Hydrobiology of Lebanon: The impact of human activities on the benthic community of the Aaray stream (a tributary of the Awwali river)

摘要

The object of this study is to assess the impact of human activities on the benthic community of the Aaray Stream, the principal tributary of the Awwali river. The upstream water of the Aaray stream is polluted by human activity. Organic pollution causes a deterioration in the physico-chemical quality of the water as shown by the concentrations of nitrates, nitrites, ammonium, phosphates and others shown. This is shown to result in a significant impoverishment of the benthic community as exemplified by several invertebrate groups studied.