Inconsistency in community structure and ecological quality between platform and cliff coralligenous assemblages

Piazzi, Luigi; Ferrigno, Federica; Guala, Ivan; Cinti, Maria Francesca; Conforti, Alessandro; Falco, Giovanni De; Luca, Mario De; Grech, Daniele; Manna, Gianfranco La; Pascucci, Vincenzo; Pansini, Arianna; Pinna, Federico; Pireddu, Laura; Puccini, Alessandra; Russo, Gìovanni Fulvio; Sandulli, Roberto; Santonastaso, Antonio; Simeone, Simone; Stelletti, Myriam; Stipcich, Patrizia; Ceccherelli, Giulia

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108657

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The comparison between the overhanging and deeper Portofino C and the shallower Bogliasco build-up highlights the abundant fleshy algal cover and the absence of corals as the most distinctive traits of Bogliasco C, likely due to its shallow position. The distinctive green algae Halimeda tuna and Flabellia petiolata are scattered over the Bogliasco C surface, as commonly reported in other shallow coralligenous algal assemblages (Ballesteros, 2006;Piazzi et al, 2022), while they were not observed in the Portofino sample. Calcareous algae in Bogliasco exhibit about half of the cover in Portofino, confirming their basically sciaphilic nature and the negative effect of space competition with the faster-growing fleshy algae.…”

Section: External Componentssupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Coralligenous was indicated as the climax biocenosis of the circalittoral zone (Pérès, 1982;Ballesteros, 2006;Cánovas Molina et al, 2016), although C habitats are considered as heterogeneous systems, showing high spatial, morphological, and biological variability (Ferdeghini et al, 2000;Casas-Güell et al, 2015;Cánovas Molina et al, 2016;Sartoretto, 2017;Piazzi et al, 2022). Light exerts a major control on the depth extent of the infralittoral and circalittoral zones and certainly also on the depth distribution of the various coralligenous facies (Pérès, 1982;Ballesteros, 2006;Cánovas Molina et al, 2016).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The coralligenous habitat has been defined as an eco-ethological crossroads and an assemblage of several communities rather than a unique community (Sartoretto, 2017), and several different associations and facies have been described under the term "coralligenous" (Ballesteros, 2006;Casas-Güell et al, 2016;Sartoretto, 2017;Corriero et al, 2019). The most obvious and coarse distinction is between C developing on rocky walls and C developing from subhorizontal substrates (sedimentary or rocky) (Pérès 1982;Bracchi et al, 2017;Sartoretto, 2017;Piazzi et al, 2009;Piazzi et al, 2022). The interplay of biotic and abiotic factors (mainly light exposure, availability of trophic resources, substrate exposure, sedimentation rate, freshwater influence, and biotic interactions) controls the several facies of C, unevenly distributed along geographical and depth gradients (among others: Gili and Ros 1985;Sartoretto, 1994;Garrabou et al, 2002;Di Geronimo et al, 2001;Virgilio et al, 2006;Casellato and Stefanon, 2008;Ponti et al, 2011;Falace et al, 2015;Çinar et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living coralligenous as geo-historical structure built by coralline algae

et al. 2022

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The most important reef of the Mediterranean is the Coralligène (Coralligenous = C), including several types of calcareous algal-invertebrate build-ups growing in normal open marine conditions. We analyzed and compared two C samples from the Ligurian Sea developed in different environmental settings: 1) off Portofino on a rocky cliff, at a depth of about 40 m and 2) in front of Bogliasco, on a sub-horizontal substrate at a depth of 10 m. The maximum AMS radiocarbon dating provided an older age for Bogliasco (about 5 ka BP) than for Portofino (about 3.6 ka BP), and the mean accumulation rate of the Portofino build-up (about 80 µm y−1) was found to be higher than the one in Bogliasco (about 65 µm y−1). The different sides of each build-up showed a remarkable heterogeneity in the dominant cover by living organisms, and the comparison between the two build-ups highlighted an evident diversity in their taxonomic composition and structure, although crustose coralline algae (CCA) are the dominant framework builder and major autogenic ecosystem engineers at both localities, in the present as in the past millennia. Other major components of the structure are bryozoans and serpulids, and an important role is played by sediment filling. In Bogliasco, extreme climate events and major peaks of fine matrix and terrigenous grains are observed, lithologically related to the drainage basin of the Poggio creek and associated with charophyte occurrence and reduced CCA abundance. The occurrence of the rare Sporolithon ptychoides was observed both in Portofino at about 750 BCE and in Bogliasco. These Sporolithon phases are likely related to warm and humid spells punctuating the Holocene climate fluctuations in the Ligurian Sea. Because coralline algae are confirmed to be the most important habitat engineer of the Mediterranean reefs, they deserve more attention in the framework of any monitoring initiative aimed at C management and conservation.

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Section: External Componentssupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living coralligenous as geo-historical structure built by coralline algae

et al. 2022

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“…Thus, coastal and continental shelf coralligenous reefs on one hand provide different ecosystem services and on the other hand are subject to a wide range of human threats. These features combine to separate coastal coralligenous cliffs from other coralligenous habitats, such as platforms, banks and outcrops distributed on continental shelves (Montefalcone et al, 2021;Piazzi et al 2022b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, the assemblages of coralligenous platforms were not assessed, thus it is not possible to compare the biotic features of the two habitats. A concurrent study of both cliff and platform coralligenous assemblages may provide a complete assessment of mesophotic habitats within a determined geographic area (Piazzi et al, 2022b) and it may be considered an interesting topic for further investigations and a useful approach to be developed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coralligenous cliffs: distribution and extent along the Tuscany coasts and spatial variability of the associated assemblages

et al. 2023

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Coralligenous reefs are the main biogenic constructions of the Mediterranean Sea. The two main coralligenous morphologies are cliffs and platforms. Coralligenous cliffs mostly develop in shallower waters (about 20-50 m) on vertical/sub vertical rocky substrates. Coralligenous platforms are mostly distributed on horizontal substrates below 40-50 m depth on detritic bottoms and rocky outcrops of the continental shelf. The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of coralligenous cliffs through the assessment of their distribution and extent in a wide geographic zone of northwestern Mediterranean Sea, focusing on the structure and the spatial variability of the associated assemblages. To achieve these objectives, coralligenous cliffs of Tuscany coasts were mapped through Multibeam and Remotely Operated Vehicles. The area of coralligenous cliffs was also manually calculated for each study site using linear extent and bathymetric range of the habitat. In addition, the structure of the associated assemblages was investigated by a multifactorial sampling design taking into account spatial scales ranging from meters to tens of kilometres. Coralligenous cliffs were present in all the study sites, with a linear extent of about 20% of Tuscany’s rocky coastline and an area of about 20% of the Tuscan coralligenous reefs. The difference between data manually calculated and those obtained by Quantum- GIS software was about 33% of the total area. A continental-to-island gradient and a latitudinal gradient were the main factors driving the structure of the associated assemblages. Results highlighted that coralligenous cliffs represent a considerable part of circalittoral biogenic habitat, suggesting that their relevance may be greater than what normally emerges from seabed mapping and that they should be considered separately in monitoring programs, impact assessment studies and management plans.

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