macrofauna, which represents essential prey for fishes and birds living in this protected area
Benthic zone · Benthos · Biology · Biomass (ecology · Bottom trawling · Fauna · Fishery · Fishing · Mediterranean climate · Trawling · Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies · Environmental Science · Marine and fisheries research · Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography
| Highly cited | No |
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