Macrobenthic community structure of soft-bottom sediments in the Khnifiss lagoon,South of Morocco

Located in the coastal sahara,south of morocco,and constituting the only lagoon of the whole saharian bioclimatic stage,the national park of khnifiss plays an essential role for many benthic species. in the course of this study,a prospection of the lagoon was carried out,with the principal aim of conducting the cartography of the benthic fauna. fifty seven taxa were identified,mainly of molluscs,crustaceans,and polychaetes. the abundance and the specific richness found in the lagoon prove that this ecosystem is still in good health. however,projects for aquaculture and tourism probably will disturb this fragile and original ecosystem. an integrated management of the national park of khnifiss must be established to reconcile all these projects,and so improve the living conditions of the local populations while preserving the biodiversity. this work was conducted under the auspices of the hubert curien program volubilis with the financial support of the french and moroccan ministries.