Search results for "Marine benthos"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
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 …
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…
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…