Benthic foramininifera; Biomonitoring; Biotic Index; Phosphogypsum; Pollution
El Kateb Akram, Beccari Valentina, Stainbank Stephanie, Spezzaferri Silvia, Coletti Giovanni (2020), Living (stained) foraminifera in the Lesser Syrtis (Tunisia): influence of pollution and substratum, in
PeerJ, 8, e8839-e8839.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Martínez-Colón Michael, Mateu-Vicens Guillem, Francescangeli Fabio, Coletti Giovanni, Stainbank Stephanie, Spezzaferri Silvia (2020), Foraminiferal-based biotic indices to assess the ecological quality status of the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia): Present limitations and future perspectives, in
Ecological Indicators, 111, 105962-105962.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Martínez-Colón Michael, Mateu-Vicens Guillem, Francescangeli Fabio, Coletti Giovanni, Stainbank Stephanie, Spezzaferri Silvia (2020), Foraminiferal-based biotic indices to assess the ecological quality status of the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia): Present limitations and future perspectives, in
Ecological Indicators, 111, 105962-105962.
El Kateb Akram, Rüggeberg Andres, Stalder Claudio, Neururer Christoph, Spezzaferri Silvia (2018), High-resolution monitoring of water temperature and oxygen concentration in Lake Murten (Switzerland), in
Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 111(3), 473-482.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Rüggeberg Andres, Neururer Christoph, Spangenberg Jorge, Spezzaferri Silvia (2018), Impact of industrial phosphate waste discharge on the marine environment in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia), in
PLoS ONE, 13(5), 1-30.
Jorissen Frans, Nardelli Maria Pia, Almogi-Labin Ahuva, Barras Christine, Bergamin Luisa, Bicchi Erica, El Kateb Akram, Ferraro Luciana, Morigi Caterina, Romano Elena, Sabbatini Anna, Schweizer Magali, Spezzaferri Silvia (2018), Developing Foram-AMBI for biomonitoring in the Mediterranean: Species assignments to ecological categories, in
Marine Micropaleontology, 140, 33-45.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Neururer Christoph, Fentimen Robin, Spangenberg Jorge, Spezzaferri Silvia (2018), Distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the transitional environment of the Djerba lagoon (Tunisia), in
Bridging gap and genetation in Swiss Sedimentology, SwitzerlandSpringer, Switzerland.
Spezzaferri Silvia, El Kateb Akram, Pisapia Chiara, Pamela Hallock (2018), IN SITU OBSERVATIONS OF FORAMINIFERAL BLEACHING IN THE MALDIVES, INDIAN OCEAN, in
Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 48(1), 75-84.
Pisapia Chiara, El Kateb Akram, Hallock Pamela, Spezzaferri Silvia (2017), Assessing coral reef health in the North Ari Atoll (Maldives) using the FoRAM Index, in
Marine Micropaleontology, 50-57.
Pisapia Chiara, El Kateb Akram, Spezzaferri Silvia (2017),
Baseline assessment of coral reefs of North Ari Atoll, Maldives, IUCN - Government of Maldives, Gland, Switzerland.
Coletti Giovanni, El Kateb Akram, Basso Daniela, Cavallo A., Spezzaferri Silvia (2017), Nutrient on fossil carbonate factories: Evidence from SEDEX extractions on Burdigalian limestones (Miocene, NW Italy and S France)., in
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeocology, 475, 80-92.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Neururer Christoph, Pisapia Chiara, Spezzaferri Silvia (2016), Correlation between pollution and decline of Scleractinian Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Gulf of Gabes, in
Helyon, (11), e00195.
Vertino Agostina, Spezzaferri Silvia, Rüggeberg Andres, Wheeler Andy, and the Eurofleets Moira Cruise Scientific Party (2015), A brief overview on cold-water coral ecosystems and facies, in
Cushman Foundation Special Publication, 41, 12-19.
Stalder Claudio, Székely-Szabolcs Flavius, El Kateb Akram, Van Rooji David, Spezzaferri Silvia (2015), Schackoinella spina, a new benthic foraminiferal species from cold-water coral ecosystems of the Alboran Sea and the Gulf of Cadiz, in
Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 45, 344-353.
El Kateb Akram, Stalder Claudio, Stainbank Stephanie, Fentimen Robin, Spezzaferri Silvia, The genus Amphistegina (benthic foraminifera): distribution along the southern Tunisian coast, in
Bioinvasion Record, 7.
In many coastal marine areas, human activities introduce distinctive pollutant, which can produce severe environmental alterations at different trophic levels of ecosystems. One of the most dangerous pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is due to phosphogypsum (PG), the major waste products deriving from the processing of phosphate rocks to produce phosphate fertilizers. Tunisia has been a leading country for more than a century for phosphate treatment. The more polluted regions are located along the coasts of the Gulf of Gabes (Sfax, Skhira and Gabes), where several industries have discharged large amounts of PG for the last fifty years with negative impact on the environment and biodiversity. Remediation measures were adopted from 2006 to 2008 in the Sfax area.Benthic foraminifera are unicellular micro-organisms presenting high density in the marine environment. Their short life cycle and their potential to fossilize, thus, providing information on the pre- industrial environmental status, make them excellent biomonitoring tools. A standard protocol, proposing common strategies of sample acquisition and treatment for benthic foraminiferal pollution monitoring based has only recently started to be developed in the Framework of the two Swiss SNF International Exploratory Workshops FOBIMO I and II.Aim of this project is to identify changes in living benthic foraminiferal assemblages in pre- and post- anthropogenic impact in the Gulf of Gabes, and to investigate the response of these organisms to PS pollution in the region. Box-core sampling is planned twice for the duration of the project strictly following the FOBIMO protocol. Living benthic foraminiferal assemblages will be quantitatively characterized. The concentration of phosphorus in sea water and sediments, organic matter, carbonate, and heavy metal content in sediments will be compared with the mineralogical composition of phosphate rocks, PG components dissolved in the sea-water and with benthic assemblage patterns. Based on the correlation between benthic fauna and geochemical proxies, benthic foraminifera ecological groups will be identified and use to assess environmental status. Short cores (60-70 cm) dated by 137Cs and 210Pb will provide essential information about changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages and in the environment through historical time. The specific objectives of this project are:a) to assess euthrophication in the Gulf of Gabes using geochemical proxies and benthic foraminifera; b) to trace variation in space (Sfax, Skhira and Gabes) and time (pre- and post- human impact) of benthic foraminiferal assemblages; c) to investigate the effects of uncontrolled PG pollution on benthic foraminiferal assemblages along Tunisian coasts; d) to evaluate the effects of existing remediation measures on benthic foraminiferal fauna, and to evaluate the timing of assemblage recovery; e) to help the FOBIMO members to develop “Biotic Indices” based on benthic foraminifera, as a case study within the Initiative; f) to increase public awareness about the health of Tunisian coasts and on the steps undertaken to protect them.