Seagrass meadow and macrofauna communities in Southern coast of Algerian Basin (El Mellah Lagoon), 2019

This dataset is the main part of a study conducted monthly throughout 2019 at three stations selected due to their combined continental and marine influences. The study aimed to assess the health status of the El Mellah lagoon. The analysis of the spatio-temporal variation of angiosperms reveals significant changes in their distribution within the lagoon, which appear to be linked to fluctuations in the environmental conditions of El Mellah. It is observed that Zostera noltei (Hornemann, 1832) dominates the stations influenced by freshwater, while Ruppia maritima (Linnaeus, 1753) dominates the northern part of the lagoon, where the influence of marine waters is more pronounced.

The invasive species Arcuatula senhousia, which was first observed in June 2019 in El Mellah, has been found attached to the leaves and rhizomes of Zostera noltei, and to a lesser extent, on the empty shells of the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum. Since its introduction, it has dominated the bivalve community in El Mellah with a maximum density of 1321 ± 1167 ind.m-2. This phenomenon can lead to a decline in the biodiversity of the lagoon, particularly affecting the Zostera noltei seagrass and the threatened Cerastoderma glaucum species. It is necessary to conduct comprehensive studies to assess the impact of Arcuatula senhousia in the El Mellah lagoon to implement appropriate conservation and restoration measures to preserve the integrity of the ecosystem.#34;

Default

IdentificationAbout this resource

Alternate Identifier

10.15468/hsqufs

Alternate Identifier

8e2dff47-ef84-4545-8174-217b17a5e8eb

Alternate Identifier
https://ipt.medobis.eu/resource?r=mammeria
Publication Date
2026-05-01
Title

Seagrass meadow and macrofauna communities in Southern coast of Algerian Basin (El Mellah Lagoon), 2019

Abstract

This dataset is the main part of a study conducted monthly throughout 2019 at three stations selected due to their combined continental and marine influences. The study aimed to assess the health status of the El Mellah lagoon. The analysis of the spatio-temporal variation of angiosperms reveals significant changes in their distribution within the lagoon, which appear to be linked to fluctuations in the environmental conditions of El Mellah. It is observed that Zostera noltei (Hornemann, 1832) dominates the stations influenced by freshwater, while Ruppia maritima (Linnaeus, 1753) dominates the northern part of the lagoon, where the influence of marine waters is more pronounced.

The invasive species Arcuatula senhousia, which was first observed in June 2019 in El Mellah, has been found attached to the leaves and rhizomes of Zostera noltei, and to a lesser extent, on the empty shells of the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum. Since its introduction, it has dominated the bivalve community in El Mellah with a maximum density of 1321 ± 1167 ind.m-2. This phenomenon can lead to a decline in the biodiversity of the lagoon, particularly affecting the Zostera noltei seagrass and the threatened Cerastoderma glaucum species. It is necessary to conduct comprehensive studies to assess the impact of Arcuatula senhousia in the El Mellah lagoon to implement appropriate conservation and restoration measures to preserve the integrity of the ecosystem.#34;

Dataset Language

ENGLISH

 
Dataset Creator
Dataset Creator
Metadata Provider
Dataset Contact
Keywords (none)

  • Climate Change

Keywords (GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml)

  • Occurrence

Keywords (https://marineregions.org/gazetteer.php?p=detailsid=14845)

  • Algerian coast

  • coastal lagoon

Keywords (none)

  • invasive species

Geographic Coverage

Geographic Description

Station1 : 36.877220N; 8.330830E

Station2 : 36.887220N; 8.314440E

Station3 36.909440N; 8.314440E

Bounding Box

West Bounding Coordinate

8.282

East Bounding Coordinate

8.37

North Bounding Coordinate

36.955

South Bounding Coordinate

36.847

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

2019-02-20

End Date

2019-12-20

Taxonomic Coverage

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name

Phylum

Taxonomic Rank Value

Mollusca

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name

Phylum

Taxonomic Rank Value

Tracheophyta

resourceLicensesLicense Information

Intellectual Rights

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

.

Resource License

License Name

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

URL
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html
Identifier

CC-BY-4.0

 

Distribution

Online

URL
https://ipt.medobis.eu/archive.do?r=mammeria
 

Additional Metadata

Metadata

GBIF Metadata Block

Date Stamp

2026-05-10T00:00:00Z

Citation

HAMZA H, De Wit R, Mammeria A B (2026). Seagrass meadow and macrofauna communities in Southern coast of Algerian Basin (El Mellah Lagoon), 2019. Version 1.17. Hellenic Center for Marine Research. Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hsqufs accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-05-10.

Bibliography

Hamza Hadjer, Beya Mammeria Aicha, Bain Abdelmadjid, de Wit Rutger, Klein Judith (2022). First record of the invasive Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia (Benson, 1842) in El Mellah Lagoon (Southern coast of Algerian Basin, Western Mediterranean). Bioinvasions Records. 11 (3). 686-699. https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00788/90034/

 

Project

• Project

Title

North-South Partnership

Abstract

Since 1964, various coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea (i.e., coastal lagoons, river deltas and harbours) have been invaded by the Asian date mussel A. senhousia. The dataset is part of the study that represents a new record of this invasive species in El Mellah Lagoon, representing the first report from coastal systems on the southern coast of the Algerian Basin (Western Mediterranean).

Funding

This project was partly funded by the MARBEC research centre through its IRD-supported “North-South Partnership” funding programme.

Study Area Description

Descriptor

El Mellah Lagoon is the only shallow, brackish coastal lagoon in Algeria and is located in the El-Kala National Park (UNESCO biosphere reserve) in north-eastern Algeria (36.89290N; 8.32623E). This lagoon is only connected to the Mediterranean Sea through a single long (900 m) and narrow (10–20 m) inlet.

Design Description

Description

Benthic samples were collected monthly in the shallow subtidal (0.3 m to 0.5 m depth) at three stations in El Mellah Lagoon from February to December 2019.

 
 

Methods

• Method

Method Step

Description

none

Sampling

Study Extent

El Mellah Lagoon, Algeria

Sampling Description

Samples were collected monthly in the shallow subtidal (0.3 m to 0.5 m depth) at three stations in El Mellah Lagoon from February to December 2019.

qualityControl

Description

The taxonomy mapped to WoRMS; while for locations the coordinateUncertaintyInMeters was added for the Station 1 and station 3 because the coordinates were on the land. This can be justified by the fact that the lagoon surface periodically changes.