First Report on the Benthic Invertebrate Community Associated With a Bronze Naval Ram From the First Punic War: A Proxy of Marine Biodiversity

Historical traces of organisms on the seafloor, such as shells and tubes, constitute the ecological memory of ancient benthic assemblages and serve as an important resource for understanding the assembly of modern communities. Archeological shipwrecks are particularly interesting submerged substrata for both their archeological and biological implications. For the first time, we studied the species composition and life-history traits of dominant organisms in the benthic assemblage on a bronze Carthaginian naval ram, which sank more than two thousand years ago in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. By comparing the species composition of the ram assemblage with those of the surrounding habitats, we inferred possible colonization patterns for the ram and discussed the informative role of the shipwreck as a proxy of marine biodiversity. The ram assemblage was rich in species, including both sessile (bryozoans, serpulid polychaetes, and few bivalves) and motile (gastropods) species. Sexual reproduction with free-spawning fertilization and long-duration larvae characterized most species. The long submersion time of the ram, together with the reproductive strategies, growth forms, and motility of the dominant species were key factors shaping the community of the ram. The ram itself offers an archeological artifact of inestimable value, but our analysis revealed it to be an effective collector of fauna from the surrounding seabed. The ram community hosted species from a range of nearby natural habitats (mostly coralligenous, detritic bottoms, and zoosteracean meadows) and thus served as a proxy for marine biodiversity on the surrounding seabed. We conclude that the presence of many species on the ram that commonly occur in adjacent habitats of great environmental value was informative and highlight the important marine biodiversity in the area of the Aegadian archipelago.

Komunitas makroinvertebrata bentik di perairan Situ Cibuntu, Jawa Barat

Situ Cibuntu, is one of urban ponds located in Bogor Regency, West Java. With a maximum surface area of 11 ha and maximum depth of 1,20 m, the pond serves as irrigation for nearby agricultural fields and recreational fishing. Located in relatively high urban pressure, the pond is highly affected by domestic, agricultural and industrial inflow which can influence the biotic community such as benthic macroinvertebrate. We studied benthic invertebrate community structure in Situ Cibuntu from October to November 2018 to determine the role of environmental factors on benthic macroinvertebrates. Samples were collected biweekly from five sampling points using an Ekman sediment grab with three replicates. Our study revealed 16 species of benthic macroinvertebrates belonging to four classes including Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Clitellata, and Insecta. Melanoides tuberculata species was found to have the highest abundance with an average abundance of 858 individuals/m2. Shanon-Wiener Diversity Index shows a relatively low diversity ranged from 0.61 to 1.26, while evenness index ranged from 0.36 to 0,66. Simpson Dominance Index ranged from 0.24 to 0.93.Keywords:DominanceCommunityAbundanceDiversityBenthic MacroinvertebratePond CibuntuABSTRAKSitu Cibuntu merupakan salah satu situ urban (urban pond) yang terletak di Kabupaten Bogor, Provinsi Jawa Barat. Situ Cibuntu yang memiliki luas permukaan 2,11 ha dengan kedalaman maksimum 1,20 m dimanfaatkan sebagai sumber irigasi pertanian dan sarana pemancingan ikan. Situ di kawasan perkotaan dapat mengalami tekanan karena pengaruh limbah domestik, pertanian, dan industri yang dapat mempengaruhi komunitas biotik seperti makroinvertebrata bentik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui komunitas makroinvertebrata bentik di perairan Situ Cibuntu. Penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Oktober hingga November 2018 di lima stasiun pengamatan. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan sebanyak tiga kali dengan interval waktu dua minggu. Sampel makroinvertebrata bentik diambil dari sedimen pada setiap stasiun dengan menggunakan Ekman grab sebanyak tiga kali ulangan. Secara keseluruhan ditemukan 16 spesies makroinvertebrata bentik yang tergolong ke dalam empat kelas meliputi Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Clitellata, dan Insekta. Spesies Melanoides tuberculata memiliki kelimpahan tertinggi dengan nilai rata-rata sebesar 858 individu/m2. Keanekaragaman makroinvertebrata bentik tergolong rendah hingga sedang dengan nilai indeks Shanon Wiener (H’) berkisar 0,61-1,26. Nilai indeks kemerataan Pielou (E) berkisar 0,36-0,66, sedangkan indeks dominansi Simpson (D) berkisar 0,24-0,93.Katakunci:DominansiKomunitasKelimpahanKeanekaragamanMakroinvertebrata bentikSitu Cibuntu

IMPACT OF WASIT POWER PLANT EFFLUENTS ON BIODIVERSITY OF BENTHIC FAUNA IN TIGRIS RIVER, PROVINCE WASIT/ IRAQ

The aim of environmental study is to investigate the effects of the discharge of Wasit power plant in Al-Zubaidiya city on the physical- chemical factors and biodiversity of benthic invertebrates community of Tigris River, for a period from October 2017 to Augusts 2018. The total number of benthic invertebrates in four stations was 12866 individual. These benthic invertebrates belonged to 8 taxonomic units. This study includes some statistical environmental indexes (Relative abundance index, Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index, Species Uniformity Index, Species Richness Index and Jaccard Index). The results reveal that the environmental indexes were decreased at station 2 and thermal Wasit power plant negatively effects benthic invertebrate community at station 2 near the effluent waste pipe site.

Ecology and biology of Hydrozetes paulista (Acari: Oribatida) in the benthic zone of a temporary lake in Brazil

Oribatid mites are mainly terrestrial animals, but some are aquatic, including all species of the genus Hydrozetes (Hydrozetidae). They have often been recorded in abundance on the water’s surface, while their presence in the benthic zone is poorly documented. A litterbag experiment was carried out in Coutos Lake, a shallow temporary lake in Southeast Brazil, in order to study the ecology and biology of Hydrozetes paulista. This mite species greatly dominated the benthic invertebrate community (82%), and at the end of the experiment it reached a density (652 individuals per 1 g of dry substrate) higher than that ever previously reported before for any Hydrozetes species. This density was correlated with some water parameters, stronger with conductivity, and less with temperature. The adults dominated in the stage structure (constituting over 80% of sample population), but the participation of the juveniles increased with the time. Larvae were first noticed on 25th day of experiment and after that were present for the rest of the season. During the course of this experiment, mite fecundity and body size decreased. This species is known as bisexual, but we observed only females in the 5354 adults we collected.