TITLE:
Foraminifera as Environmental Condition Indicators in Todos os Santos Bay (Bahia, Brazil)
AUTHORS:
Patrícia P. B. Eichler, André Rösch Rodrigues, Evelyn da Rocha Mendes Pereira, Beatriz Beck Eichler, Alicia Kahn, Helenice Vital
KEYWORDS:
Foraminifera, Marine Environmental Quality, Organic Matter, Eutrophication, Continental Runoff, Opportunistic
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.5 No.7,
July
28,
2015
ABSTRACT: The
environmental quality of the marine area close to the Landulpho Alves Oil
Refinery situated in Todosos Santos Bay (Bahia, Brazil) was assessed by
statistical methods on foraminiferal assemblages, with species tolerant to low
continental influence such as Ammonia
tepida, Elphidium excavatum, Pseudononion atlanticum and Quinqueloculina spp., and to high
organic matter such as Buliminella elegantissima and Bulimina marginata. We have found
that Bolivina pulchella, Pseudononion atlanticum, Fursenkoina pontoni, Buliminella elegantissima, Bolivina striatula, Bulimina marginata, Quinqueloculina spp., Ammonia
tepida, and Elphidium excavatum are
opportunistic and tolerant to high levels of accumulated organic matter, and
are associated to stations 6, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, located
mainly in the southern, outermost part of the Bay.