Biofouling Role in Mariculture Environment Restoration: An Example in the Mar Grande of Taranto (Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

The biodiversity of macrobenthic invertebrates of two artificial hard substrates close to a mariculture plant was assessed in order to understand the effect on the fouling community of an innovative Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system. The examined hard substrates were (i) vertical bare collectors that are placed around the cages as new colonizable substrates, which were investigated from the early colonization and (ii) artificial hard substrates already present under the cages analyzed over time to observe changes due to the action on the water column by filter feeder organisms colonizing the above vertical collectors. Overall, 186 taxa were collected (both the substrates), of which 99 as sessile habitat-former or structuring macroinvertebrates and 87 as associated fauna, mostly vagile forms. On the vertical collectors 121 taxa were collected, among which 44 sessile structuring species and 77 vagile-associated taxa; on the artificial hard substrates under the cages, 124 taxa were identified, 95 belong to the first category and 29 as associated taxa. The two analyzed substrates shared 43% of sessile species (40) and 22% of associated species (19). At the end of the first year of experimentation, the study revealed Sabella spallanzanii and mussels as the most abundant taxa. Lastly, the communities under the cages showed an increase in biodiversity after the placement of collectors. The changes were attributed to the decrease in particulate matter originating as wastes from the breeding cage, which was intercepted by the filter feeder community developed on the vertical collectors.

How complex is the Naineris setosa species complex? First integrative study of a presumed cosmopolitan and invasive annelid (Sedentaria: Orbiniidae)

“…with two records reported from the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Seas. This corroborated the earlier records of the species in the Mediterranean and corroborated its alien status (Blake & Giangrande 2011;Khedhri et al 2014;Atzori et al 2016;Arduini et al 2022;Rebai et al 2022;Struck et al 2023). The species was believed to have been introduced in the Mediterranean Sea due to aquaculture (Blake & Giangrande 2011) and shipping as in the case of possible regional introductions within the Mediterranean (Khedri et al 2014).…”

“…Subsequently, Blake & Giangrande (2011) reported the species as invasive in the Mediterranean Sea. The species was also reported from the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian Seas expanding its distribution to Tunisia and Taranto (Arduini et al 2022, Rebai et al 2022. The records from the Pacific, such as those from Galapagos and Australia, require further revision.…”

“…Naineris setosa s. str. can be considered established in the Mediterranean since later records expanded its distribution to Egypt (Struck et al 2023), Tunisia (Khedhri et al 2014;Rebai et al 2022), and the Adriatic (Blake & Giangrande 2011), Ionian (Arduini et al 2022), and Tyrrhenian (Atzori et al 2016) seas. Naineris setosa was first reported in Brazil by Nonato (1981); since then, the number of Brazilian records increased (Amaral et al 2006(Amaral et al -2022.…”

Microplastics Uptake by Four Filter Feeders

“…The concentration of MPs chosen for this work struck a compromise between realistic and operative conditions. The selected species observed living on the natural rope collectors of the IMTA system collectively correspond to almost the entire biofouling biomass in the Mar Grande of Taranto [36,42], and the same organisms form parts of biofouling communities in confined areas all over the Mediterranean Sea [41][42][43].…”

“…It has recently been introduced into the Mediterranean Sea, where it exhibits different morphologies (tubular, massive, or irregular shapes) [40,41]. These organisms are part of the fouling community, living in enclosed areas such as the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo in Taranto, and are able to tolerate eutrophic and polluted conditions [41][42][43]. The four selected species collectively represent more than 80% of the fouling biomass established on the rope collectors near the IMTA cages [36,42].…”