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The population of Errina aspera (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) of the Messina Strait (Mediterranean Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

Eva Salvati ,
Michela Angiolillo ,
Marzia Bo ,
Giorgio Bavestrello ,
Michela Giusti ,
Andrea Cardinali ,
Stefania Puce ,
Costanza Spaggiari ,
Silvestro Greco  and
Simonepietro Canese
Eva Salvati
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
Michela Angiolillo
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
Marzia Bo*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
Giorgio Bavestrello
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
Michela Giusti
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
Andrea Cardinali
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
Stefania Puce
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
Costanza Spaggiari
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy
Silvestro Greco
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
Simonepietro Canese
Affiliation:
ISPRA (ex ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, I-00166 Roma, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Bo DiSMar, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy email: m.bo@univpm.it
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Abstract

Errina aspera is the only species belonging to the family Stylasteridae known from the Mediterranean Sea. The distribution of this species includes the Messina Strait, the Gibraltar Strait and the Atlantic coast of Morocco. In spite of the taxonomic and biogeographical importance of this species, no studies were conducted on its population structure in the Messina Strait. Here we report a study carried out with the aid of a ROV on a horizontal transect 350 m long at a depth comprised between 83 and 105 m where an extremely dense population of this stylasterid (101.4 ± 13.3 m−2) was recorded. The main components of the benthic community other than E. aspera are the coralline alga Lithothamnion philippii and the white zoanthid Epizoanthus sp. The colonies of E. aspera have a height ranging between 1.2 and 18.8 cm (4.1 ± 0.1 cm on average); they generally show a bi-dimensional, fan shaped morphology, but three-dimensional, brush-like specimens are also observed. The size–frequency distribution of the colony height is unimodal with a mode in the classes of 3–5 cm and a long tail of rare large colonies suggesting that the current may act as a limiting factor for the colony growth. The association with the gastropod ovulid Pedicularia sicula is confirmed.

Keywords

stylasteridErrina asperatwilight zoneROV imagingMessina Strait
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 7 , November 2010 , pp. 1331 - 1336
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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