Macrobenthos Diversity of Egypt’s Coastal Wetlands

Abstract

Different studies have revealed that Egypt’s coastal wetlands have become more dulcitude, eutrophic, and productive ecosystems, owing to remarkable increase in amount of discharging agricultural drainage, loaded with nutrients, into the wetlands via the southern drains. Decreasing salinity and nutrients loading have led to significant impacts on biodiversity and abundance of macrobenthos in these wetlands, such as in Burullus. Thirty-four macrobenthic species, belonging to three main groups (Arthropoda, Annelida, and Mollusca) were recorded in this wetland during 2013. There was no sign of occurrence of eight marine species, which have been previously recorded in this ecosystem during the 1970s and 1980s of the last century. It is worth mentioning that 17 species (freshwater in origin) were recorded for the first time in the Burullus wetland during 2003.

On the other hand, the macrobenthic community in the saline Bardawil Wetland during the last decade hosted 51 species belonging to five phyla: Arthropoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Echinodermata, and Coelenterata. The abundance of macrobenthic species was closely correlated with the nature of bottom sediments, organic matter, and salinity. The long-term changes in the macrobenthos density of the Bardawil Wetland were attributed to changes in the fish community structure.