Analysis of demersal fish assemblages off the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean)

Abstract

Monitoring and management of Mediterranean trawling requires a multispecies and ecosystembased approach. Over the last 20 years studies on diversity and distribution of fish communities have been carried out by ecologists and applied to different ecosystems. Until now, very little information has been available on the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The aim of this work is: to analyse the structure of fish demersal assemblages, on a temporal (10 years) and spatial scale using a multivariate approach; to analyse, across space and time, the pattern of biodiversity by means of univariate indices; to identify areas supporting high values of diversity and evenness by a Geographical Information System (GIS) method. The analysis of 249 hauls from ten trawl surveys carried out between depths of 30 and 750 m in the South Tyrrhenian Sea yielded a total of 164 fish species. Multidimensional scaling ordination showed four groups distributed according to the depth gradient: a coastal group (0-100 m depth), a group in the lower part of the continental shelf (101-200 m), an epibathyal group (201-500 m) and the last one derived from hauls made in the middleslope (501-800 m). There were no differences, between years, protected and unprotected areas and geographical sectors. The whole study area was characterised by diversity values which were quite heterogeneous. The persistence index was generally low. Results could be useful from an ecological point of view and for the management of fishery activities.

Distribution and biological features of the common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Central Mediterranean)

“…P. erythrinus is an important component of the upper shelf fish assemblage in the western Mediterranean Sea (Biagi et al 2002;Gaertner et al 2005) and specifically also in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea where the species is typical of the demersal fish community as deep as 100 m (Busalacchi et al 2010). Evidences of a differential distribution of fishing effort in the study area have been reported recently.…”

“…There is little published information on P. erythrinus for the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Spedicato et al 2002;Busalacchi et al 2010;Giacalone et al 2010) where it plays an important role in the demersal fish community of the upper continental shelf area (10-100 m) (Busalacchi et al 2010).…”

Comparison between Otoliths and Length Based Ageing and Growth of African Armoured Searobin (Peristedion cataphractumL. 1758; Teleostei, Peristediidae) off the Southern Coasts of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea)

“…It occurs on muddy bottoms, between 50 and 848 m (max depth reported), showing a preference for the upper slope (201-500 m) [1][2][3][4].…”

First record of microplastics ingestion by European hake MERLUCCIUS MERLUCCIUS from the Tyrrhenian Sicilian coast (Central Mediterranean Sea)

“…Because of the ecological and economic importance of this species, as well as its overfished status recently reported in the Mediterranean Sea, there is much information about the biology of this species (Busalacchi et al, 2010;Colloca et al, 2013). Health assessment of heavily exploited stocks is, however, essential and until now has received little emphasis in relation to Mediterranean M. merluccius stock assessment and management (Gaglio et al, 2011;Lloret et al, 2012).…”