Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Experiences from Ground, Coastal and Transitional Water Quality Monitoring pp 201–225Cite as

Using MEDOCC (MEDiterranean OCCidental) Index to Evaluate the Ecological Status of Catalan Coastal Waters (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) Over Time and Depths

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 43))

Abstract

The Ecological Status (ES) of littoral coastal waters from Catalonia (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) has been evaluated between 2002 and 2010 using MEDOCC (MEDiterranean OCCidental) index. Macroinvertebrate assemblages inhabiting both littoral fine sands (<20 m depth) and littoral sandy muds (25–35 m depth) have been sampled. The relative abundance of four Ecological Groups (e.g., sensitive, indifferent, tolerant, and opportunistic taxa) has been studied along a disturbance gradient. Sensitive taxa are often present in disturbed situations, and tolerant species are usually associated with the presence of opportunistic taxa, both in fine sands and muddy sediments. Sensitive species dominate in sandy habitats, while tolerant species dominate in muddy bottoms. The ES of Catalan coastal waters measured with the samples collected in littoral fine sands has improved since 2002, and all locations rated above a good ES in 2010. The ES measured with the samples collected in littoral sandy muds was above a good ES although the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) was always lower than in littoral fine sands. Consequently, the ES of all water bodies was rated as good or high ES in 2010, and no water body was at risk of noncompliance of Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

EG:

Ecological Group

EGI:

Sensitive taxa

EGII:

Indifferent taxa

EGIII:

Tolerant taxa

EGIV:

Opportunistic taxa

EQR:

Ecological Quality Ratio

ES:

Ecological Status

LUSI:

Land Uses Simplified Index

MEDOCC:

MEDiterranean OCCidental

MPD:

Median Particle Diameter

OM:

Organic Matter

SC:

Percentage of Silt-Clay

WB:

Water Body

WFD:

Water Framework Directive

References

  1. EC (2000) Water Framework Directive. Directive 2000/60/EC, p 72

    Google Scholar 

  2. Pearson TH, Rosenberg R (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of marine environment. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 16:229–311

    Google Scholar 

  3. Dauer DM, Luckenbach MW, Rodi AJ Jr (1993) Abundance biomass comparison (ABC method): effects of an estuarine gradient, anoxic/hypoxic events and contaminated sediments. Mar Biol 116:507–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Tapp JF, Shillabeer N, Ashman CM (1993) Continued observations of the benthic fauna of the industrialised Tees estuary, 1979–1990. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 172:67–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Levin SA (2000) Multiple scales and the maintenance of biodiversity. Ecosystems 3:498–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Dauvin JC, Bellan G, Bellan-Santini D (2010) Benthic indicators: from subjectivity to objectivity – where is the line? Mar Pollut Bull 60:947–953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kröncke I, Reiss H (2010) Influence of macrofauna long-term natural variability on benthic indices used in ecological quality assessment. Mar Pollut Bull 60:58–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Weisberg SB, Ranasinghe JA, Dauer DM, Schaffner LC, Diaz RJ, Frithsen JB (1997) An estuarine benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 20:149–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Rosenberg R (2001) Marine benthic fauna successional stages and related sedimentary activity. Sci Mar 65:107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Pinto R, Patricio J, Baeta A, Fath BD, Neto JM, Marques JC (2009) Review and evaluation of estuarine biotic indices to assess benthic condition. Ecol Indic 9:1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rhoads DC, Yingst JY, Ullman WJ (1978) Seafloor stability in central Long Island Sound. Part I. Temporal changes in erodibility of fine-grain sediment. In: Wiley ML (ed) Estuarine interactions. Academic, New York, pp 221–244

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Majeed SA (1987) Organic matter and biotic indices on the beaches of north Brittany. Mar Pollut Bull 18:490–495

