Assessment of grazing impact on deep canopy-forming species in the western Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean
Downloads
Marine forests are experiencing a severe decline in many Mediterranean areas. One of the major causes of the loss of the canopy-forming species is the overgrazing by herbivorous fishes. In the present study, the status of Treptacantha ballesterosii and Carpodesmia zosteroides populations was checked in two areas located along the central-eastern sector of Sicily. In addition, impact of herbivorous fishes, native or alien, on canopy-forming species was realized during monitoring of fish communities. It was observed that T. ballesterosii and C. zosteroides populations are in regression, particularly T. ballesterosii. Probably, the growth of this latter species may be limited by a strong herbivores' pressure. During the monitoring period, the highest number of fish species has been observed at the depths where there are T. ballesterosii thalli. Moreover, an expansion of Sparisoma cretense populations has been observed that seems to be more competitive than the other herbivorous fish Sarpa salpa. Furthermore, the parrotfish has been observed several times in the bathymetric range where there is T. ballesterosii. Therefore, it may be hypothesized that in these areas the herbivorous fish which mostly hinder the development and growth of T. ballesterosii is S. cretense.
Downloads
Abecasis D., Bentes L., Ribeiro J., Machado D., Oliveira F., Veiga P., Goní§alves J.M.S., Erzini K. (2006). First record of the Mediterranean parrotfish, Sparisoma cretense in Ria Formosa (south Portugal). Marine Biodiversity Records, 5248: 1-2.
Adams A.J., Dahlgren C.P., Kellison G.T., Kendall M.S., Layman C.A., Ley J.A., Nagelkerken I., Serafy J.E (2006). Nursery function of tropical back-reef systems. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 318: 287-301.
Agnetta D., Badalamenti F., Ceccherelli G., Di Trapani F., Bonaviri C., Gianguzza P. (2015). Role of two co-occurring Mediterranean Sea urchins in the formation of barren from Cystoseira canopy. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 152: 73-77.
Arevalo R., Pinedo S., Ballesteros E. (2007). Changes in the composition and structure of Mediterranean rocky-shore communities following a gradient of nutrient enrichment: descriptive study and test of proposed methods to assess water quality regarding macroalgae. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 55: 104-113.
Astruch P., Bonhomme P., Goujard A., Rouanet E., Boudouresque C.F., Harmelin J., Harmelin-Vivien M. (2016). Provence and Mediterranean warming: the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense is coming. Rapports de la Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, 41: 362.
Azzurro E., Andaloro F. (2004). A new settled population of the Lessepsian migrant Siganus luridus (Pisces: Siganidae) in Linosa Island"”Sicily Strait. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 848: 19-821.
Azzurro E., Franzitta G., Milazzo M., Bariche M., Fanelli E. (2016). Abundance patterns at the invasion front: The case of Siganus luridus in Linosa (Sicily-Strait, Central Mediterranean Sea). Marine and Freshwater Research, 68: 697-702.
Ballesteros E., Torras X., Pinedo S., García M., Mangialajo L., de Torres M. (2007). A new methodology based on littoral community cartography for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 55: 172-180.
Bariche M. (2006). Diet of the Lessepsian fishes, Siganus rivulatus and S. luridus (Siganidae) in the eastern Mediterranean: A bibliographic analysis. Cybium, 30: 41-49.
Benedetti-Cecchi L., Pannacciulli F., Bulleri F., Moschella P.S., Airoldi L., Relini G., Cinelli F. (2001). Predicting the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance: large scale effects of loss of canopy algae on rocky shores. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 214: 137-150.
Bernardi G., Robertson D.R., Clifton K.E., Azzurro E. (2000). Molecular systematics, zoogeography, and evolutionary ecology of the Atlantic parrotfish genus Sparisoma. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 15: 292-300.
