BENTHOS
Contents
Introduction
Types of Benthos
• By Substratum
• By size
• By type
• By location
• By mobility
Advantage of Benthos
Roles of Benthos In the Aquaic ecosystem
Impacts of trawling in the seabed & Bentic communities
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Benthos is the community of organisms that live on, in or near the seabed,
also Know as the benthic zone . This community lives in or near marine
sedimentary environments, from tidal pools Along the foreshore, out to the
continental shelf and then down to the abyssal depths . Many organisms
adapted to deep water pressure can not survive in the upper parts Of the
waer column. The pressure difference can be very significant.
The term Benthos is coined by Haeckel in 1891. Comes from the Greek,
meanng "depths of the sea" and refers collectively to organisms which live
on, in or near the bottom of the sea. Many organisms Adapted to deep water
pressure, cannot survive in the upper parts of water column.
TYPES OF BENTHOS
Benthic community is diversified from species including plants,
animal,and bacteria from diverse range of food chain . Benthic
organisms can be classified on the different basis.
By Substratum:
a. Infauna: Organisms that live in the sediment , e.g. worms, Giant clam
Common fire worm Giant Clam
b. Epifauna: Organisms which eiher attach to the bottom or substrate ,
e.g. Sponge, oyster,mussels,star fish, etc.
Star fish Pearl oyster
By Size
a. Macrobenthos : Macrobenthos are comparatively large organisms
living on or near in the bottom of water. e.g Seagrass , Echinoderms,
Sponges, Crustaceans, etc.
Sponge Seagrass
b. Meiobenthos: are the organisms that live in bottom of water of both
freshwater and marine water ecosystem.
e.g. Gastrotricha, water bears, ect.
Gastrotricha Water bear
c. Microbenthos: Is the community of species living in, on or
near the v
Bottom of water body
e.g. amoeba, Flagella, Bacteria, Diatoms, etc.
Diatoms
By type
a. Zoobenthos: the benthos those are animal original called
zoobenthos.
e .g. Starish , oyster, mussels,ect.
Mussels Oyster
b. Phytobenthos: Benthos those are plants origin are called
phytobenthos.
e.g. Seagrass, seaweeds,etc.
Seagrass Seaweeds
By Location
a. Endobenthos: Endobenthos use bottom of the sediment as
their habitat.
e.g. Sea pen, sand dollar , etc.
Sea pen Sand dollar
b. Epibenthos: Epibenthos use top of the sediments as their habitats.
e.g. cucumber, Sea snail, etc.
Sea cucumber Sea snail
c. Hyperbenthos: Hyperbenthos just live floating above the
sediments.
e.g. rock cod
Rock cod
By Mobility
a. Sessible benthos : Sessible benthos do not have any mobility
attaced or fixed with the substratum.
e.g. Benthic algae, Sea grasses, corral, etc.
Sea grasses Corral
b. Vagrant benthos : Vagrant benthos are those that have
locomotory powers and either they can move rapidly or slowly .
e.g. Crabs, stingray etc.
Crabs Stingray
ADVANTAGES OF BENTHOS
Benthos are good indicators of localized conditions of water quality
due to their limited mobility.
They are sensitive to environmental impacts from both point and
non-point source of pollution.
They integrate the effects of short term environmental variations.
They serve as the primary food source for many species of
commercially important fishes.
When monitored together with relevant chemical/physical
parameters, benthos communities can be used to identify source of
impairment.
They are holistic indicators of overall water quality.
ROLES OF BENTHOS IN THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
The benthic organisms are most versatile on the coastal zone
where the fish and other aquatic animals have multifaceted
to a vast array of effcts . Shallow maritime biological
community is highly affected by the gathering of human and
environmental changes. Benthic invertebrates functionally
play big roles in fish production.
Some important role of Benthos is given below
Essential for ecosystem - Benthos plays a big role in ecosystem by
decomposition.
Nutrition - Benthic invertebrates release good amount of nutrients
naturally by their feeding activities, excretion and burrowing into
sediments.
Remineralization- Benthos filter large amount of water and pump into their
bodies. By this activity sediment and organic matters washed out that is
called remineralized matter.
Food source - many fishes feed on small to medium size benthic organism
that live on sea floor, vital salt water fish community like haddock, catfish
as well as many freshwater fish eats benthos .
Increase oxygen - Many of benthic animals move actively on the bottom
and mix the sediments around them and improve the oxygen
concentration which help in higher production overall organisms.
IMPACTS OF TRAWLING ON THE SEABED & BENTHIC
COMMUNITIES
Destruction or damage to structurally complex habitats
Reduction in bioturbation
Death and damage to infuana and epifauna
Reduction in benthic species diversity
Re- suspension of sediments.
Attraction of seavengers
CONCLUSION
Benthos is the community of organisms that live on, in or near the
seabed. This community lives in or near sedimentary environments,
from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf and
then down to the abyssal depths.
Altough most of the benthos are very small size, but they play
important role in aquatic ecosystem as they act as bio-indicators, are
important as nutrient in different trophic levels of food chain & food-
web & have role in nutrient & Meniral cycling as they act as
decomposers. So that they represent all the trophc leves as
producer, consumer as well as decomposers.
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