Faunistic diversity of Maltese pocket sandy and shingle beaches : are these of conservation value?

The littoral fauna of Maltese sandy and shingle beaches is generally regarded as impoverished and consequently of little conservation interest. The fauna of three sandy and three shingle beaches was systematically sampled by coring, standardised searching and pitfall traps. Diversity and population density were highest at the surface for sandy beaches, but were highest below the surface for shingle. The two beach types had distinct suites of species and individual beaches were faunistically distinct. Maltese sandy and shingle beaches are of conservation importance for their habitat-restricted species, some of which have limited local and regional distributions, and are internationally protected.peer-reviewe

Environmental monitoring at St George’s Bay (Malta) in connection with beach replenishment works

This study was financed by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) through contract dated 14th April 2004 and tender MTA/104/2004 dated 26th November 2004, both awarded to Ecoserv.Adverse impacts of coastal beach replenishment projects on the marine environment are well documented. As a result, coastal managers have been seeking ways and techniques with which to implement beach replenishment projects without causing adverse changes to marine ecosystems. In May 2004, the Malta Tourism Authority undertook beach replenishment at St George’s Bay (St Julians, Malta) in which coarse sediment of terrestrial origin, having a mean grain size of 2 mm, was deposited at the head of the bay to create an artificial beach. An extensive 2-year (January 2004 to December 2005) environmental monitoring programme was commissioned by the MTA to monitor the potential impacts of the replenishment works on the marine environment. The programme included surveys of physico-chemical attributes (beach and seabed profile surveys, granulometric analysis and microscopic examination of sublittoral sediments, and water quality studies), and use of seagrass as a bioindicator of environmental quality. For most of the attributes surveyed, data was collected from stations located within the putatively ‘impacted’ inlet, and from control stations before initiation of the works and following the beach replenishment works. Data for mean sediment grain size, water quality attributes (salinity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids and nutrients) and seagrass morphometric parameters (shoot density, length and biomass of adult leaves, and shoot epiphyte biomass) were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Overall, the results of the various monitoring components indicated that (i) no major transport of sediment from the beach to the sublittoral had occurred, and (ii) the beach replenishment works did not result in any adverse impacts on the marine environment. Good project planning and management, the relatively sheltered location of the replenished beach, together with appropriate choice of grain size of the sand used for replenishment appear to have contributed to the success of the project.peer-reviewe