Application of biotic and taxonomic distinctness indices in assessing the Ecological Quality Status of two coastal lakes: Caprolace and Fogliano lakes (Central Italy)

Marine biotic indices (AMBI, BENTIX) and the statistical tool M-AMBI (Multivariate AMBI) were applied as a comparative approach in assessing the Ecological Quality Status (EcoQS) of two Mediterranean coastal lakes (Caprolace and Fogliano lakes) situated in the Circeo National Park (Central Italy). The macrobenthic community was analysed using univariate indices (community structure), correspondence analysis (CA) and taxonomic distinctness indices (D + and L + ). The community composition showed a dominance of lagoonal species in