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Diaz RJ, Cutter GR Jr, Dauer DM (2003) A comparison of two methods for estimating the status of benthic habitat quality in the Virginia Chesapeake Bay. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 285–286:371–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Grémare A, Labrune C, Vanden Berghe E, Amouroux JM, Bachelet G, Zettler ML, Vanaverbeke J, Fleischer D, Bigot L, Maire O, Deflandre B, Craeymeersch J, Degraer S, Dounas C, Duineveld G, Heip C, Herrmann M, Hummel H, Karakassis I, Kedra M, Kendall M, Kingston P, Laudien J, Occhipinti-Ambrogi A, Rachor E, Sardà R, Speybroeck J, Van Hoey G, Vincx M, Whomersley P, Willems W, Wlodarska-Kowalczuk M, Zenetos A (2009) Comparison of the performances of two biotic indices based on the MacroBen database. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 382:297–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bustos-Baez S, Frid C (2003) Using indicator species to assess the state of macrobenthic communities. Hydrobiologia 496:299–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rosenberg R, Blomqvist M, Nilsson C, Cederwall H, Dimming A (2004) Marine quality assessment by use of benthic species-abundance distributions: a proposed new protocol within the European Union Water Framework Directive. Mar Pollut Bull 49:728–739

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Dauvin JC (2007) Paradox of estuarine quality: benthic indicators and indices, consensus or debate for the future. Mar Pollut Bull 55:271–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Bigot L, Grémare A, Amouroux J-M, Frouin P, Maire O, Gaertner JC (2008) Assessment of the ecological quality status of soft-bottoms in Reunion Island (tropical Southwest Indian Ocean) using AZTI marine biotic indices. Mar Pollut Bull 56:704–722

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gillett DJ, Weisberg SB, Grayson T, Hamilton A, Hansen V, Leppo EW, Pelletier MC, Borja A, Cadien D, Dauer D, Diaz R, Dutch M, Hyland JL, Kellogg M, Larsen PF, Levinton JS, Llansó R, Lovell LL, Montagna PA, Pasko D, Phillips CA, Rakocinski CJ, Ranasinghe A, Sanger DM, Teixeira H, Van Dolah RF, Velarde RG, Welch KI (2015) Effect of ecological group classification schemes on performance of the AMBI benthic index in US coastal waters. Ecol Indic 50:99–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Teixeira H, Borja A, Weisberg SB, Ananda Ranasinghe J, Cadien DB, Dauer DM, Dauvin JC, Degraer S, Diaz RJ, Grémare A, Karakassis I, Llansó RJ, Lovell LL, Marques JC, Montagne DE, Occhipinti-Ambrogi A, Rosenberg R, Sardá R, Schaffner LC, Velarde RG (2010) Assessing coastal benthic macrofauna community condition using best professional judgement – developing consensus across North America and Europe. Mar Pollut Bull 60:589–600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Pinedo S, Jordana E, Salas F, Subida MD, García Adiego E, Torres J (2012) Testing MEDOCC and BOPA indices in shallow soft-bottom communities in the Spanish Mediterranean coastal waters. Ecol Indic 19:98–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Pinedo S, Jordana E, Ballesteros E (2014) A critical analysis on the response of macroinvertebrate communities along disturbance gradients: description of MEDOCC (mediterranean occidental) index. Mar Ecol. doi:10.1111/maec.12126

    Google Scholar 

  23. Carvalho S, Barata M, Pereira F, Gaspar MB, Cancela da Fonseca L, Pousão-Ferreira P (2006) Distribution patterns of macrobenthic species in relation to organic enrichment within aquaculture earthen ponds. Mar Pollut Bull 52:1573–1584

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Blanchet H, Lavesque N, Ruellet T, Dauvin JC, Sauriau PG, Desroy N, Desclaux C, Leconte M, Bachelet G, Janson AL, Bessineton C, Duhamel S, Jourde J, Mayot S, Simon S, de Montaudouin X (2008) Use of biotic indices in semi-enclosed coastal ecosystems and transitional waters habitats—implications for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. Ecol Indic 8:360–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Munari C, Mistri M (2010) Towards the application of the Water Framework Directive in Italy: assessing the potential of benthic tools in Adriatic coastal transitional ecosystems. Mar Pollut Bull 60:1040–1050

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Guille A (1971) Bionomie benthique du plateu continental de la côte catalane française. IV. Densités, biomasses et variations saisonnières de la macrofaune. Vie Milieu 22:93–158

    Google Scholar 

  27. Picard J (1965) Rechèrches qualitatives sur les biocenoses marines de substrats meubles dragables de la region merseillaise. Rec Trav St Mar Endoume 36:1–160