Boero F., Féral J.P., Azzurro E., Cardin V., Riedel B., Despalatović M., Munda I., Moschella P., Zaouali J., Fonda Umani S., Theocharis A., Wiltshire K., Briand F. (2008). Climate warming and related changes in Mediterranean marine biota. CIESM Workshop Monographs, 35: 5-21.
Bonaviri C., Gianguzza P., Pipitone C., Hereu B. (2012). Micropredation on sea urchins as a potential stabilizing process for rocky reefs. Journal of Sea Research, 73: 18-23.
Bonaviri C., Vega Fernandez T., Fanelli G., Badalamenti F., Gianguzza P. (2011). Leading role of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula in maintaining the barren state in southwestern Mediterranean. Marine Biology, 158: 2505-2513.
Bortone S.A., Hastings R.W., Oglesby J.L. (1986). Quantification of reef fish assemblages: A comparison of several in situ methods. Northeast Gulf Science, 8: 1-22.
Bulleri F., Benedetti-Cecchi L., Cinelli F. (1999). Grazing by the sea urchins Arbacia lixula L. and Paracentrotus lividus Lam. in the Northwest Mediterranean. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 241: 81-95.
Castriota L., Andaloro F. (2008). First record of the lessepsian fish Siganus luridus (Osteichthyes: Siganidae) in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records, 1: e11.
Catra M., Alongi G., Leonardi R., Negri M., Sanfilippo R. Sciuto F., Serio D., Viola A., Rosso A. (2019). Degradation of a photophilic algal community and its associated fauna from eastern Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Mediterranean Marine Science, 20(1): 74-89.
Catra M., Giaccone T., Giardina S., Nicastro A. (2006). Il patrimonio naturale marino bentonico della Timpa di Acireale (Catania). Bollettino dell'Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali, 39 (366): 129-158.
Cavallaro M., Marino G., Ammendolia G. (2016). First record of a Lessepsian migrant, the dusky spinefoot, Siganus luridus (Rí¼ppell, 1829) in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea). Annales Series Historia Naturalis, 26: 19-24.
Chryssovergis F., Panayotidis P. (1995). Communities of macrophytobenthos along an eutrophication gradient (Maliakos Gulf, Eagean Sea, Greece). Oceanologica Acta, 18: 649-658.
Cormaci M., Furnari G., Alongi G., Catra M., Pizzuto F., Serio D. (2001). Spring marine vegetation on rocky substrata of the Tremiti Islands (Adriatic Sea, Italy). In: F. Faranda et al. (eds). Structures and processes in the Mediterranean ecosystems. Springer Verlag, Italy. pp: 245-254.
Cormaci M., Furnari G., Scammacca B. (1979). Ricerche floristiche sulle alghe marine della Sicilia orientale (terzo contributo). Bollettino della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali Catania, 13: 27-44.
Froese R., Pauly D. (2019). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available from: www.fishbase. org. Retrieved 10/05/2010.
Furnari G., Giaccone G., Cormaci M., Alongi G., Serio D. (2003). Biodiversití marina delle coste italiane: catalogo del macrofitobenthos. Biologia Marina Mediterranea, 10(1): 1-483.
Furnari G., Scammacca B. (1970). Ricerche floristiche sulle alghe marine della Sicilia orientale. Bollettino della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali Catania, 10: 215-230.
Furnari G., Scammacca B. (1973). Ricerche floristiche sulle alghe marine della Sicilia orientale. Nuovo contributo. Bollettino della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali Catania, 11: 1-21.
Furnari G., Scammacca B. (1975). Osservazioni preliminari su alcuni popolamenti algali della costa orientale della Sicilia. SIBM (Atti 5° Congresso, Nardò 1973): 42-48.
Gianni F., Bartolini F., Pey A., Laurent M., Martins G.M., Airoldi L., Mangialajo L. (2017). Threats to large brown algal forests in temperate seas: the overlooked role of native herbivorous fish. Scientific Reports, 7: 6012.
