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The present work is a part of the impact study of the tourist resort "Taghazout Bay" installation on the coast of Taghazout (North of the Agadir bay). The purpose of this study was to assess the initial state of the macrozoobenthic structure present in the intertidal sands at the three study stations over the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The biological approach was accompanied by the study of some physico-chemical parameters of the seawater (temperature, pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen) and the study of the sediment (grading structure, classification, and contents in organic matter). PCA analysis identified a perfect correlation between the physico-chemical parameters. The sediment contains three grading classes only (medium sand, fine sand, and very fine sand), very well classified with normal proportions of organic matter. The study of intertidal benthic macrofauna of the sandy substrate shows ten species and spatiotemporal variations with a clear dominance of the Donax trunculus bivalve species. The authors noticed - from the DIMO model - that the variation profile of the spring and summer (2016 and 2017) shows a community dynamics called "Diversity type". In winter and in autumn, they are known as the "Evenness type". The rank-frequency diagram explains that the benthic community of Taghazout sandy coast exists in the stage "Pioneer 1". The ascending hierarchical clustering gave three logical gatherings of seasons. The faunistic structure of this benthic community revealed the M>C>P shape. The authors also noticed that there is diversity in regimes in this ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine environment plays a major socio-economic role in the Agadir region (south-west Morocco). This area, which hosts important fishery resources, is currently not spared from the pollutants produced in the course of agricultural, domestic, industrial and tourist development. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the Taghazout bay tourist resort on the bacteriological and physicochemical quality of the coastal waters of Taghazout. The seawater samples were collected between March 2016 and March 2018 at three sampling sites (S1, S2 and S3) in order to monitor the concentrations of fecal coliforms (FC), fecal streptococci (FS) and total germs (TG). The results of physicochemical parameters show seasonal fluctuations influenced by climatic factors. The spatio-temporal monitoring of the bacteriological parameters shows that the average total germ count is 127.05 CFU/100 ml, 39.61 CFU/100 ml for fecal coliforms and 15.21 CFU/100 ml for fecal streptococci. The values of FC80, FC95 and FS90 do not exceed the guide values of the Moroccan standards. This classifies the Taghazout beach in category A (good quality of bathing water). The monitoring analysis recorded by the Pearson correlation test between the environmental parameters and the level of fecal bacteria showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the FC concentrations and rainfall; the FS concentrations showed significant positive correlations with all the environmental parameters while the TG concentrations indicate no correlation with them. The fecal contamination parameters should be routinely monitored for improving the environmental conditions of coastal cities. This must be the case for the Taghazout coastline where a regular monitoring program must be established to evaluate the impact of the new tourist resort "Taghazout bay" on the environmental quality of this ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment is a crucial step in preserving public health and the environment. The quality of treated wastewater depends on the efficiency of the treatment system, which necessitates the evaluation of effluent quality. This is the first study to evaluate the efficiency of three treatment processes used to treat wastewater in Agadir, Morocco. Microbial biodiversity was characterized at the inlet and outlet of three treatment plants based on sequencing of seven hypervariable regions of the 16 S rRNA gene. Based on the relative abundance of bacterial biodiversity between the inflow and effluent of AOURIR and ANZA WWTPs, activated sludge emerges as the more efficacious treatment in comparison to lamellar decantation. These two treatments reduced the relative abundances and even eliminated several bacteria, including pathogenic bacteria. However, the primary M'ZAR treatment increased bacterial biodiversity from the influent to the effluent, which requires secondary and tertiary treatments to eliminate pathogenic bacteria and prevent environmental pollution. This study demonstrates the importance of assessing effluent quality to protect public health and the health of systems that receive effluents. [Display omitted] • Quality of wastewater treatment in Agadir, Morocco. • Bacterial communities at the inlet and outlet of three wastewater treatment plants • Activated sludge is the most effective treatment used followed by lamellar decantation. • The need for continuous monitoring of potential pathogens at wastewater treatment plants [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Agadir Bay, a study evaluated pollution biomarkers in the mollusk species Patella vulgata. Samples were collected seasonally from September 2021 to September 2022 at two distinct coastal sites within Agadir Bay: Cap Ghir and Anza Beach. Notable variations were observed in biomarkers like malondialdehyde, with a peak at 10.62 nmol/mg P in spring 2022 at Anza Beach. Catalase activity spiked in spring at 69.56 µmol/min/mg P for Cap Ghir and 72.73 µmol/min/mg P for Anza Beach. Acetylcholinesterase showed a decrease at 9.84 nmol/min/mg P in autumn at Anza Beach. Meanwhile, glutathione-S-transferase recorded an increase to 317.96 nmol/min/mg P at Cap Ghir in spring 2022. Using the Integrated Biomarker Response (IBR), these results were visualized, highlighting more stress in mollusks from Anza Beach compared to Cap Ghir. This research provides critical insights into the environmental effects on P. vulgata and potential conservation strategies. [Display omitted] • Patella vulgata is used to monitor pollution levels by researchers. • The IBR index confirms that Anza beach is more exposed to chemical stress than Cap Ghir. • Biomarker analysis shows heightened pollution stress in Anza beach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative diagnosis of the current state of marine litter along the northern coastline of Agadir, located on the central Atlantic coast of Morocco. For this, three beaches were surveyed: Taghazout beach, Aourir beach, and Anza beach. Litter densities were highest at Anza beach (D = 1.041 items/m2), followed by Aourir beach (D = 0.339 items/m2), and then Taghazout beach (D = 0.226 items/m2). Plastics represent 79% of all collected items, and they are mainly composed of caps/lids, food containers, other plastic, cigarette butts and filters, polystyrene pieces, small plastic bags, and drink bottles. Metal is the second litter item in number, followed by paper/cardboard, rubber, cloth/textile, wood, and glass/ceramic. The Clean Coast Index (CCI) shows a clean and moderately clean state in the Taghazout and Aourir beaches, while Anza beach is more polluted. The EA/NALG classification showed that all three beaches are classified as "D," i.e., dirty or poor-quality beaches. Dendrogram analysis showed very highly polluted areas (Anza 1), highly polluted areas (Taghazout 4 and 5; Anza 2; Aourir 3), moderately polluted areas (Taghazout 1 and 2; Aourir 1), and lightly polluted areas (Taghazout 3). Based on the obtained results, we can conclude that tourism and recreational activities were the primary source of marine litter (over 50%), followed by fishing activity (25%). Efforts are necessary to improve the quality of beaches located on the central Atlantic coast of Morocco. The typology of solutions suggested in this work can be divided into four approaches: cleaning, prevention, mitigation, and the most important ... behavior change. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]