Explore the vast range of titles available.

Presence‐only data are typical occurrence information used in species distribution modelling. Data may be originated from different sources, and their integration is a challenging exercise in spatial ecology as detection biases are rarely fully considered. We propose a new protocol for presence‐only data fusion, where information sources include social media platforms, to investigate several possible solutions to reduce uncertainty in the modelling outputs. As a case study, we use spatial data on two dolphin species with different ecological characteristics and distribution, collected in central Tyrrhenian through traditional research campaigns and derived from a careful selection of social media images and videos. We built a spatial log‐Gaussian cox process that incorporates different detection functions and thinning for each data source. To finalize the model in a Bayesian framework, we specified priors for all model parameters. We used slightly informative priors to avoid identifiability issues when estimating both the animal intensity and the observation process. We compared different types of detection function and accessibility explanations. We showed how the detection function's variation affects ecological findings on two species representatives for different habitats and with different spatial distribution. Our findings allow for a sound understanding of the species distribution in the study area, confirming the proposed approach's appropriateness. Besides, the straightforward implementation in the R software, and the provision of examples' code with simulated data, consistently facilitate broader applicability of the method and allow for further validations. The proposed approach is widely functional and can be considered with different species and ecological contexts.

Accurate data on community structure is a priority issue in studying coastal habitats facing human pressures. The recent development of remote sensing tools has offered a ground-breaking way to collect ecological information at a very fine scale, especially using low-cost aerial photogrammetry. Although coastal mapping is carried out using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones), they can provide limited information regarding underwater benthic habitats. To achieve a precise characterisation of underwater habitat types and species assemblages, new imagery acquisition instruments become necessary to support accurate mapping programmes. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate an integrated approach based on Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetric acquisition using low-cost Unmanned Aerial (UAV) and Surface (USV) Vehicles to finely map shallow benthic communities, which determine the high complexity of coastal environments. The photogrammetric outputs, including both UAV-based high (sub-meter) and USV-based ultra-high (sub-centimetre) raster products such as orthophoto mosaics and Digital Surface Models (DSMs), were classified using Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) approach. The application of a supervised learning method based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) classification resulted in good overall classification accuracies > 70%, proving to be a practical and feasible tool for analysing both aerial and underwater ultra-high spatial resolution imagery. The detected seabed cover classes included above and below-water key coastal features of ecological interest such as seagrass beds, “banquettes” deposits and hard bottoms. Using USV-based imagery can considerably improve the identification of specific organisms with a critical role in benthic communities, such as photophilous macroalgal beds. We conclude that the integrated use of low-cost unmanned aerial and surface vehicles and GIS processing is an effective strategy for allowing fully remote detailed data on shallow water benthic communities.

The Mediterranean Sea harbors more than 17,000 eukaryotic marine species, with several ecosystems recognized as biodiversity hotspots, such as Posidonia oceanica meadows. Recent research indicates that benthic mats formed by the fleshy red alga Phyllophora crispa are also associated with high species richness. Among key groups found in these mats are sessile polychaetes, which live as epiphytes on the red algae thalli. Knowledge of abundance, species richness, and spatial variation of polychaetes associated with these habitats is still scarce. We carried out a comparative assessment focusing on serpulid polychaetes within samples from P. crispa mats and neighboring P. oceanica meadows at six different sampling sites around Giglio Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). A total of 17 serpulid taxa were identified. The abundance of serpulids (5665 individuals m−2 of P. crispa mat) were similar to neighboring P. oceanica meadows (2304 individuals m−2 leaves and 5890 individuals m−2 shoots). The number of serpulid taxa was significantly higher in P. crispa mats (average 6.63 ± 1.32 taxa) compared to P. oceanica beds (average 1.56 ± 0.63 and 1.84 ± 1.04 taxa in leaves and shoots, respectively). Within habitat type, there were no significant differences in species richness between sites. The most abundant species found was Josephella marenzelleri (61% of individuals), while Vermiliopsis spp. and Bathyvermilia sp. were exclusively found in P. crispa samples. Our results highlight that P. crispa mats host an exceptional diversity and that these habitats should be included in conservation strategies. Further research should focus on the significance of other important taxonomic groups within these mats and evaluate the distribution of P. crispa in different regions of the Mediterranean Sea.

The role of habitat degradation on the spread of the alien green alga Caulerpa cylindracea is reported here by comparing observations achieved through a multi-year assessment on three Mediterraneans habitats, namely Posidonia oceanica meadows, Phyllophora crispa turf, and coralligenous reefs. Due to the peculiarity of the study site, both natural-reference and impacted conditions were investigated. C. cylindracea occurred in all the studied habitats under impacted conditions. High susceptibility to the invasion characterized impacted P. oceanica, where Caulerpa cover reached 70.0% in summer months. C. cylindracea cover did not differ significantly among conditions in P. crispa turf, where values never exceeded 5.0%. Conversely, the invasive green algae was low in abundance and patchily distributed in coralligenous reefs. Our results confirmed that habitat loss enhances the spread of C. cylindracea, although with different magnitudes among habitats. Dead matte areas of P. oceanica represented the most vulnerable habitat among those analyzed, whereas coralligenous reefs were less susceptible to the invasion under both the studied conditions.

