Macrozoobenthic assemblage in two aquatic coastal ecosystems of Albania

Abstract

The composition and structure of the macrozoobenthic community in two Albanian coastal brackish basins were studied during 2007-2008. The benthic macrofauna was collected from soft bottom substrates at 4 littoral stations in Kune lagoon and at 5 stations in Butrinti coastal lake. The main hydrological parameters were recorded at each sampling time. The macrozoobenthic community structure was described as species richness, abundance, diversity, and evenness. A multivariate analysis was performed to discriminate between coastal ecosystems, sampling sites and seasons. Kune is a small shallow, euryhaline lagoon, where a total of 42 taxa were collected, the majority of which are common inhabiting the marine sheltered muddy-sands bottoms. Butrinti is a coastal lake with a permanent stratification of the water column, notwithstanding it is widely influenced by the sea, this affecting even the areas remote from the mouth and encouraging the entry of a high number of marine larvae. In this coastal lake, 49 taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were collected.