0000000000065139
AUTHOR
Pierpaolo Consoli
Marine caves of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea: a First Census of Benthic Biodiversity
This is the first paper documenting research on a selection of marine caves located along the coast of Capo Milazzo in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Three submarine and one semi-submerged caves were surveyed and sampled using underwater photo sampling. Surveys have only taken into account the sessile species belonging to the main taxa: Porifera, Anthozoa, Bryozoa and Polychaeta. Diversity indices and abundances were calculated for three sections within each explored cave: the Entrance Zone, Intermediate Zone and Bottom Zone. The richest group was Porifera with 21 taxa, followed by cnidarians, (Anthozoa), with 8 taxa, Polychaeta (5 taxa), and Bryozoa (5 taxa). Among Porifera, the presence of …
An insight into the status of the striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, of the southern Tyrrenian Sea
Drift-nets are known to result in high incidental catches of some cetacean species. Despite a UN moratorium on their use in the high seas and a ban in the Mediterranean by all European Union countries, including Italy (EC Reg. 1239/98), some fisheries continue to operate illegally. In 2002 and 2003 three line-transect surveys were conducted in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea around the Aeolian archipelago. These transects were designed to assess the presence, distribution and population size of cetacean species likely to be affected by accidental captures in this area. Data were only sufficient to estimate abundance for the striped dolphin. The best estimate (and first such estimate for this ar…
Evaluating fish assemblages associated with gas platforms: Evidence from a visual census technique and experimental fishing surveys
Fish assemblages associated with extractive platforms were surveyed, for the first time, using traditional fishing surveys (bottom gill net) and an underwater visual census (UVC) technique in order to test the effectiveness and to identify strengths and weaknesses of both methods. The study was carried out during three seasons at two offshore gas platforms (Eleonora and Squalo C) located in the central Adriatic Sea. Both methods recorded a similar number of fish species although with only eight species in common, thus supplying complementary information and a good estimate of the total fish species richness (39) associated with these gas platforms. The use of innovative techniques, such as …
Neglected fishery data sources as indicators of pre‐industrial ecological properties of Mediterranean swordfish ( Xiphias gladius , Xiphiidae)
Management of fish populations and ecosystems suffers from data and knowledge gaps, particularly with respect to how humans and nature affect dynamics at multi-decadal and longer time scales. However, collection of new data which indicates population or ecosystem status is slow and expensive. Here we analyse c. 110 years of neglected fishery data for an overexploited top predator, swordfish, in the Mediterranean Sea. These data are available at scales of high time–space–biological resolution (i.e., sub-weekly, sub-regional sea; individual weights) and allow different ecological questions to be addressed than is possible with coarsely scaled data (e.g., annually resolved total catches aggreg…
Factors affecting fish assemblages associated with gas platforms in the Mediterranean Sea
Abstract Understanding the role played by offshore platforms in marine ecosystems is acquiring increasing importance worldwide. In this work, underwater visual census techniques were applied to describe spatial and temporal patterns of fish assemblages associated with extractive platforms. Data were collected during three seasons according to the following spatial factors: Location (Adriatic and Ionian Seas), Depth (0–6 m and 12–18 m) and Distance from the platform (external and internal). Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed highly significant differences for each factor assessed in this study, as well as for the interaction among said factors. Results indicated that artificial…