The role of benthic macrophytes and their associated macroinvertebrate community in coastal lagoon resistance to eutrophication

Eutrophication is widely recognised as one of the major menaces to coastal environments, particularly enclosed bays and lagoons. Although there is a general understanding of the consequences of eutrophication in these systems, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge concerning biotic feedbacks that influence eutrophication patterns and the resistance capacity of coastal environments.In this paper, the isotope ratios of main producers and consumers of a Mediterranean lagoon were examined in order to elucidate the fate of anthropogenic inputs from the main watercourse flowing into the lagoon.The results of the study of stable isotope data in the Mar Menor lagoon reflected that the whole benthic community plays an important role as a natural ‘filter’ that removes excess nutrients from the water column and stores them in the sediments, thereby enhancing lagoon resistance to eutrophication.