Integrating Feeding Diversity Indices with Traditional Environmental Quality Indicators in the Assessment of Marine Ecosystems: A Statistical Study of the Benthic Community in the Ibn Hani Area (Northern Latakia)

Abstract

Marine ecosystems are increasingly exposed to disturbances caused by human activities and climate change. Therefore, there is a growing need to assess their ecological status using tools and indices that can evaluate changes in the structure and functions of biological communities. This study aimed to calculate feeding diversity indices for benthic invertebrates and to study their relationships with biodiversity indices and the ecological quality indices AMBI and BENTIX, exploring the possibility of using feeding diversity indices as complementary indicators for assessing the ecological status of the benthic community in the subtidal zone of the Ibn Hani area, north of Latakia. The study was based on benthic community data collected during 12 sampling events. Biodiversity and feeding diversity indices were calculated, along with AMBI and BENTIX, and their relationships were examined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. The feeding diversity indices showed variation among the sampling events, and the proportions of feeding groups also showed differences in the trophic structure of the benthic community. Correlation analysis showed statistically significant relationships between biodiversity and feeding diversity indices, particularly with the H′_FD feeding diversity index. In contrast, AMBI and BENTIX did not show statistically significant correlations with the feeding diversity indices. These results suggest that combining feeding diversity indices with biodiversity and ecological quality indices may enhance the accuracy of assessing the ecological status of the benthic community.