Ocean acidification has been broadly recognised to have effects on the structure and functioning of marine benthic communities. The selection of tolerant or vulnerable species can also occur during settlement phases, especially for calcifying organisms which are more vulnerable to low pH–high pCO2 conditions. Here, we use three natural CO2 vents (Castello Aragonese north and south sides, and Vullatura, Ischia, Italy) to assess the effect of a decrease of seawater pH on the settlement of Mollusca in Posidonia oceanica meadows, and to test the possible buffering effect provided by the seagrass. Artificial collectors were installed and collected after 33 days, during April–May 2019, in three different microhabitats within the meadow (canopy, bottom/rhizome level, and dead matte without plant cover), following a pH decreasing gradient from an extremely low pH zone (pH < 7.4), to ambient pH conditions (pH = 8.10). A total of 4659 specimens of Mollusca, belonging to 57 different taxa, were collected. The number of taxa was lower in low and extremely low pH conditions. Reduced mollusc assemblages were reported at the acidified stations, where few taxa accounted for a high number of individuals. Multivariate analyses revealed significant differences in mollusc assemblages among pH conditions, microhabitat, and the interaction of these two factors. Acanthocardia echinata, Alvania lineata, Alvania sp. juv, Eatonina fulgida, Hiatella arctica, Mytilys galloprovincialis, Musculus subpictus, Phorcus sp. juv, and Rissoa variabilis were the species mostly found in low and extremely low pH stations, and were all relatively robust to acidified conditions. Samples placed on the dead matte under acidified conditions at the Vullatura vent showed lower diversity and abundances if compared to canopy and bottom/rhizome samples, suggesting a possible buffering role of the Posidonia on mollusc settlement. Our study provides new evidence of shifts in marine benthic communities due to ocean acidification and evidence of how P. oceanica meadows could mitigate its effects on associated biota in light of future climate change.

Periodic assessments of population status and trends to detect natural influences and human effects on coastal dolphin are often limited by lack of baseline information. Here, we investigated for the first time the site-fidelity patterns and estimated the population size of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at the Tiber River estuary (central Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome, Italy) between 2017 and 2020. We used photo-identification data and site-fidelity metrics to study the tendency of dolphins to remain in, or return to, the study area, and capture–recapture models to estimate the population abundance. In all, 347 unique individuals were identified. The hierarchical cluster analysis highlighted 3 clusters, labeled resident (individuals encountered at least five times, in three different months, over three distinct years; n = 42), part-time (individuals encountered at least on two occasions in a month, in at least two different years; n = 73), and transient (individuals encountered on more than one occasion, in more than 1 month, none of them in more than 1 year; n = 232), each characterized by site-fidelity metrics. Open POPAN modeling estimated a population size of 529 individuals (95% CI: 456–614), showing that the Capitoline (Roman) coastal area and nearby regions surrounding the Tiber River estuary represent an important, suitable habitat for bottlenose dolphins, despite their proximity to one of the major urban centers in the world (the city of Rome). Given the high number of individuals in the area and the presence of resident individuals with strong site fidelity, we suggest that conservation plans should not be focused only close to the Tiber River mouths but extended to cover a broader scale of area.

With its geographically isolated location and geological history, the Mediterranean Sea harbors well-known biodiversity hotspots, such as Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. Recently, long-living mats formed by the fleshy red alga Phyllophora crispa have been described to be associated with a high diversity of sessile invertebrates in the Tyrrhenian Sea. One of the key taxa among these sessile invertebrates are bryozoans: their abundance, diversity, and spatial distribution in P. crispa mats represent a gap in scientific knowledge. Thus, we conducted a pilot study on bryozoan assemblages associated with P. crispa mats around Giglio Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy) in 2018, followed by a comparative study on four sites distributed around the island in the subsequent year, 2019. We compared these findings to bryozoan abundance and diversity on P. oceanica shoots and leaves during the second expedition. The findings revealed more than 46 families, with a significantly higher number of taxa identified in P. crispa mats (33) than in P. oceanica meadows (29). The Shannon diversity index was similar between P. crispa and P. oceanica shoots, while Pielou’s evenness index was lower in P. crispa mats. The most abundant families reported across all habitats were Crisiidae, Aetidae, and Lichenoporidae; but the most abundant family on P. crispa was Chlidoniidae (Chlidonia pyriformis). The assemblages associated with P. crispa differed among sites, with higher abundances but lower diversity on the exposed southernmost site. The total bryozoan abundance was significantly higher on P. crispa (average 2.83 × 106 ± 1.99 × 106 colonies per m2 seafloor) compared to P. oceanica meadows (average 0.54 × 106 ± 0.34 × 106 colonies per m2 seafloor). Our results show a high diversity of bryozoans on P. crispa thalli compared to P. oceanica meadows, which was consistent throughout the study. These findings confirm the value of the red alga-generated habitat for associated bryozoans and may have implications for future biodiversity assessments and conservation measures.

