Coralligenous habitat: patterns of vertical distribution of macroalgal assemblages
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2011.75n2399Keywords:
coralligenous habitat, depth, disturbance, macroalgae, Mediterranean SeaAbstract
The present study investigates patterns of distribution of macroalgal coralligenous assemblages in relation to depth and evaluates the role of different environmental conditions on these patterns. Two depths (30 and 40 m) were investigated off small islands and off continental coasts in order to select two different environmental conditions. Results showed differences between depths in the structure of assemblages around islands, while along the continental coasts these patterns were not evident. Moreover, differences between assemblages related to different environmental conditions were more evident in the shallower zone of distribution of the coralligenous habitat. This correlative study did not allow us to identify any cause-effect relationship, but patterns we detected agree with those of other studies, suggesting that alterations in the environmental conditions may be the cause of the decrease in differences among assemblages developing at different depths and may lead to a higher spatial homogenization and an impoverishment of the whole subtidal system.
Downloads
References
Airoldi, L. – 2003. The effects of sedimentation on rocky coastal assemblages. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev., 41: 161-203.
Airoldi, L., M. Fabiano and F. Cinelli. – 1996. Sediment deposition and movement over a turf assemblage in a shallow rocky coastal area of the Ligurian Sea. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., 133: 241-251. doi:10.3354/meps133241
Anderson, M.J. – 2001. A new method for a non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austr. Ecol., 26: 32-46.
Balata, D. and L. Piazzi. – 2008. Patterns of diversity in rocky subtidal macroalgal assemblages in relation to depth. Bot. Mar., 51: 464-471. doi:10.1515/BOT.2008.068
Balata D., L. Piazzi, E. Cecchi and F. Cinelli. – 2005. Variability of Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages subject to local variation in sediment deposits. Mar. Environ. Res., 60: 403-421. doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2004.12.005 PMid:15924991
Balata D., S. Acunto and F. Cinelli. – 2006. Spatio-temporal variability and vertical distribution of a low rocky subtidal assemblage in the north-west Mediterranean. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 67: 553-561. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.12.009
Balata D., L. Piazzi and L. Benedetti-Cecchi. – 2007a. Sediment disturbance and loss of beta diversity on subtidal rocky reefs. Ecology, 88: 2455-2461. doi:10.1890/07-0053.1 PMid:18027747
Balata D., L. Piazzi and F. Cinelli. – 2007b. Increase of sedimentation in a subtidal system: effects on the structure and diversity of macroalgal assemblages. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 351: 73-82. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2007.06.019
Ballesteros, E. – 1992. Els vegetals i la zonació litoral: espècies, comunitats i factors que influeixen en la seva distribució. Arx. Sec. Cièn. Inst. Est. Catalans, 101: 1-616.
Ballesteros, E. – 2006. Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages: a synthesis of present knowledge. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev., 44: 123-195.
Benedetti-Cecchi L., F. Bulleri and F. Cinelli. – 2000. The interplay of physical and biological factors in maintaining mid-shore and low-shore assemblages on rocky coasts in the northwest Mediterranean. Oecologia, 123: 406-417. doi:10.1007/s004420051028
Benedetti-Cecchi, L., E. Maggi, I. Bertocci, S. Vaselli, F. Micheli, G.C. Osio and F. Cinelli. – 2003. Variation in rocky shore assemblages in the northwestern Mediterranean: contrasts between islands and the mainland. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 293: 193-215. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00220-X
Boudouresque, C.F. – 1971. Méthodes d’étude qualitative et quantitative du benthos (en particulier du phytobenthos). Tethys, 3: 79-104.
Boudouresque, C.F. – 1973. Recherche de bionomie analytique structurale et expérimentale sur les peuplements sciaphiles de Méditerranée occidentale (fraction algale). Les peuplements sciaphiles de mode relativement calme sur substrats durs. Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat., 33: 147-225.
Chapman, M.G., A.J. Underwood and G.A. Skilleter. – 1995. Variability at different spatial scales between a subtidal assemblage exposed to discharge of sewage and two control assemblages. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 189: 103-122. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(95)00017-L
Clarke, K.R. – 1993. Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Austr. Ecol., 18: 117-143. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.1993.tb00438.x
Cocito, S. – 2004. Bioconstruction and biodiversity: their mutual influence. Sci. Mar., 68(Suppl. 1): 137-144.
Cocito S., D. Bedulli and S. Sgorbini. – 2002. Distribution patterns of the sublittoral epibenthic assemblages on a rocky shoal in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean). Sci. Mar., 66(2): 175-181.
