Short-term changes of macrobenthos in an estuarine area of the Venice lagoon.

A study on soft macrozoobenthos along the Dese estuary in the northern basin of the Venice lagoon (Italy, North Adriatic Sea) were carried out from June 2002 to March 2003. Molluscs and polychaetes were identified. The benthic macrofauna showed a zonation pattern established by the distance from the sea; temporal variations of assemblages observed were caused by changes in the populations of the polychaete Streblospio shrubsolii.