Species and habitats of conservation interest in the Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area of the Strait of Sicily: a contribution towards the creation of a Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance

Abstract

In 2015, the Strait of Sicily, which includes several banks, was candidate as a future Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) by the Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention. In this context, the present study aims to provide the first biological and ecological characterisation of this poorly known area, focusing on habitats and species of conservation concern. Surveys were carried through a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and allowed the identification of 19 habitat types, mostly considered of priority interest by the SPA/BD Protocol of the Barcelona Convention. A total of 269 taxa were also identified, mostly Porifera, Cnidaria and Pisces, among which 115 species are of conservation concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Lists, the Habitats Directive, the Bern Convention, the SPA/BD Protocol and CITES. ROV surveys allowed some interesting observations on poorly known species and habitats. Results underlined that remarkable discrepancies in species conservation status assessment that exist between the several lists of protected species considered. The IUCN Red Lists, although not legally binding for European States, are the most complete, but, in spite of this, the conservation policies in the EU are largely focused on the Habitats Directive, which is really not exhaustive. An exhaustive and legally binding instrument to protect species of conservation concern at European scale is highly recommended. Acquired results could be useful for the delimitation of a future SPAMI or a network of Marine Protected Areas (including the investigated banks) and the identification of zones within them suitable for different area-based management measures.

Basin-scale occurrence and distribution of mesophotic and upper bathyal red coral forests along the Italian coasts

“…Nowadays, thanks to the extensive use of underwater technologies, such as Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), it became feasible to explore environments unreachable by SCUBA diving. In the last 15 years, vast programs of characterisation of the mesophotic and bathyal benthic populations took place around the Italian coasts and offshore sites, up to 775 m of depth (Cau et al, 2015;Angiolillo et al, 2016;Corriero et al, 2019, Moccia et al, 2019Enrichetti et al, 2020;Bo et al, 2020a, b;Consoli et al, 2021).…”

A Review of Rhodolith/Maerl Beds of the Italian Seas

“…The branches morphotype is associated with L. corallioides, P. calcareum, L. minervae, L. stic-taeforme, and L. racemus. The most associated fauna of the Italian calcareous algae beds include sponges, bryozoans, hydrozoans, polichaetes, molluscs, amphipods, gastropods, and echinoderms [24,25,[28][29][30][31]35,36].…”

“…As regards the anthropogenic impacts, trawl marks over the soft bottom hosting coralline algae beds were observed both on the side-scan sonar mosaic and on ROV videos, where local accumulations of coralline algae inside the marks were sometimes observed (Figure 4c,d). [24,25,[28][29][30][31]35,36].…”

The paleo-community of the Sciacca red coral

“…Nowadays, flourishing red coral populations are present at mesophotic depths in the Sciacca area (specifically the Graham Bank) (Altobelli et al 2017;Lodolo et al 2017;Consoli et al 2021;Toma et al 2022b) as well as in nearby sites of the Sicily Channel, such as Ragusa, where the dense colonies have been subjected to illegal exploitation by trawling gears (Cattaneo-Vietti et al 2017).…”