Application of up-to-date environmental indices for assessment of seawater

Abstract

Abstract. The paper discusses the indices for assessment of the ecological status of seawater which are applied in the studies of algae and macrozoobenthic communities in the Bulgarian Black Sea territorial waters. They are applicable to contemporary environmental assessments in accordance with the European directives on environmental protection. Presented are also studies carried out in recent years on marine plants and bottom organisms and the resulting conclusions. The result was that we identified the ecological status of the marine ecosystem on BQE phytoplankton, macrophytobenthos and macrozoobentos from “moderate” to “good” in the period of investigation.

Keywords

• Black Sea
• phytoplankton
• macrophytobenthos
• indices for environmental assessment