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Ecological characterisation of dredge islands for the conservation of salt-marsh beetle fauna. The lagoon of Venice (Italy): a case study

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Abstract

Salt marshes are wet environments at the transition between land and sea, which are inhabited by species that are adapted to stressing environmental factors, such as frequent tidal inundations and highly variable salinity. The rapid and global disappearance of these ecosystems results in the loss of those species that here have their typical habitat. In the lagoon of Venice, a programme for the protection of the surviving salt marshes was initiated by building dredge islands in the framework of more comprehensive restoration work. The ecological characterisation of these man-made habitats was studied through analysing the beetle fauna established on six dredge islands with different topographical traits. Beetle assemblages were evaluated by analysing species richness and abundance. The observed species were arranged in ecological groups and within sub-habitats, delimited according to the zonation of halophytes and ruderal vegetation. Both the composition and distribution of the beetle assemblages were strongly affected by the soil elevation, which determines the salinity gradient and the flooding rate. Hygrophilous and halobious taxa were dominant; however, many generalist taxa were present on some higher islands characterised by areas with a height greater than 60 cm above the mean sea level. Notably, these rarely submerged soils hosted some uncommon halophilous species, as well as thermophilous taxa typical of Mediterranean habitats that were not present on the surrounding mainland. Overall, although the dredge islands possessed some topographical traits that differed significantly from those of the natural salt marsh, they proved to host the biotic communities typical of these latter habitats, as well as other saline soil specialists.

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Acknowledgements

Data were gathered within the framework of a study carried out for the Provveditorato Interregionale per le Opere Pubbliche per il Triveneto—Ministero dei Lavori Pubblici (Italian Ministry of Public Works) through its concessionary Consorzio Venezia Nuova, which kindly provided the altimetry data of the dredge islands. We especially thank Isabelle Cavalli (SELC Soc. Coop.), who kindly provided the vegetation data for the investigated islands. We are grateful to Marco Uliana (Museum of Natural History of Venice) and Enrico Ruzzier (Museum of Natural History of London) for their scientific support in the classification of some species. We are greatly indebted to Prof. William G. Hale (Liverpool University) for the linguistic revision of the manuscript.

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  1. Largo Rotonda Garibaldi 12, 30173, Venice, Italy

    Lorenzo Zanella

  2. SELC Soc. Coop., Via dell’Elettricità 3/d, 30175, Venice, Italy

    Francesco Scarton

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Lorenzo Zanella is an independent biologist engaged by SELC Soc. Coop. to study the beetle fauna of the dredge islands investigated here. SELC Soc. Coop received a contract from Consorzio Venezia Nuova.

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Table 4 Number of specimens recorded for each species arranged by sub-habitats and by site. MF mud_flat, LM low_marsh, HM high_marsh, DS dry_soil
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Zanella, L., Scarton, F. Ecological characterisation of dredge islands for the conservation of salt-marsh beetle fauna. The lagoon of Venice (Italy): a case study. Wetlands Ecol Manage 25, 421–441 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9526-7

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