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The role of gorgonians on the diversity of vagile benthic fauna in Mediterranean rocky habitats

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Abstract

Mediterranean gorgonian forests are threatened by several human activities and climatic anomalies that increase their susceptibility to pathogens and epibionts, potentially leading to mass mortality events. Although these phenomena have been largely documented, the effects of the loss of gorgonian colonies on temperate reef assemblages have been poorly evaluated until now, especially those that concern the vagile fauna. This is the first study comparing vagile fauna assemblages living in Mediterranean rocky bottoms between patches with and without the gorgonians Eunicella cavolini and Paramuricea clavata. Vagile fauna were analysed at the end of a field experiment where patches with and without gorgonians were simulated by transplanting gorgonian branches on to plastic recruitment panels. Panels were deployed for 4 months at two depths (24 m for E. cavolini and 40 m for P. clavata) at two sites in the north-western Mediterranean Sea (Tavolara Island and Portofino Promontory). Overall, 211 taxa belonging to the phyla Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Mollusca, Brachiopoda, Nematoda, Anellida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata were found. Despite high local heterogeneity and large differences between sites, the abundance of some vagile species was related to the presence of gorgonians. For instance, the shrimp Periclimenes aegylios, absent at Tavolara, was facilitated by the presence of E. cavolini at Portofino, while the tanaid Leptochelia sp. was absent/scarce in the presence of gorgonians at both sites. Overall, at 40 m depth, vagile community structures did not differ significantly between experimental patches with and without P. clavata; at 24 m depth, vagile assemblages in the presence of E. cavolini were different and less heterogeneous compared to those found in patches without transplanted gorgonians. Ultimately, gorgonians could directly and indirectly affect vagile assemblages.

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Acknowledgments

Sampling at Tavolara and Portofino was undertaken in accordance with Italian laws, and no endangered or protected species were involved. We wish to thank Augusto Navone, Director of the MPA Tavolara–Punta Coda Cavallo (www.amptavolara.com), and Giorgio Fanciulli, Director of the MPAs Portofino (www.portofinoamp.it), for the authorisations, and Egidio Trainito, Maurizio Pansini, Monica Previati, Marco Palma and Carla Huete Stauffer for the valuable field and diving assistance. This work has been partially supported by the 2010–11 PRIN project “Coastal bioconstructions: structures, functions, and management” (prot. 2010Z8HJ5 M) and the Flagship Project RITMARE—The Italian Research for the Sea—coordinated by the Italian National Research Council and funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research within the National Research Program 2011–2013. The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and to David Cuming and Martin Sayer for their English-language editing support.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, UO CoNISMa, c/o Laboratori di Scienze Ambientali, Via S. Alberto 163, 48123, Ravenna, Italy

    Massimo Ponti, Rossella A. Perlini & Vincenzo Ventra

  2. Integrative Marine Ecology - Benthos Lab (IME-BLAB), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli, Villa Dohrn, Punta San Pietro, 80077, Ischia, Naples, Italy

    Daniele Grech

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Polytechnic University of Marche, UO CoNISMa, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy

    Mario Mori & Carlo Cerrano

  4. Ufficio Ambiente, Consorzio di Gestione dell’Area Marina Protetta di Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo, Via Dante 1, 07026, Olbia, Italy

    Pier Augusto Panzalis

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  1. Massimo Ponti
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Ponti, M., Grech, D., Mori, M. et al. The role of gorgonians on the diversity of vagile benthic fauna in Mediterranean rocky habitats. Mar Biol 163, 120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2897-8

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