Search results for " benthos"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Latitudinal variations in positive and negative effects of invertebrates on rocky shore biofilm
2011
PROSPETTIVE E CRITICITÀ SUL RUOLO DEL BENTHOS MEDITERRANEO NELLA DIRETTIVA SULLA MARINE STRATEGY
2013
In Europe, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) are the main regulations for the protection of water bodies. The translation of their principles into valid and practical approaches is the main challenge for the scientific community. An additional and even more severe problem is related to the MSFD application in the Mediterranean area. The aim of the present contribution is to picture the present situation in Italy, as far as the benthic communities in the MSFD are concerned, pinpoint some conceptual and practical critical points, and possibly suggest some new tools useful for the definition of Good Ecological Status (GES).
Ruolo dell’interazione tra impatto antropico e inclinazione del substrato nella struttura delle comunità bentoniche di fouling
2006
I substrati duri artificiali sono idonei per verificare la risposta ecologica degli organismi del benthos a differenti livelli di variabilità dell’interazione tra fattori antropici, abiotici e biotici. La combinazione tra impatto umano e inclinazione del substrato può influenzare la struttura di comunità. Lo studio è stato condotto nella primavera 2006 nel Golfo di Palermo, nel quale sono state individuate due località a diverso grado di impatto antropico derivante da attività industriali e da reflui urbani. In ogni località, sono stati scelti siti a differente complessità geometrica (inclinazione orizzontale vs verticale). I campionamenti sono stati effettuati sulla fascia mesolitorale di …
Evaluation of the impact of a small marina on intertidal assemblages
2009
Towards a local mass mortality of the Mediterranean orange coral Astroides calycularis (Pallas, 1766) in the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area (I…
2022
In late summer 2020, a widespread mortality event severely affected colonies of the Mediterranean endemic orange coral Astroides calycularis in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, southern Mediterranean Sea). The degree of the mortality impact at seven study sites of the archipelago (five within the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area) was quantified by estimating the proportion of affected colonies in populations of A. calycularis. Five of the seven surveyed sites revealed a low degree of impact, but Punta Ruperta and Cala Creta (both on the island of Lampedusa) showed a medium impact with values of 32.3% and 30.5% of affected colonies respectively. The 2020 mortality event coincided …
Signals of loss: Local collapse of neglected vermetid reefs in the western Mediterranean Sea
2022
During the summer of 2022, an extensive die-off of Dendropoma cristatum and other marine organisms associated with vermetid reefs was observed in the western Mediterranean Sea (northern coast of Sicily). Quantitative data from more than 300 km of coastal stripe indicated that the percentage of dead D. cristatum specimens, showing empty and/or transversely fractured shells, ranged from 64 to 84 % in populations having a density of 2900-4730 ind./m2, suggesting that millions of organisms had recently died along the Sicilian coast. This high mortality range coincided with prolonged desiccation events during which biogenic vermetid reefs were exposed to extreme warm-air conditions for several c…
Effects of ocean acidification on rocky shore communities at Vulcano Island
2010
Marine strategy framework for detecting mass mortality: From local surveys to monitoring improvements in the coralligenous habitat
2023
Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages are threatened by the effects of climate change and human activities that have led to mass mortality events (MMEs) in recent decades. The ecological roles of this habitat and the possible consequences of its loss have necessitated the scientific analysis of MMEs on a Mediterranean regional scale, highlighting the need of new standardized monitoring and data collection tools across the basin. In September 2021, during the monitoring activities of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) for the coralligenous habitat of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA), an MME of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata was recorded. Five of the six surv…
Posidonia oceanica loss in a Mediterranean semi-enclosed coastal system: response of polychaete assemblage
2012
Bottom-Up Control of Macrobenthic Communities in a Guanotrophic Coastal System
2015
Soft bottom macrobenthic communities were studied seasonally in three coastal ponds (Marinello ponds, Italy) at increasing distances from a gull (Larus michahellis) colony to in- vestigate the effect of seabird-induced eutrophication (i.e. guanotrophication) on macro- benthic fauna.We hypothesized that enhanced nutrient concentration and organic load caused by guano input significantly alter the trophic and sedimentological condition of ponds, affecting benthic fauna through a bottom-up control. The influence of a set of envi- ronmental features on macrobenthic assemblages was also tested. Overall, the lowest macrobenthic abundances and functional group diversity were found in deeper sites,…