0000000000159089
AUTHOR
R D'agostaro
DO INVASIVE MACROALGAE INFLUENCE ASSOCIATED MOLLUSC DIVERSITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA ?
The benthic molluscs associated to the non-indigenous red algae Asparagopsis taxiformis invading the Mediterranean rocky subtidal were compared with those associated to a native brown alga. The results showed a marked difference in species richness and abundance between native and non-native algal species.
Do invasive macroalgae influence biodiversity and abundance of Amphipod Crustaceans ?
Amphipods are an essential element of the food web in marine coastal environments, and represent a good indicator of the health of the ecosystems. The composition of amphipod assemblage is often linked to algal coverage, in which the benthic species find refuge from predators and a great availability of food resources. Within the management and conservation of natural environments, one of the main problems is currently represented by the invasion of non-indigenous species, which modifies native communities. This research compares the amphipod fauna associated with Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan de Saint-Léon, a non-indigenous red macroalga widely distributed along the west coast …
Seawater carbonate chemistry and biogenic habitat shifts under long-term ocean acidification
Experiments have shown that increasing dissolved CO2 concentrations (i.e. Ocean Acidification, OA) in marine ecosystems may act as nutrient for primary producers (e.g. fleshy algae) or a stressor for calcifying species (e.g., coralline algae, corals, molluscs). For the first time, rapid habitat dominance shifts and altered competitive replacement from a reef-forming to a non-reef-forming biogenic habitat were documented over one-year exposure to low pH/high CO2 through a transplant experiment off Vulcano Island CO2 seeps (NE Sicily, Italy). Ocean acidification decreased vermetid reefs complexity via a reduction in the reef-building species density, boosted canopy macroalgae and led to chang…