Gianni F., MaÄić V., Bartolini F., Pey A., Laurent M., Mangialajo L. (2020). Optimizing canopy"forming algae conservation and restoration with a new herbivorous fish deterrent device. Restoration Ecology, 28(4): 750-756.
Giaccone G., Colonna P., Graziano C., Mannino A.M., Tornatore E., Cormaci M., Furnari G., Scammacca B. (1985). Revisione della flora marina Di Sicilia e isole minori. Bollettino della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali Catania, 18: 537-782.
Grech D., Fallati L., Farina S., Cabana D., Guala I. (2019). Marine Forests (Fucales, Ochrophyta) in a low impacted Mediterranean coastal area: current knowledge and future perspectives. In: Gargiulo, C., Zoppi, C. (Eds.). Planning, nature and ecosystem services. Naples, FedOAPress. pp: 176-184.
Grimaldi S. (2004). La vegetazione a Schizymenia dubyi (Chauvin ex Duby) J. Agadh nella costa della Sicilia Orientale. Tesi di Dottorato (Tutor Prof. Giuseppe Giaccone). Dottorato in Scienze ambientali I (Fitogeografia dei territori mediterranei). Universití di Catania.
Guidetti P., Boero F. (2002). Spatio-temporal variability in abundance of the parrotfish, Sparisoma cretense, in SE Apulia (SE Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Italian Journal of Zoology, 69: 229-232.
Guidetti P., Dulcic J. (2007). Relationships among predatory fish, sea urchins and barrens in Mediterranean rocky reefs across a latitudinal gradient. Marine Environmental Research, 63: 168-184.
Harmelin-Vivien M.L., Harmelin J.G., Chauvet C., Duval C., Galzin R., Lejeune P., Barnabé G., Blanc F., Chevalier R., Duclerc J., Lasserre G. (1985). The underwater observation of fish communities and fish populations: Methods and problems. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre Vie), 40: 467-540.
Harvey E.S., Mclaren J., Langlois B., Shortis M.R. (2010). Influence of range, angle of view, image resolution and image compression on underwater stereo-video measurements: High-definition and broadcast-resolution video cameras compared. Marine Technology Society Journal, 44: 75-85.
Hereu B. (2006). Depletion of palatable algae by sea urchins and fishes in a Mediterranean subtidal community. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 313: 95-103.
Hereu B., Linares C., Sala E., Garrabou J., Garcia-Rubies A., Diaz D., Zabala M. (2012). Multiple processes regulate long-term population dynamics of sea urchins on Mediterranean rocky reefs. PloS ONE, 7(5): e36901.
Karachle P.K., Angelidis A., Apostolopoulos G., Ayas D., Ballesteros M., Bonnici C., Brodersen M., Castriota L., Chalari N., Cottalorda J., Crocetta F., Deidun A., ÄoÄ‘o Ž., Dogrammatzi A., DulÄić J., Fiorentino F., Göní¼lal O., Harmelin J., Insacco G., Izquierdo-Gómez D., Izquierdo-Muñoz A., Joksimović A., Kavadas S., Malaquias M., Madrenas E., Massi D., Micarelli P., Minchin D., í–nal U., Ovalis P., Poursanidis, D., Siapatis A., Sperone E., Spinelli A., Stamouli C., Tiralongo F., Tuní§er S., Yaglioglu D., Zava B., Zenetos A. (2016). New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (March 2016). Mediterranean Marine Science, 17: 230-252.
La Mesa G., Salvati E., Agnesi S., Tunesi L. (2017). Assessment of coastal fish assemblages before the establishment of a new marine protected area in central Mediterranean: its role in formulating zoning proposal. Mediterranean Marine Science, 18(1): 11-21.
Louisy P. (2015). Guide d'identification des poisons marins, Europe et Méditerranée. Editions Ulmer. 512 p.
Mancuso F.P., Strain E.M.A., Piccioni E., De Clerck O., Sarí G., Airoldi L. (2017). Status of vulnerable Cystoseira populations along the Italian infralittoral fringe, and relationships with environmental and anthropogenic variables. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 129 (2): 762-771.
