Coastal rocky marine ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots threatened by anthropogenic pressure. Benthic communities inhabiting shallow coasts can act as bioindicators of environmental disturbances. Their ability to structure themselves under a long-term anthropogenic disturbance, such as in the case of anthropized coasts, allows them to provide information not only about past conditions but also about the current state of the marine environment. In order to evaluate the relationships between the macrobenthic community biodiversity and the anthropogenic pressure, macroalgae and the associated macroinvertebrates (> 0.5 mm) from the upper infralittoral zone of the rocky Cilento coast (southern Italy), were collected. Samplings were carried out in July and December 2023, in 6 sites differing in the anthropogenic pressure (from harbors to protected areas), by sampling squares of 30x30 cm (5 replicates per site). Whole macroalgae biomass was determined as dry weight (75 °C until constant weight). Among macroinvertebrates, a total of 6386 individuals in July and 4153 individuals in December were collected, belonging to Mollusca, Polychaeta, Crustacea, Echinodermata, Sipuncula and Nemertea. Positive correlations between macroalgae biomass and total number of macroinvertebrates (r=0.56; p<0.01), and in particular of Crustacea (r=0.66; p<0.001) and Sipuncula (r=0.63; p=0.001), were found. The values of the Shannon index were 1.64±0.24 in July and 1.60±0.29 in December with an Evenness of 0.72±0.06 in July and 0.71±0.08 in December. These values did not differ neither between the two seasons, nor among sites, highlighting that macrozoobenthic community in the studied area is only marginally affected by seasonality and anthropogenic pressure.

Macrobenthic communities along the rocky Cilento coast (southern Italy) characterized by different anthropogenic pressures

Baldantoni D.;Nitopi M. A.;
2024-01-01

Abstract

Coastal rocky marine ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots threatened by anthropogenic pressure. Benthic communities inhabiting shallow coasts can act as bioindicators of environmental disturbances. Their ability to structure themselves under a long-term anthropogenic disturbance, such as in the case of anthropized coasts, allows them to provide information not only about past conditions but also about the current state of the marine environment. In order to evaluate the relationships between the macrobenthic community biodiversity and the anthropogenic pressure, macroalgae and the associated macroinvertebrates (> 0.5 mm) from the upper infralittoral zone of the rocky Cilento coast (southern Italy), were collected. Samplings were carried out in July and December 2023, in 6 sites differing in the anthropogenic pressure (from harbors to protected areas), by sampling squares of 30x30 cm (5 replicates per site). Whole macroalgae biomass was determined as dry weight (75 °C until constant weight). Among macroinvertebrates, a total of 6386 individuals in July and 4153 individuals in December were collected, belonging to Mollusca, Polychaeta, Crustacea, Echinodermata, Sipuncula and Nemertea. Positive correlations between macroalgae biomass and total number of macroinvertebrates (r=0.56; p<0.01), and in particular of Crustacea (r=0.66; p<0.001) and Sipuncula (r=0.63; p=0.001), were found. The values of the Shannon index were 1.64±0.24 in July and 1.60±0.29 in December with an Evenness of 0.72±0.06 in July and 0.71±0.08 in December. These values did not differ neither between the two seasons, nor among sites, highlighting that macrozoobenthic community in the studied area is only marginally affected by seasonality and anthropogenic pressure.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/4883459
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