Title: Effect of heavy metal on Pinna nobilis distribution southern Mediterranean Sea: Bizerte lagoon

Biography:

Sarra Abidi is a Tunisian PhD student in biology at the University of El Manar Tunis (Tunisia), member of the laboratory of diversity management and conservation of biological systems. As part of her Ph.D. studies, she focuses contribution of the malacofauna in biomonotoring of southern Mediterranean lagoon:Bizerte lagoon and in quantifying industrials impacts that causing heavy metals pollution in aquatic ecosystems. She has her expertise in evaluation and passion in the environment protection. She is working to illuminate the various trade-offs of biodiversity conservation and inform the industrials that are responsible to attribute on conservation on aquatic ecosystems. She plans to continue her work on heavy metals industrials pollution in Tunisia, and is interested in assessing the implications of environmental policies on aquatic environment quality, energy use and human health. 

Abstract

The increase of anthropogenic activities is likely to influence populations of the endangered species Pinna nobilis. Here we estimate the population’s density of P. nobilis, in spring 2016, and we measured the effects of dissolved oxygen, salinity and heavy metal concentration (Fe, Zn, Cd and Ni) on its distribution, in shallow and thus usually most impacted areas around the Bizerte lagoon; southern Mediterranean sea. At eight evaluated sites. We find certain distinct densities ranging from (0 to 30 individuals/100 m2). These differences could be explained by heavy metal distribution, where station close the metallurgic industry at city of Menzel Bourguiba showed zero fan mussel densities. However, protected bivalves density was related to dissolved oxygen, hence, P. nobilis are regularly detected living within seagrass meadows, where dissolved oxygen is usually oversaturated due to strong photosynthesis. Despite the pressures generated in Bizerte lagoon, the P. nobilis populations remain important, in fact, conservation programs need to be established to protect species.