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- Title
Impact of Environmental Factors on Zonation, Abundance, and Other Biological Parameters of Two Tunisian Populations of Talitrus Saltator (Amphipoda, Talitridae).
- Authors
Bouslama, Mohamed F.; El Gtari, Mohamed; Charfi-Cheikhrouha, Faouzia
- Abstract
Zonation, biology, and reproduction of two populations of Talitrus saltator (Amphipoda, Talitridae) were studied at two different beaches: Zouaraa and Korba, respectively, in the north and northeast of Tunisia. Sampling was carried out monthly or twice a month along a transect from the shoreline up to the dunes, from December 1998 to May 2000 at Zouaraa, and from December 2001 to December 2003 at Korba. Densities and mean zonations were calculated for each sampling period. Environmental factors (sand moisture, sand and air temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind direction and velocity, cloudiness, and atmospheric pressure) were simultaneously recorded and used to assess their influence on zonation, density, and other biological parameters of the species, notably the percentage of juveniles and the sex ratio. The two populations exhibited a similar zonation: a main distribution on the dunes in winter and near the shoreline in summer, and dispersion along the transect in autumn and spring. Moreover, juveniles occurred, in most cases, lower on the shore than adults, whereas no differences were observed between sexes. The two populations exhibited two different patterns of seasonal variation in density: at Zouaraa, the highest densities were recorded in winter and the lowest in summer, whereas at Korba, the population showed a totally opposite pattern. Furthermore, statistical analysis showed, from all the environmental parameters chosen, a main influence of temperature and sand moisture on the distribution and reproductive biology of Talitrus saltator.
- Subjects
TUNISIA; TALITRIDAE; INTERTIDAL zonation; SHORELINES; QUANTITATIVE research; SAND dunes; CRUSTACEAN sex ratio; EFFECT of temperature on reproduction; ANIMAL populations; SEASONAL variations in biogeochemical cycles
- Publication
Crustaceana, 2009, Vol 82, Issue 2, p141
- ISSN
0011-216X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1163/156854008X380255