Effects of Costa Concordia shipwreck on epiphytic assemblages and biotic features of  Posidonia oceanica  canopy

Bacci, Tiziano; Penna, Marina; Rende, Sante Francesco; Trabucco, Benedetta; Gennaro, Paola; Bertasi, F.; Marusso, Veronica; Grossi, L.; Cicero, Anna Maria

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.012

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Both, rocky substrates and P. oceanica meadows showed a less intense decrease (13 and 25%, respectively) in relative water movement toward the substrate, which was not statistically significant, potentially due to low replication. Previous studies (Koch and Gust, 1999;Arumugam et al, 2013;Bacci et al, 2016) found significant reductions of water currents inside seagrass meadows that were located at a water depth of 10 m (e.g., Peterson et al, 2004;Bouma et al, 2005;Koch et al, 2006). However, investigated seagrass meadows in the present study were located at a depth of 28 m, in which current is usually weaker than in more shallow areas, which hypothetically explain the absence of statistically significant effects.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Investigated Habitatscontrasting

confidence: 67%

Fleshy Red Algae Mats Influence Their Environment in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2021

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In the Mediterranean Sea, the fleshy red alga Phyllophora crispa forms dense mats of up to 15 cm thickness, mainly located on rocky substrates in water depths below 20 m. Because of the observed density of these mats and some first observations, we hypothesize that P. crispa is a yet undescribed ecosystem engineer that provides a multitude of ecological niches for associated organisms along small-scale environmental gradients. Therefore, we conducted an in-situ pilot study in the Western Mediterranean Sea to assess potential influence of the algae mats on the key environmental factors water movement, temperature and light intensity. We comparatively and simultaneously measured in P. crispa mats, in neighboring Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, on neighboring bare rocky substrates without algae mats, and in the directly overlying water column. We used several underwater logging sensors and gypsum clod cards. Findings revealed that P. crispa significantly reduced water movement by 41% compared to the overlying water column, whereas water movement was not affected by P. oceanica meadows and bare rocky substrates. Surprisingly, P. crispa increased the water temperature by 0.3°C relative to the water column, while the water temperature in P. oceanica and on bare rocky substrates was reduced by 0.5°C. Light intensity inside the red algae mats was reduced significantly by 69% compared to the water column. This was similar to measured light reduction of 77% by P. oceanica. These findings highlight the strong influence of the dense red algae mats on some key environmental factors. Their influence is obviously similar or even higher than for the well-known seagrass ecosystem engineer. This may be a factor that facilitates associated biodiversity similarly as described for P. oceanica.

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Section: Characteristics Of Investigated Habitatscontrasting

confidence: 67%

Fleshy Red Algae Mats Influence Their Environment in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2021

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“…The regressive lower limit at a high depth, with the presence of dead matte , may suggest recent damage, ascribable to the Costa Concordia event. As also discussed in Bacci et al (2016), more concurrent causes may have led to the differences observed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Shoot leaf surface area, instead, did not differ among sites, reflecting previous results referring to the study area reported in Bacci et al . (2016). Epiphyte biomass also did not show differences between disturbed and control sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Epiphyte biomass also did not show differences between disturbed and control sites. However, significant differences in epiphytic community structure were detected in previous investigations (Bacci et al ., 2016). The structure of the epiphytic community of P. oceanica leaves, in fact, could be an indicator of multiple impacts while epiphyte biomass is more sensitive to strong nutrient enrichment (Piazzi et al ., 2016a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, multiple control sites must represent comparable habitats (in terms of biological assemblages, type and slope of the substrate and exposure of waves) to those occurring at the disturbed site; this requires that they are selected in the same geographic area as the disturbed site, but far enough away as to be outside the range of influence of the source of anthropogenic disturbance being examined (Terlizzi et al ., 2005; Benedetti-Cecchi & Osio, 2007). Control sites should also occur on both sides of the impacted area, in order to avoid spatial segregation, although in some cases this is not possible (Terlizzi et al ., 2005; Benedetti-Cecchi & Osio, 2007; Bacci et al ., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiple environmental descriptors to assess ecological status of sensitive habitats in the area affected by the Costa Concordia shipwreck (Giglio Island, Italy)

et al. 2017

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the application of multiple environmental descriptors through an asymmetrical sampling design to detect possible impacts related to the Costa Concordia event on the coastal marine environment. The Costa Concordia shipwreck occurred on a submerged rocky reef in the north-western Mediterranean Sea and the wreck was removed 2 years later. To achieve the proposed objective two main coastal ecosystems, the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and coralligenous assemblages were studied using two ecological indices, PREI and ESCA, respectively. Both indices show a lower ecological quality in the disturbed sites compared with the control ones. Differences between the disturbed and control sites observed in both studied ecosystems would seem to indicate an increase of turbidity around the shipwreck as the most plausible cause of impact. The concurrent use of different ecological indices and asymmetrical sampling designs allowed detection of differences in ecological quality of the disturbed sites compared with the controls. This approach may represent an interesting tool to be employed in impact evaluation studies.

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