Mangialajo L., Chiantore M., Cattaneo-Vietti R. (2008). Loss of fucoid algae along a gradient of urbanisation, and structure of benthic assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 358: 63-74.
Mangialajo L., Ruggieri N., Asnaghi V., Chiantore M., Povero P., Cattaneo-Vietti R. (2007). Ecological status in the Ligurian Sea: the effect of coastline urbanisation and the importance of proper reference sites. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 55: 30-41.
Medrano A. (2020). Macroalgal forests ecology, long-term monitoring, and conservation in a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area. Tesis Doctorals - Departament - Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals. 184 p.
Mineur F., Arenas F., Assis J., Davies A.J., Engelen A.H., Fernandes F., Malta E., Thibaut T., Van Nguyen T., Vaz-Pinto F., Vranken S., Serrí£o E.A., De Clerck O. (2015). European seaweeds under pressure: Consequences for communities and ecosystem functioning. Journal of Sea Research, 98: 91-108.
Orellana S., Hernández M., Sansón M. (2019). Diversity of Cystoseira sensu lato (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean based on morphological and DNA evidence, including Carpodesmia gen. emend. and Treptacantha gen. emend.. European Journal of Phycology, 54(3): 447-465.
Perkol-Finkel S., Airoldi L. (2010). Loss and recovery potential of marine habitats: an experimental study of factors maintaining resilience in subtidal algal forests at the Adriatic Sea. PLoS One, (5): e10791.
Pinedo S., Garcia M., Satta M.P., de Torres M., Ballesteros E. (2007). Rocky-shore communities as indicators of water quality: a case study in the Northwestern Mediterranean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 55: 126-135.
Pizzuto F. (1999). On the structure, typology and periodism of a Cystoseira brachycarpa J Agardh emend. Giaccone community and of a Cystoseira crinite Duby community from the eastern coast of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Plant Biosystems, 133: 15-35.
Rodríguez-Prieto C., Polo L. (1996). Effects of sewage pollution in the structure and dynamics of the community of Cystoseira mediterranea (Fucales, Phaeophyceae). Scientia Marina, 60: 263.
Rosso A. (2001). Cartografa topografca e biocenotica dei fondali mobili della Riserva Marina "Isole Ciclopi". Scientifc report. Ministero dell'Ambiente – Capitaneria di Porto - Universití degli Studi di Catania, Catania. 119 p.
Sala E., Boudouresque C. (1997). The role of fishes in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community. I Algal communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 212: 25-44.
Sala E., Kizilkaya Z., Yildirim D., Ballesteros E. (2011). Alien marine fishes deplete algal biomass in the Eastern Mediterranean. PLoS ONE, 6: e17356
Sales M., Ballesteros E. (2009). Shallow Cystoseira (Fucales: Ochrophyta) assemblages thriving in sheltered areas from Menorca (NW Mediterranean): relationships with environmental factors and anthropogenic pressures. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 84(4): 476-482.
Sales M., Cebrian E., Tomas F., Ballesteros E. (2011). Pollution impacts and recovery potential in three species of the genus Cystoseira (Fucales, Heterokontophyta). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 92: 347-357.
Sciuto F., Sanfilippo R., Alongi G., Catra M., Serio D., Bejaoui S., Leonardi R., Viola A. (2017). First data on ostracods and foraminifera living in Cystoseira communities in western Ionian Sea (southern Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Mediterranean Marine Science, 18 (3): 393-405. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.2085
Serio D., Alongi G., Catra M., Cormaci M., Furnari G. (2006). Changes in the benthic algal flora of Linosa Island (Straits of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea). Botanica Marina, 49(2): 135-144.
Soltan D., Verlaque M., Franí§ois Boudouresque C., Francour P. (2001). Changes in macroalgal communities in the vicinity of a Mediterranean sewage outfall after the setting up of a treatment plant. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 42: 59-0.