    Google Scholar 

  28. Labrune C, Grémare A, Amouroux JM, Sardá R, Gil J, Taboada S (2007) Assessment of soft-bottom polychaete assemblages in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) based on a mesoscale survey. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 71:133–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Pinedo S, Sardá R, Martin D (1996) Seasonal dynamics and structure of soft-bottom assemblages in Blanes Bay (NW Mediterranean Sea). In: Duarte CM (ed) Seasonality in Blanes Bay: a paradigm of the Northwest Mediterranean Littoral. Publicaciones del Instituto Español de Oceanografía, p 22

    Google Scholar 

  30. Pinedo S (1998) Structure and dynamics of Western Mediterranean soft-bottom communities along a disturbance gradient. Natural and man-induced variability in the Bay of Blanes. Ph.D. thesis, Universitat de Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  31. Grémare A, Sardá R, Medernach L, Jordana E, Pinedo S, Amouroux JM, Martin D, Nozais C, Charles F (1998) On the dramatic increase of Ditrupa arietina O.F. Muller (Annelida: Polychaeta) along both the French and the Spanish Catalan coasts. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 47:447–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Sardá R, Pinedo S, Martin D (1999) Seasonal dynamics of macroinfaunal key species inhabiting shallow soft-bottoms in the Bay of Blanes (NW Mediterranean). Acta Oecol 20:315–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Pinedo S, García M, Satta MP, Torres M, Ballesteros E (2007) Rocky-shore communities as indicators of water quality: a case study in the Northwestern Mediterranean. Mar Pollut Bull 55:126–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Blasco J, González-Mazo E, Tovar-Sánchez A (2009) Urban pressures of the Spanish Mediterranean coasts: ecotoxicological and ecological issues in marine ecosystems. In: Angelidis M, Briand F, Cadiou J-F, Kholeif S, Oh J, Rodríguez-Baena A, Scoullos M (eds) Impact of large coastal Mediterranean cities on marines ecosystems. Workshop proceedings, Alexandria, pp 51–56

    Google Scholar 

  35. Olivos A, Masó M, Camp J (2002) Continental runoff of nutrients and their possible influence over stoichiometrical relations (DIN:P:Si) in the Northwest Mediterranean waters. Cienc Mar 28:393–406

    Google Scholar 

  36. Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (2005) Caracterització de masses d’aigua i anàlisi de risc d’incompliment dels objectius de la Directiva Marc de l’Aigua (2000/60/CE) a Catalunya (conques intra i intercomunitàries). Aigües costaneres i de transició. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. http://www.gencat.net

  37. Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (2010) Estat de le masses d’aigua a Catalunya 2007–2009. Resultats del programa de Seguiment i control. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. http://www.gencat.net

  38. Flo E, Garcés E, Manzanera M, Camp J (2011) Coastal inshore waters in the NW Mediterranean: physicochemical and biological characterization and management implications. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 93:279–289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Palanques A, Sánchez-Cabeza JA, Masqué P, León L (1998) Historical record of heavy metals in a highly contaminated Mediterranean deposit: the Besos prodelta. Mar Chem 61:209–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Palanques A, Masqué P, Puig P, Sánchez-Cabeza JA, Frignani M, Alvisi F (2008) Anthropogenic trace metals in the sedimentary record of the Llobregat continental shelf and adjacent Foix Submarine Canyon (Northwestern Mediterranean). Mar Geol 248:213–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Pinedo S, Jordana E, Flagella MM, Ballesteros E (2014) Relationships between heavy metals contamination in shallow marine sediments with industrial and urban development in Catalonia (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea). Water Air Soil Pollut 225:2084

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Palanques A, Diaz JI (1990) Contaminación de metales pesados en los sedimentos superficiales de la plataforma continental de Barcelona (Mediterráneo Nooccidental). Rev Soc Geol Esp 3:357–371

    Google Scholar 

  43. Palanques A, Diaz JI, Farran ML (1995) Contamination of heavy metals in the suspended and surface sediment of the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain): the role of sources, currents, pathways and sinks. Oceanol Acta 18:469–477

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Puig P, Palanques A, Sánchez-Cabeza JA, Masqué P (1999) Heavy metals in particulate matter and sediments in the southern Barcelona sedimentation system (North-western Mediterranean). Mar Chem 63:311–329

