The macrozoobenthos of the Karavasta lagoon system (Albania): local assemblages and geographical comparisons

Abstract

The macrozoobenthic assemblage from the Karavasta lagoon system, the main wetland of Albania, was studied on soft bottoms and artificial hard substrates. Three different communities were identified: the typical ‘brackish‐water community’, an ‘outlet community’ dominated by filter‐feeders, and a typical ‘marine community’, inhabiting fine sandy bottoms, where polychaetes are dominant, together with a few species of tunicates and bivalves, which colonize hard substrates. The occurrence of build‐ups of the bryozoan Conopeum seurati, settled on the upper portion of long submerged wooden poles, was the main feature of faunistic interest. The faunistic affinity between the zoobenthic assemblage recorded in the hyperhaline lagoon of Karavasta and the assemblages from two Italian lagoons, the brackish Lake of Lesina and the euhaline Lake of Fogliano, was considered according to the different hydrological conditions and the geographical location. Hydrological confinement and salinity were likely to be the leading factors influencing the benthic community composition in the Karavasta wetland area. Therefore, on a vaster spatial scale, the isolation and geographical proximity of the ecosystems and colonizing ability and dispersal changes of the species appear to be the main factors liable to produce faunal variations.

Spatial variability of macrozoobenthic community and trophic structure of a subtropical lagoon on southeastern Brazil's Atlantic coast

“…Coastal lagoons are generally characterised by large fluctuations in environmental variables due to the intermittent entrance of both seawater and freshwater and these fluctuations may cause changes in the structure and distribution pattern of organisms (MARZANO et al, 2010).…”

“…According to Marzano et al (2010), some biogeographical regions can share species, forming a typical stock of them; moreover, the recent origin of the majority of brackish biotopes lies at the root of the paucity of species and uniformity of their fauna from a macroscopic point of view.…”

Polychaetes of Greece: an updated and annotated checklist

“…Reported from Greece by Koukouras and Rousso (1991). In the Mediterranean also known from Turkey (Doğan et al 2005; but considered questionable by Çınar et al 2014), Cyprus (Çınar 2005), Italy (Castelli et al 2008), Albania (Marzano et al 2010) and the Adriatic (listed under Scoletoma impatiens (Claparède, 1968) by Mikac (2015)). Originally described from South Africa.…”

LifeWatchGreece: Research infrastructure (ESFRI) for biodiversity data and data observatories

“…Reported from Greece by Koukouras and Rousso (1991). In the Mediterranean also known from Turkey (Doğan et al 2005; but considered questionable by Çınar et al 2014), Cyprus (Çınar 2005), Italy (Castelli et al 2008), Albania (Marzano et al 2010) and the Adriatic (listed under Scoletoma impatiens (Claparède, 1968) by ). Originally described from South Africa.…”

“…Since then, most research has been directed towards the study of macrobenthic coastal soft bottom polychaete communities in an ecological context. To date, the only taxonomic work studying exclusively planktonic polychaetes in Greece is by Wesenberg-Lund (1939a), based on samples taken during the Danish Oceanographic Expedition of the research vessel "Thor" from a few stations in Greek waters (Mavraki et al 2016). Hard substrates, meiobenthic communities and deep sea habitats are understudied in Greece (e.g.…”