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Massive stranding event revealed the occurrence of an overlooked and ecosystem engineer sponge

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Abstract

Climate change is increasing the frequency, magnitude, and socio-economic costs of unprecedented extreme weather events and disasters. An exceptional stranding event of benthic species, mainly represented by the ecosystem engineer Porifera (Demospongiae) Geodia cydonium (Linnaeus, 1767) was observed in the Gulf of Oristano (Sardinia, Italy, Western Mediterranean) in 2018 after an extreme meteorological event. The stranding phenomenon was assessed and quantified by means of quadrats sampled along the beach highlighting all the conspicuous species; the benthic sponge community in the area was evaluated through underwater SCUBA transects. Stranding reached density peaks of up to 0.88 ind m−2, and the most abundant species reported was the sponge G. cydonium, followed by molluscs, bryozoans, a rare teleost fish, and many other species. The putative source populations were identified in quite shallow (less than 2.5-m depth) Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile, 1813 meadows, where the sponge shows a mean density of 2.0 ind m−2. The present massive stranding event is the first in Sardinia and in the Mediterranean for this species, whose distribution is still poorly known. The living population of the gulf still seems in good status, and probably only a little percentage of specimens has been struck by the exceptionally strong hurricane. This work highlights the relevance of stranding events as opportunities for providing information about local biodiversity; biological traits of G. cydonium and the need of effective monitoring plans to fill the lack of knowledge about the distribution of this protected species are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre Marine Protected Area (MPA) that provided all necessary permits for this study. The following colleagues are thanked: Andrea Cucco and Giovanni Quattrocchi for the support in the description of the meteorological event; Dario Vallainc for putting DG in contact with the LEK fishermen for fish records; Alessandra Bellucci, Stefania Pinna, and Simone Farina for assistance during field work. We are thankful to the reviewers that contributed to improve the quality of the manuscript

Funding

This research was funded by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (RAS) according to the L.R. 7/2007. DG was supported by a fellowship in the framework of the Interreg V: A Italy France Maritime 2014 2020 Co-operation Program, GIREPAM project Gestione Integrata delle Reti Ecologiche attraverso i Parchi e le Aree Marine (Asse 2 - Lotto 3 – PI 6C –OS 1). AR received funds from the University of Catania, Catania, through funding n. 22722132118 and “PiaCeRi - Piano Incentivi per la Ricerca di Ateneo 2020-22, linea di intervento 2”. This is the contribution n. 462 of the Catania Palaeontological Research Group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMC - International Marine Centre, Loc. Sa Mardini, 09170, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy

    Daniele Grech, Bob van de Poll & Ivan Guala

  2. Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences, Agora 1, P.O. Box 1528, 8901, BV, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands

    Bob van de Poll

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e della Vita (DISTAV), Università degli Studi di Genova, Corso Europa, 26, 16132, Genova, Italy

    Marco Bertolino

  4. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania, Corso Italia, 57, Catania, Italy

    Antonietta Rosso

  5. CoNISMa (Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare), Unit of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Antonietta Rosso

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  1. Daniele Grech
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  2. Bob van de Poll
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Correspondence to Daniele Grech.

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Ethical approval

No animal testing was performed during this study. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author contribution statement

DG and IG conceived and designed the research. DG and BvdP did the field work and laboratory analyses. DG analysed the data. DG and IG wrote the manuscript. All authors read, reviewed, and approved the manuscript.

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Grech, D., van de Poll, B., Bertolino, M. et al. Massive stranding event revealed the occurrence of an overlooked and ecosystem engineer sponge. Mar. Biodivers. 50, 82 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01105-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01105-4

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