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Stamatis N, Ioannidou D, Christoforidis A, Koutrakis E (2002) Sediment pollution by heavy metals in the Strymonikos and Ierissos Gulfs, North Aegean Sea, Greece. Environ Monit Assess 80:33–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Radakovitch O, Roussiez V, Ollivier P, Ludwig W, Grenz C, Probst JL (2008) Input of particulate heavy metals from rivers and associated sedimentary deposits on the Gulf of Lion continental shelf. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 77:285–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Yuan H, Song J, Li X, Li N, Duan L (2012) Distribution and contamination of heavy metals in surface sediments of the South Yellow Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 64:2151–2159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Alonso Castillo ML, Sánchez Trujillo I, Vereda Alonso E, García de Torres A, Cano Pavón JM (2013) Bioavailability of heavy metals in water and sediments from a typical Mediterranean Bay (Málaga Bay, Region of Andalucía, Southern Spain). Mar Pollut Bull 76:427–434

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Golterman HL, Sly PG, Thomas RL (1983) Study of the relationships between water quality and sediment transport. Technical papers in Hydrology. UNESCO, Paris, p 231

    Google Scholar 

  50. Wentworth W (1922) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J Geol 30:377–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. EC (2008) Water Framework Directive. Directive 2008/105/EC

    Google Scholar 

  52. Borja A, Franco J, Pérez V (2000) A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments. Mar Pollut Bull 40:1100–1114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Poggiale JC, Dauvin JC (2001) Long-term dynamics of three benthic Ampelisca (Crustacea-Amphipoda) populations from the Bay of Morlaix (western English Channel) related to their disappearance after the ‘Amoco Cadiz’ oil spill. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 214:201–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Guerra-García JM, Corzo J, García-Gómez JC (2003) Short-term benthic recolonization after dredging in the harbour of Ceuta, North America. Mar Ecol 24:217–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Tataranni M, Maltagliati F, Floris A, Castelli A, Lardicci C (2009) Variance estimate and taxonomic resolution: an analysis of macrobenthic spatial patterns at different scales in a Western Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Mar Environ Res 67:219–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. de-la-Ossa-Carretero JA, Del-Pilar-Ruso Y, Giménez-Casalduero F, Sánchez-Lizaso JL, Dauvin JC (2012) Sensitivity of amphipods to sewage pollution. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 96:129–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Vincent C, Heinrich H, Edwards A, Nygaard K, Haythornthwaite J (2002) Guidance on typology, reference conditions and classification systems for transitional and coastal waters. Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy Working Group 2.4 COAST. European Commission, p 119

    Google Scholar 

  58. Borja A, Valencia V, Franco J, Muxika I, Bald J, Belzunce MJ, Solaun O (2004) The water framework directive: water alone, or in association with sediment and biota, in determining quality standards? Mar Pollut Bull 49:8–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Bald J, Borja A, Muxika I, Franco J, Valencia V (2005) Assessing reference conditions and physico-chemical status according to the European Water Framework Directive: a case-study from the Basque Country (Northern Spain). Mar Pollut Bull 50:1508–1522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Borja A, Dauer DM, Grémare A (2012) The importance of setting targets and reference conditions in assessing marine ecosystem quality. Ecol Indic 12:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Borja A, Muxika I, Rodríguez JG (2009) Paradigmatic responses of marine benthic communities to different anthropogenic pressures, using M-AMBI, within the European Water Framework Directive. Mar Ecol 30:214–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Borja A (2005) The European Water Framework Directive: a challenge for nearshore, coastal and continental shelf research. Cont Shelf Res 25:1768–1783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. CIS (2003) Overall approach to the classification of ecological status and ecological potential. Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy Working Group 2 A Ecological Status (ECOSTAT). Rome, p 53

    Google Scholar 

  64. Flo E, Garcés E, Camp J (2011b) Assessment pressure methodology Land Use Simplified Index (LUSI). MED GIG BQE Phytoplankton

    Google Scholar 

  65. Hily C, Glémarec M (1990) Dynamique successionalle des peuplements de fonds meubles au large de la Bretagne. Oceanol Acta 13:107–115

