Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:53:41.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Benthic diversity of the soft bottoms in a semi-enclosed basin of the Mediterranean Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2008

F. Mastrototaro ,
A. Giove ,
G. D'Onghia ,
A. Tursi ,
A. Matarrese  and
M.V. Gadaleta
F. Mastrototaro*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
A. Giove
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
G. D'Onghia
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
A. Tursi
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
A. Matarrese
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
M.V. Gadaleta
Affiliation:
Department of Geo-Mineralogy, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. Mastrototaro Department of ZoologyUniversity of BariVia E. Orabona 4 70125 BariItaly email: f.mastrototaro@biologia.uniba.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The benthic diversity of the soft bottoms in the Taranto Seas (Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo) (eastern-central Mediterranean Sea) was studied during July 2002. Quantitative samples were taken using a Van Veen grab and granulometric analysis of the sediment was carried out. A total of 131 species were identified. Molluscs and annelids made up 77% of the species and 87% of the individual number. Data from these two groups were used for hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling. The diversity was calculated using the rarefaction method. Two main benthic species assemblages were identified. The first corresponded to the stations characterized by pelitic sediment and located in the Mar Piccolo, the second was made up by the stations with pelite with increasing percentages of sand and distributed in the Mar Grande. The first assemblage consisted of species that usually live on muddy bottoms rich in organic matter; the second consisted of a greater number of species, usually occurring on different types of bottoms. Diversity was found to be higher in the Mar Grande than in the Mar Piccolo, indicating that physico-chemical alterations of the environment probably play a leading role in controlling community structure.