Dauer, D.M., R.J. Llanso and M.F. Lane. – 2008. Depth-related patterns in benthic community condition along an estuarine gradient in Chesapeake Bay. Ecol. Ind., 8: 417-424. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2007.02.009
Diez, I., A. Santolaria and J.M. Gorostiaga. – 2003. The relationship of environmental factors to the structure and distribution of subtidal seaweed vegetation of the western Basque coast (N Spain). Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 56: 1041-1054. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00301-3
Garrabou, J., E. Ballesteros and M. Zabala. – 2002. Structure and dynamics of north-western Mediterranean rocky benthic communities along a depth gradient. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 55: 493-508. doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0920
Gili, J.M. and J.D. Ros. – 1985. Study and cartography of benthic communities of Medes Islands (NE Spain). PSZNI: Mar. Ecol., 6: 219-238. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.1985.tb00323.x
Glasby, T.M. and S.D. Connell. – 2001. Orientation and position of substrata have large effects on epibiotic assemblages. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., 214: 127-135. doi:10.3354/meps214127
Gray, J.S. – 1997. Marine biodiversity: patterns, threats and conservation needs. Biodiv. Conserv., 6: 153-175. doi:10.1023/A:1018335901847
Gray, J.S. – 2000. The measurement of marine species diversity, with an application to the benthic fauna of the Norwegian continental shelf. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 250: 23-49. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(00)00178-7
Guiry, M.D. and E. Nic Dhonncha. – 2009. Algae Base. World Wide Web electronic publication www.algaebase.org.
Irving, A.D. and S.D. Connell. – 2002. Sedimentation and light penetration interact to maintain heterogeneity of subtidal habitats: algal versus invertebrate dominated assemblages. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., 245: 83-91. doi:10.3354/meps245083
Konar, B., K. Ilken and M. Edwards. – 2009. Depth-stratified community zonation patterns on Gulf of Alaska rocky shores. Mar. Ecol., 30: 63-73. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2008.00259.x
Legendre, P., D. Borcard and P.R. Peres-Neto. – 2005. Analyzing beta diversity: partitioning the spatial variation of community composition data. Ecol. Monogr., 75: 435-450. doi:10.1890/05-0549
Olden, J.D. and N.L. Poff. – 2003. Ecological mechanisms driving biotic homogenization: testing a mechanistic model using fish fauna. Ecology, 85: 1867-1875. doi:10.1890/03-3131
Olden, J.D., N.L. Poff, M.R. Douglas, M.E. Douglas and K.D. Fausch. – 2004. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of biotic homogenization. Trends Ecol. Evol., 19: 18-24. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2003.09.010
Pérès, J.M. and J. Picard. – 1964. Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la Méditerranée. Rec. Trav. Stat. Mar. Endoume, 3: 1-137.
Petrilli, F.L., G. De Renzi, P. Palmerini, R. Morelli and S. De Flora. – 1979. Survey of the pollution in a coastal area of the Thyrrenian Sea. Aerial photography, physic-chemical and microbiological investigations and mutagenic monitoring. Water Res., 13: 895-904. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(79)90225-2
Piazzi, L. and D. Balata. – 2008. The spread of Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea in the Mediterranean Sea: an example of how biological invasions can influence beta diversity. Mar. Env. Res., 65: 50-61. doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2007.07.002 PMid:17904216
Piazzi, L., D. Balata and F. Cinelli. – 2007. Invasions of alien macroalgae in Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages. Cryptogamie Algol., 28: 289-301.
Piazzi, L., D. Balata, E. Cecchi, F. Cinelli and G. Sartoni. – 2010. Species composition and patterns of diversity of macroalgal coralligenous assemblages in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. J. Nat. Hist., 44: 1-22. doi:10.1080/00222930903377547
Smart, S.M., K. Thompson, R.H. Marris, M.G. Le Duc, L.C. Maskell and L.G. Firbank. – 2006. Biotic homogenization and changes in species diversity across human-modified ecosystems. Proc. R. Soc. B., 273: 2659-2665 doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3630 PMid:17002952 PMCid:1635461
Terlizzi, A., M. J. Anderson, S. Fraschetti and L. Benedetti-Cecchi. – 2010. Scales of spatial variation in Mediterranean subtidal sessile assemblages at different depths. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., (in press).
Underwood, A.J. – 1992. Competition and plant-animal interaction. In: D.M. John, S.J. Hawkins and J.H. Price (eds.), Plant-Animal interaction in the marine benthos. Syst. Assoc. Spec. Vol., 46: 443-475.
Underwood, A.J. – 1997. Experiments in ecology. Their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Vadas, R.L. and R.S. Steneck. – 1988. Zonation of deep water benthic algae in the Gulf of Maine. J. Phycol., 24: 338-346.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2011 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.