Variability in Macrobenthos Communities in the Valli di Comacchio, Northern Italy, a Hypereutrophized Lagoonal Ecosystem

Mistri, Michele; Fano, Elisa Anna; Rossi, Gustavo Carlos; Caselli, K.; Rossi, R.

doi:10.1006/ecss.2000.0697

Cited by 82 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The benthic fauna of the Mazoma Lagoon is typical of Mediterranean brackish water lagoons (NICOLAIDOU et al, 2005;MISTRI et al, 2000; PONTI et …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temporal variations associated with such phenomena have been described extensively in the literature (e.g. TAGLIAPIETRA et al, 1998;KOUTSOUBAS et al, 2000;MISTRI et al, 2000LARDICCI et al, 2001). However, if pollution prevention measures are to be taken, smaller changes need to be detected and distinguished from the natural variability of the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Lack of temporal variability in the benthos of a coastal brackish water lagoon in Greece

Nicolaidou

2007

Medit. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The benthic fauna was studied in the small, brackish water Mazoma Lagoon in the Amvrakikos bay.Benthic samples were collected at 10 stations at bimonthly intervals over a period of a year. Temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment organic carbon were also measured at the same time. The environmental parameters showed the expected seasonal variability but the benthic community, the structure of which was only related to plant biomass, did not. This lack of seasonality is attributed to the continuous reproduction of some abundant species and to species interactions.

show abstract

“…The benthic fauna of the Mazoma Lagoon is typical of Mediterranean brackish water lagoons (NICOLAIDOU et al, 2005;MISTRI et al, 2000; PONTI et …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of temporal variability in the benthos of a coastal brackish water lagoon in Greece

Nicolaidou

2007

Medit. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Benthic species richness and diversity showed variability between stations. According to the confinement theory, a decreasing trend in species richness and diversity should be expected from the less confined to more confined zones in a lagoon (Guelorget and Perthuisot, 1984;Mistri et al, 2000). The finding that species diversity was highest in the confined Stn 3…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Karavasta, Casellato (1999) reported large seagrass meadows in the 1990s, but in 2008 we found only remnants of those meadows in the southern part of the lagoon. Scarce water circulation, sharp temperature and salinity fluctuations, release of toxic substances (especially sulfides) from sediments, and local hypoxic events adversely affected the ecological status of the Valli (Mistri et al, 2000). In Karavasta, summer fish kills have already been observed due to anoxic crisis , and hypoxic events have recently occurred in the inner areas of the lagoon because of algal biomass development (S.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological status of Karavasta Lagoon (Albania): Closing the stable door before the horse has bolted?

Cristina

Tessari

Rossi

et al. 2010

Marine Environmental Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Karavasta is the widest and most important lagoon in Albania. This study aimed to assess the ecological quality status of the lagoon, acquire knowledge of a natural environment which might be exploited for aquaculture, and give management hints on the basis of anthropogenic impact and ecological conditions. A sampling campaign was carried out in 2008: at six stations, benthic fauna, water and sediment parameters were considered. Statistical analyses were carried out through multivariate procedures (PCA, classification clustering, SIMPER, RDA, DISTLM, PERMANOVA). Ecological quality was assessed through the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), the multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI) and the Benthic Index based on Taxonomic Sufficiency (BITS). Sediment characteristics (percent organic matter, %OM; redox potential discontinuity layer depth, RPDL; particle size composition) and salinity represented contributory influences on lagoon communities. It was possible to distinguish and characterise a confined area, and benthic communities, from a marine-influenced area and its biota. The number of species was quite low when compared with other open Adriatic lagoons. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2The M-AMBI and BITS classifications gave quite similar results, which seemed consistent with the ecological conditions of the lagoon, that is a distinction in the ecological quality between the seaward and landward stations, with higher ecological quality (EcoQ) at the seaward stations. Given the pressures and the ecological condition of Karavasta, an intensification of aquaculture activities must be considered with caution, since the lagoon seems at significant risk of serious hypereutrophication. This situation is made worse by the limited water exchange with the marine environment due to the irregular dredging of the communication channels.

show abstract

“…This makes the Valli di Comacchio an environment characterized by limited water renewal. Considering macrobenthic communities, in the Valli, as well as in most marine and transition systems, the distribution of numbers of individuals among species and the distribution of biomass among species shows a differential response to disturbance (Mistri et al 2000(Mistri et al , 2001Mistri 2002;Munari et al 2003Munari et al , 2005. Under conditions of infrequent disturbance the competitive dominants in macrobenthic communities are Kselected or conservative species, with the attributes of large body size and long life span: these are rarely dominant numerically but are dominant in terms of biomass.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of the exergy method to benthic assemblages of the Valli di Comacchio (Italy): Environmental gradient assessing

Cristina¹,

Mistri²

2006

Italian Journal of Zoology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Temporal trends of exergy, specific exergy, biodiversity (species richness and heterogeneity) and an indicator of stress of the macrofaunal assemblage (W statistics) were compared along a gradient of disturbance in the Valli di Comacchio. Data were gathered at four reference sites, characterized by different disturbance levels, and spanned to a six-year period (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002). Biodiversity parameters fluctuated through space and time as commonly observed in estuarine and lagoonal habitats; higher biodiversity values and less pronounced fluctuations were detected at the minimally disturbed site, while lower values of these indicators and wider fluctuations were observed at the other sites along the disturbance gradient. Exergy and specific exergy were higher at the minimally disturbed site, but all temporal trends exhibited a zigzag pattern, being characterized both by very high and very low values. A different result was obtained when comparing the trends of specific exergy with disturbance expressed by the W statistics: at the four sites a close correlation resulted, with exergy and specific exergy well in phase with the W statistics trend. While exergy, at least in the studied environment, does not seem comparable with biodiversity, it appeared to be capable of elucidating the disturbance state of the ecosystem, and therefore may constitute a suitable system-oriented characteristic, and a good indicator of ecosystem integrity.

show abstract

Variability in Macrobenthos Communities in the Valli di Comacchio, Northern Italy, a Hypereutrophized Lagoonal Ecosystem

Cited by 82 publications

References 31 publications

Lack of temporal variability in the benthos of a coastal brackish water lagoon in Greece

Lack of temporal variability in the benthos of a coastal brackish water lagoon in Greece

The ecological status of Karavasta Lagoon (Albania): Closing the stable door before the horse has bolted?

Application of the exergy method to benthic assemblages of the Valli di Comacchio (Italy): Environmental gradient assessing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About