Keywords

benthosdiversitysemi-enclosed basinMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 247 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Cardellicchio, N., Annichiarico, C., Ciannarella, R., Marra, C. and Ragone, P. (1986) Domestic wastes influence on nutrients concentration in Mar Piccolo in Taranto. Nova Thalassia 8, Suppl. 3, 557–558.Google Scholar
Cardellicchio, N., Annichiarico, C., Leone, G., Marra, C., Paterno, P., Piraino, S. and Ragone, P. (1991) I mari di Taranto: problematiche di impatto ambientale. Atti S.IT.E. (Società Italiana di Ecologia) 12, 769–775.Google Scholar
Cardellicchio, N., Annichiarico, C., Leone, G., Ragone, P. and Rochira, M. (1989) Determinazione di idrocarburi policiclici aromatici nei sedimenti del Golfo di Taranto. Nova Thalassia 10, (Suppl. 1), 633–636.Google Scholar
Cardellicchio, N., Marra, C. and Ragone, P. (1995) Contaminazione da stagno tributilossido in mitili (Mytilus galloprovincialis) allevati nell'area costiera di Taranto. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 2, 113–117.Google Scholar
Carriglio, D., Fanelli, G. and Rubino, F. (2004) First record of the alien gastropod Melibe fimbriata (Opistobranchia: Tethydae) in the Taranto Seas (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 84, 1067–1068.Google Scholar
Cecere, E. and Petrocelli, A. (2004) Floristic and biogeographic considerations about the benthic macroalgal flora in the Gulf of Taranto. Biogeographia 25, 7–18.Google Scholar
Cecere, E., Cormaci, M. and Furnari, G. (1991) The marine algae of Mar Piccolo, Taranto (southern Italy): a re-assessment. Botanica Marina 34, 221–227.Google Scholar
Cecere, E., Saracino, O.D., Fanelli, M. and Petrocelli, A. (1992) Presence of a drifting algal bed in the Mar Piccolo basin, Taranto (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy). Journal of Applied Phycology 4, 1–5.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Ainsworth, M. (1993) A method of linking multivariate community structure to environmental variables. Marine Ecology Progress Series 92, 205–219.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation, 2nd edition. Plymouth: PRIMER-E.Google Scholar
Cornello, M. and Giovanardi, O. (2003) Dinamica temporale dei popolamenti macrozoobentonici al largo di Chioggia (Venezia) ed effetti dell'attività di mitilicoltura. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 10, 535–538.Google Scholar
Currie, D.R. and Parry, G. (1999) Changes to benthic communities over 20 years in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38, 36–43.Google Scholar
Dufrêne, M. and Legendre, P. (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecological Monographs 67, 345–366.Google Scholar
Galil, B.S. (2000) A sea under siege—alien species in the Mediterranean. Biological Invasions 2, 177–186.Google Scholar
Gambi, M.C., Fresi, E and Giangrande, A. (1982) Descrittori efficaci di comunità bentoniche. Naturalista Siciliano, S. IV, VI (Supplement), 3, 489–497.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S. (1974) Animal–sediment relationship. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 12, 223–261.Google Scholar
Leppäkoski, E., Helminen, H., Hänninen, J. and Tallqvist, M. (1999) Aquatic biodiversity under anthropogenic stress: an insight from the Archipelago Sea (SW Finland). Biodiversity and Conservation 8, 55–70.Google Scholar
Mastrototaro, F., Matarrese, A. and D'Onghia, G. (2003) Occurrence of Musculista senhousia ( Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Taranto Seas (eastern-central Mediterranean Sea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 83, 1279–1282.Google Scholar
Mastrototaro, F., Petrocelli, A., Cecere, E. and Matarrese, A. (2004) Non indigenous species settle down in the Taranto Seas. Biogeographia 25, 47–54.Google Scholar
Matarrese, A., Mastrototaro, F., D'Onghia, G., Maiorano, P. and Tursi, A. (2004) Mapping of the benthic communities in the Taranto Seas using side-scan sonar and under-water video camera. Chemistry and Ecology 20, 377–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mistri, M. (2003) The non indigenous mussel Musculista senhousia in an Adriatic lagoon: effects on benthic community over a ten year period. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 83, 1277–1278.Google Scholar
Nicolaidou, A., Pancucci, A. and Zenetos, A. (1989) The impact of dumping coarse metalliferous waste on the benthos in Evoikos Gulf, Greece. Marine Pollution Bulletin 20, 28–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nodot, C., Bourcier, M., Jeudy de Grissas, A., Heusner, S., Régis, J. and Tine, J. (1984) Répartition des biocoenoses benthiques en fonction des substrats sédimentaires de la rade de Toulon (France). 2. La grande rade. Téthys 11, 141–153.Google Scholar
Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A. (2000) Biotic invasions in a Mediterranean Lagoon. Biological Invasions 2, 165–176.Google Scholar
Parenzan, P. (1969) Il Mar Piccolo e il Mar Grande di Taranto. Carta biocenotica. Thalassia Salentina 3, 19–34.Google Scholar
Parenzan, P. (1983) Puglia marittima. In Congedo, (ed) (Lecee, Italy) Vol. I e II, 688 pp.Google Scholar
Picard, J. (1965) Recherches qualitatives sur les biocoenoses marines des substrats meubles dragables de la région Marseillaise. Recueil dex Travaux de la Station Marine d'Endume, Fascicule: 52, Bulletin 36, 103–114.Google Scholar
Rebzani-Zahaf, C., Bellan, G., Bakalem, A. and Romano, J.C. (1996) Cycle annuel du peuplement macrobenthique du port d'Alger. Oceanologica Acta 20, 461–477.Google Scholar
Sanders, H.L. (1968) Marine benthic diversity: a comparative study. American Naturalist 102, 243–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scroccaro, I., Matarrese, R. and Umgiesser, G. (2004) Application of a finite element model to the Taranto Sea. Chemistry and Ecology 20 (Suppl. 1), S205–S224.Google Scholar
Tursi, A., Piscitelli, G., Gherardi, M. and Matarrese, A. (1978) Aspetti ecologici del porto di Taranto (Mar Grande). Oebalia 4, 41–78.Google Scholar