The need for habitat recovery in coastal areas, especially those subjected to intensive exploitation, has increased because of significant historical loss and alteration of habitats and, therefore, adverse ecological impacts. The present study defines a stepwise approach to mitigate habitat loss in deep coastal environments, describing the planning, intervention, and monitoring phases following the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) laying along the Apulian coast (Adriatic Sea, Italy). Preliminary field activities encompassed morpho-bathymetric data (MBES and SSS), SCUBA and ROV observations to accurately map and characterize the mesophotic reefs built by invertebrates found in the area. The pipeline route interfered with 30 outcrops between 50 and 80 m depth, mostly colonized by 15 taxa/morphological groups. A functional/conservative approach was adopted to recognize the taxa/morphological groups on which to focus the removal and following relocation activities based on their abundance, conservation status, and functional traits. Saturation divers teams, ROV pilot technicians, and researchers collaborated to minimize the physical impact and the loss of organisms due to the pipeline installation. They relocated a total of 899 living portions ( nuclei ) from the 30 interfered reefs on the top of the pipeline. The following monitoring activities, carried out after fourteen months since the intervention, revealed a high mean survival rate (88.1%) and slight variations in the structure of the nuclei assemblages. This study represents a paradigmatic case of involvement and support of the private oil and gas sector to mitigate habitat loss in the Mediterranean Sea, and stresses the need for integrated management involving different stakeholders to mitigate the effects of the exploitation of marine resources through ante operam assessment and active restoration actions.

Bioerosion is the destruction of hard substrates resulting from biological activity, and plays a relevant role in the ecological interactions and coastal dynamics processes. Several organisms have evolved structures and behaviors allowing them to perforate biotic and abiotic surfaces, transforming hard surfaces into particles, and contributing significantly to sediment production in the coastal and marine environment. Due to the large geographical diffusion of marine borers, bioerosion is relevant in many scientific and applied fields of interest. Most bioerosion studies have hitherto been conducted in tropical areas, where borers are a critical component of coral reef destruction. Comparatively, little information is available for the bioerosion of submerged archeological heritage. This review focuses on the bioerosion of archeological calcareous artifacts in the Mediterranean Sea, summarizing studies concerning the colonization of statues, shipwrecks, cargo, and the remains of submerged cities. The paper includes the first comprehensive listing of the archeological sites in the Mediterranean Sea where bioerosion has been assessed. The diversity of boring organisms affecting marine archeological remains and their boring patterns, the various types of bored materials, and the severity of the damage caused to heritage artifacts are also included. Both microborers (algae, fungi, and cyanobacteria) and macroborers (sponges, bivalves, polychaetes, sipunculids, and echinoids) are considered, and their roles in the structuring of endolithic assemblages are also covered. The experimental techniques currently employed to analyze bioerosion traces, helping to identify particular species and ichnospecies and their ecological dynamics, are also considered. Finally, a discussion of the current strategies proposed for the in situ protection and conservation of Underwater Cultural Heritage is provided.

Composition, trophic structure, and species-substrate relationships of molluscan assemblages inhabiting different hard bottom habitats (Sabellaria alveolata reef, photophilic bottoms, Phyllophora crispa sciaphilic assemblage, and coralligenous bioconstruction) were studied in two different sites of the Tyrrhenian Sea. In particular, molluscs from the Sabellaria alvevolata (Linnaeus, 1767) reef and coralligenous concretion were investigated, testing the hypothesis that bioconstructions increase the diversity and abundance of associated biota compared to the surrounding habitats. A total of 3134 individuals belonging to the classes of Polyplacophora (5 species, 24 individuals), Bivalvia (39 sp., 2734 ind.), and Gastropoda (53 sp., 376 ind.) were identified. These three taxonomic groups showed different distribution patterns in the studied habitats. Multivariate analyses revealed significant inter-habitat differences in the composition of mollusc assemblages, especially between bioconstructions and the other habitats. S. alveolata and coralligenous host the highest rich molluscan fauna when compared to the neighboring hard bottom habitats characterized by photophilic and sciaphilic assemblages. The first ones were dominated by bivalve suspension feeders, mainly represented by sessile and sedentary organisms, which act as bio-constructors, bio-eroders, or simply inhabit the several microhabitats provided by the bioconstructions, while the second ones host a rich molluscan fauna dominated by gastropod grazers and predators. The present study increases the comparative knowledge of molluscan assemblages inhabiting habitats of littoral plans of the Mediterranean Sea, providing pivotal information regarding biodiversity of coastal zones.