    Google Scholar 

  66. Karakassis I, Eleftheriou A (1997) The continental shelf of Crete: structure of macrobenthic communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 160:185–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Gambi MC, Giangrande A (1986) Distribution of soft-bottom polychaetes in two coastal areas of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy): structural analysis. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 23:847–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Simboura N, Nicolaidou A, Thessalou-Legaki M (2000) Polychaete communities of Greece: an ecological overview. Mar Ecol 21:129–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Probert PK, Read GB, Grove SL, Rowden AA (2001) Macrobenthic polychaete assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off the west coast of the South Island, New Zealand. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 35:971–984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Díaz-Castañeda V, Harris LH (2004) Biodiversity and structure of the polychaete fauna from soft bottoms of Bahía Todos Santos, Baja California, México. Deep Sea Res Part II 51:827–847

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Dauvin JC, Ruellet T (2007) Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited. Mar Pollut Bull 55:215–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Palanques A, Diaz JI (1994) Anthropogenic heavy metal pollution in the sediments of the Barcelona continental shelf (Northwestern Mediterranean). Mar Environ Res 38:17–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Cardell MJ, Sardà R, Romero J (1999) Spatial changes in sublittoral soft-bottom polychaete assemblages due to river inputs and sewage discharges. Acta Oecol 20:343–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Kinoshita K, Tamaki S, Yoshioka M, Srithonguthai S, Kunihiro T, Hama D, Ohwada K, Tsutsumi H (2008) Bioremediation of organically enriched sediment deposited below fish farms with artificially mass-cultured colonies of a deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp. I. Fish Sci 74:77–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (2009) Memòries de l’Agència Catalana de l’Aigua. Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. http://www.gencat.net

  76. Got H, Aloisi JC, Monaco A (1985) Sedimentary processes in Mediterranean deltas and shelves. In: Stanley DJ, Wezel FC (eds) Geological evolution of the Mediterranean Basin. Springer, New York, pp 355–376

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  77. Luoma SN, Dagovitz R, Axtmann E (1990) Temporally intensive study of trace metals in sediments and bivalves from a large river-estuarine system: Suisun Bay/delta in San Francisco Bay. Sci Total Environ 97(98):685–712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Watzin MC, Roscigno PR (1997) The effects of zinc contamination on the recruitment and early survival of benthic invertebrates in an estuary. Mar Pollut Bull 34:443–455

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  79. Mucha AP, Vasconcelos MTSD, Bordalo AA (2003) Macrobenthic community in the Douro estuary: relations with trace metals and natural sediment characteristics. Environ Pollut 121:169–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Mayer-Pinto M, Underwood AJ, Tolhurst T, Coleman RA (2010) Effects of metals on aquatic assemblages: what do we really know? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 391:1–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Lo Iacono C, Orejas C, Gori A, Gili JM, Requena S, Puig P, Ribó M (2012) Habitats of the Cap de Creus continental shelf and Cap de Creus canyon, Northwestern Mediterranean. In: Harris PT, Baker EK (eds) Seafloor geomorphology as benthic habitat. Elsevier, London, pp 457–469

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgements are due to Agència Catalana de l’Aigua and to the Govern de les Illes Balears, for providing the funding for the development of MEDOCC index. We are especially grateful to Agència Catalana de l’Aigua and Intramural-CSIC project reference 201330E065 for providing funds for this study. The authors are grateful to R. Arévalo, N. Fernández, M. M. Flagella, M. García, P. López, S. Mariani, M. P. Mura, M. P. Satta, M. Terradas, X. Torras, and B. Weitzmann for their help in the field and in sorting and identifying samples. We also acknowledge J. Gil, S. Mariani, M. P. Mura, and M. P. Satta in the identification of species. Finally thanks are due to M. de Torres for her constant support during this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, Accés Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Girona, Spain

    Susana Pinedo, Esther Jordana & Enric Ballesteros

  2. Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge, Agència Catalana de l’Aigua, Generalitat de Catalunya, C/Provença 204-208, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Manzanera

Authors
  1. Susana Pinedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Esther Jordana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marta Manzanera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Enric Ballesteros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susana Pinedo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Quality and Monitori, Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Munné

  2. Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Ginebreda

  3. Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain

    Narcís Prat

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pinedo, S., Jordana, E., Manzanera, M., Ballesteros, E. (2015). Using MEDOCC (MEDiterranean OCCidental) Index to Evaluate the Ecological Status of Catalan Coastal Waters (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) Over Time and Depths. In: Munné, A., Ginebreda, A., Prat, N. (eds) Experiences from Ground, Coastal and Transitional Water Quality Monitoring. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2015_375

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation