Impact of the Costa Concordia shipwreck on a Posidonia oceanica meadow: a multi-scale assessment from a population to a landscape level

Mancini, Gianluca; Ventura, Daniele; Jona‐Lasinio, Giovanna; Criscoli, Alessandro; Belluscio, Andrea; Ardizzone, G.D.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.044

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…The ship sank on 13 January, 2012, and the subsequent wreck removal operations provided a well‐defined case study to apply an integrated monitoring approach and to experiment with new methods for marine ecosystem restoration. The largest and arguably the most complex marine salvage operation in history, started in May 2012 and ended in July 2014, causing various impacts on marine organisms (Casoli et al 2016; Mancini et al 2019; Pace et al 2019). Shading, physical disturbances (debris release), and sediment deposition altered marine benthic ecosystems, causing fragmentation and erosion phenomena over 9,952 m 2 of P. oceanica meadow and reduction of the integrity and complexity of coralligenous reefs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rehabilitation of Mediterranean animal forests using gorgonians from fisheries by‐catch

Casoli

Ventura

Cardone

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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The assessment of effective and affordable restoration interventions is pivotal to developing new tools to mitigate habitat loss and enhance natural recovery. Gorgonians create important three-dimensional habitats in the Mediterranean Sea providing several ecosystem services associated with coralligenous reefs. Transplantations of the octocorals Eunicella cavolini, Eunicella singularis, and Paramuricea clavata were carried out at the site impacted by the wreck of the Costa Concordia in 2012. A total of 135 by-caught gorgonians, caught in the gears of local artisanal fishermen or found lying on the seabed by SCUBA divers, were transplanted on impacted coralligenous reefs between 20 and 35 m depth and monitored for 2.5 years. A high survival rate (82.1%) was recorded, with main losses attributable to the detachment of the organisms from the substrate rather than death of the colonies. Eunicella cavolini transplanted colonies and natural colonies used as controls were monitored and showed similar, and seasonally influenced, growth and healing rates. Epibiosis and necrosis events were reported in both transplanted and natural colonies during summer, highlighting the sensitivity of the species to thermal stress. The present study emphasizes the importance of a management framework as a stepping-stone to achieve effective restoration outcomes, including the removal of pressures that caused changes in natural communities and the participation of local stakeholders. The effectiveness of the methods and procedures proposed in this work allowed the restoration activities to continue at a larger scale during summer and autumn 2020.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rehabilitation of Mediterranean animal forests using gorgonians from fisheries by‐catch

Casoli

Ventura

Cardone

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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“…Fieldwork was carried out on the east side of Giglio Island (central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), inside the restricted area interested by the Concordia shipwreck (upper panel of Figure 1). The P. oceanica meadow settled within the area was mechanically and physically affected by the shipwreck and its removal, leading to the disappearance of 8427 m 2 of P. oceanica, and leaving on the seabed a dead matte substratum from 5 to 35 meters depth (olive green tone in the upper panel of Figure 1) [16][17][18].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study reports the spatial dynamic of P. oceanica transplanted during a large-scale seagrass restoration in a previously disturbed area of the Tyrrhenian Sea. This area is located on the site of the Concordia shipwreck and has been subjected to multiple disturbances resulting from the 2012 shipwreck and its removal, which have led to the loss of a well-preserved P. oceanica meadow [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization of transplanted Posidonia Oceanica: understanding the spatial dynamics through high-spatial resolution underwater photomosaics

Mancini

Ventura

Casoli

et al. 2022

Ninth International Symposium “Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques”

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Following the restoration of a P. oceanica meadow impacted by the Concordia shipwreck, we investigated the spatial dynamic of the most important and protected Mediterranean endemic seagrass over a two-year period applying three spatial metrics: number of patches, mean patch size and total cover. By means of underwater photomosaics, we noticed a diminution in the number of patches in favour of the mean size and total cover. The outcomes showed that, under suitable environmental conditions, P. oceanica colonizes rapidly the dead matte substrate.

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“…Any touristic or recreational activity (i.e., diving, sailing, and swimming) was forbidden in the wreckage area to avoid any disturbance during the wreck removal phases and to maximize safety in the case of an accident. A brief description of the morphological features and the evolution of the study area is given by Avio et al (2017), Casoli et al (2016aCasoli et al ( , 2017Casoli et al ( , 2020, Mancini et al (2019), Piazzi et al (2019a), Regoli et al (2014), Toniolo et al (2018).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

High spatial resolution photo mosaicking for the monitoring of coralligenous reefs

et al. 2021

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Coralligenous reefs are characterized by large bathymetric and spatial distribution, as well as heterogeneity; in shallow environments, they develop mainly on vertical and sub-vertical rocky walls. Mainly diver-based techniques are carried out to gain detailed information on such habitats. Here, we propose a non-destructive and multi-purpose photo mosaicking method to study and monitor coralligenous reefs developing on vertical walls. High-pixel resolution images using three different commercial cameras were acquired on a 10 m2 reef, to compare the effectiveness of photomosaic method to the traditional photoquadrats technique in quantifying the coralligenous assemblage. Results showed very high spatial resolution and accuracy among the photomosaic acquired with different cameras and no significant differences with photoquadrats in assessing the assemblage composition. Despite the large difference in costs of each recording apparatus, little differences emerged from the assemblage characterization: through the analysis of the three photomosaics twelve taxa/morphological categories covered 97–99% of the sampled surface. Photo mosaicking represents a low-cost method that minimizes the time spent underwater by divers and capable of providing new opportunities for further studies on shallow coralligenous reefs.

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Impact of the Costa Concordia shipwreck on a Posidonia oceanica meadow: a multi-scale assessment from a population to a landscape level

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Rehabilitation of Mediterranean animal forests using gorgonians from fisheries by‐catch

Rehabilitation of Mediterranean animal forests using gorgonians from fisheries by‐catch

Colonization of transplanted Posidonia Oceanica: understanding the spatial dynamics through high-spatial resolution underwater photomosaics

High spatial resolution photo mosaicking for the monitoring of coralligenous reefs

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