Stamouli C., Akel E.H.KH., Azzurro E., Bakiu R., Bas A.A., Bitar G., Boyaci Y.í–., Cakalli M., Corsini-Foka M., Crocetta F., DragiÄević B., DulÄić J., Durucan F., El Zrelli R., Erguden D., Filiz H., Giardina F., Giovos I., Göní¼lal O., Hemida F., Kassar A., Kondylatos G., Macali A., Mancini E., Ovalis P., Paladini De Mendoza F., PaviÄiÄ M., Rabaoui L., Rizkalla S.I., Tiralongo F., Turan C., Vrdoljak D., Yapici S., Zenetos A. (2017). New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (December 2017). Mediterranean Marine Science, 18: 534-556.
Steneck R.S., Graham M.H., Bourque B.J., Corbett D., Erlandson J.M., Estes J., Tegner, M. (2002). Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future. Environmental Conservation, 29: 436-459.
Tegner M.J., Dayton P.K. (1977). Sea urchin recruitment patterns and implications of commercial fishing. Science, 196(4287): 324-326.
Templado J. (2014). Future trends of Mediterranean biodiversity. In: S. Goffredo, Z. Dubinsky (Eds.). The Mediterranean Sea: Its history and present challenges. Springer, Netherlands. pp: 479-498
Thibaut T., Blanfuné A., Boudouresque C.F., Verlaque M. (2015). Decline and local extinction of Fucales in French Riviera: the harbinger of future extinctions? Mediterranean Marine Science, 16: 206-224.
Thibaut T., Blanfuné A., Boudouresque C.F., Cottalorda J.M., Hereu B., Susini M.L., Verlaque M. (2016). Unexpected temporal stability of Cystoseira and Sargassum forests in Port-Cros, one of the oldest Mediterranean marine national parks. Cryptogamie Algologie, 37: 1-30.
Thibaut T., Pinedo S., Torras X., Ballesteros E. (2005). Long-term decline of the populations of Fucales (Cystoseira spp. and Sargassum spp.) in the Albères coast (France, North-western Mediterranean). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50: 1472-1489.
Tsiamis K., Panayotidis P., Salomidi M., Pavlidou A., Kleinteich J., Balanika K., Kí¼pper F.C. (2013). Macroalgal community response to re-oligotrophication in Saronikos Gulf. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 472: 73-85.
Tsirintanis K., Sini M., Doumas O., Trygonis V., Katsanevakis S. (2018). Assessment of grazing effects on phytobenthic community structure at shallow rocky reefs: An experimental field study in the North Aegean Sea. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 503: 31-40.
Vergés A., Steinberg P.D., Hay M.E., Poore A.G.B., Campbell A.H., Ballesteros E., Heck K.L., Booth Jr. D. J., Coleman M.A, Feary D.A., Figueira W., Langlois T., Marzinelli E.M., Mizerek T., Mumby P.J., Nakamura Y., Roughan M., Van Sebille E., Gupta A.S., Smale D.A., Tomas F., Wernberg T., Wilson S.K. (2014a). The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems: climate-mediated changes in herbivory and community phase shifts. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281: 20140846.
Vergés A., Tomas F., Cebrian E., Ballesteros E., Kizilkaya Z., Dendrinos P., Karamanlidis A.A., Spiegel D., Sala, E. (2014b). Tropical rabbitfish and the deforestation of a warming temperate sea. Journal of Ecology, 102: 1518–1527.
Verlaque M. (1990). Relations entre Sarpa salpa (Linnaeus,1758) (Téléostéen, Sparidae), les autres poissons broteurs et le phytobenthos algal méditerranéen. Oceanologica Acta, 13: 373-388.
Zhang Z., Campbell A., Leus D., Bureau D. (2011). Recruitment patterns and juvenile–adult associations of red sea urchins in three areas of British Columbia. Fisheries Research, 109(2-3): 276-284.
