Assessment of the Sabellaria alveolata reefs’ structural features along the Southern coast of Sicily (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)


JACOPO BORGHESE
DANIELE ARDUINI
EUGENIA SCHIMMENTI
DAVIDE IACIOFANO
BARBARA MIKAC
FABIO BADALAMENTI
ADRIANA GIANGRANDE
MARIA FLAVIA GRAVINA
LUIGI MUSCO
SABRINA LO BRUTTO
Résumé

The honeycomb worm Sabellaria alveolata is a gregarious tube-dwelling polychaete that builds remarkable biogenic reefs in marine coastal waters. Sabellaria alveolata reefs are considered valuable marine habitats requiring protection measures for their conservation, as they play a key role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems. Sabellarid reefs are extensively developed along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and reported for the Mediterranean Sea and the Italian coasts, where large reefs have been recorded in several localities. Fragmentary information is available on their health status, Sabellaria reefs thus being listed as “Data Deficient” in the Red List of Marine Habitats. To fill this knowledge gap, this study focused on the analysis of the structure of three reefs found along the southern coast of Sicily. In particular, we aimed to assess their phases with respect to the natural cycle that characterizes the sabellarid reefs. Reef features were analyzed both on the macroscale, based on the bioconstruction size (diameter and thickness) and degree of fragmentation, and on the microscale, based on the measurement of worm density, opercular length and sand porch presence. This study reveals relevant differences among reefs of the studied locations. These differences we attributeto the temporal shift linked to the natural reef phases, albeit further analyses are needed to understand the possible effect of natural and anthropogenic sources of variation on the Southern Sicilian reefs. In conclusion, Sabellaria reefs are a unique and persistent habitat along the Sicilian coast requiring proper management and conservation measures.

Article Details
  • Rubrique
  • Research Article
Téléchargements
Les données relatives au téléchargement ne sont pas encore disponibles.
Références
Allen, J.H., Billings, I., Cutts, N., Elliott, M., 2002. Mapping, Condition & Conservation Assessment of Honeycomb Worm Sabellaria alveolata Reefs on the Eastern Irish Sea Coast. English Nature Report, 140 pp.
Anderson, M.J., Gorley, R.N., Clarke, K. R., 2008. PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: guide to software and statistical methods. PRIMER-E Ltd, Plymouth, UK, 218 pp.
Ayata, S.D., Ellien, C., Dumas, F., Dubois, S., Thiébaut, E., 2009. Modelling larval dispersal and settlement of the reef-building polychaete Sabellaria alveolata: Role of hydroclimatic processes on the sustainability of biogenic reefs. Continental Shelf Research, 29 (13), 1605-1623.
Bertocci, I., Badalamenti, F., lo Brutto, S., Mikac, B., Pipitone, C. et al., 2017. Reducing the data-deficiency of threatened European habitats: Spatial variation of sabellariid worm reefs and associated fauna in the Sicily Channel, Mediterranean Sea. Marine Environmental Research, 130, 325-337.
Bonifazi, A., Lezzi, M., Ventura, D., Lisco, S., Cardone, F. et al., 2019. Macrofaunal biodiversity associated with different developmental phases of a threatened Mediterranean Sabellaria alveolata (Linnaeus, 1767) reef. Marine Environmental Research, 145, 97-111.
Delbono, I., Nike Bianchi, C., Morri, C., 2003. Le biocostruzioni di Sabellaria alveolata come indicatori ambientali: area costiera fra Chiavari e Sestri Levante. p. 130-140. In: Studi per la creazione di strumenti di controllo di gestione costiera. Golfo del Tigullio. Ferretti, O. (Ed). Teresa Centro Ricerche Ambiente Marino, La Spezia.
Ciani, D., Rio, M.H., Menna, M., Santoleri, R., 2019. A synergetic approach for the space-based sea surface currents retrieval in the Mediterranean Sea. Remote Sensing, 11 (11), 1285.
Climate Data, 2022. Climate Data. https://it.climate-data.org (Accessed 15 February 2022).
Curd, A., Pernet, F., Corporeau, C., Delisle, L., Firth, L.B. et al., (2019). Connecting organic to mineral: How the physiological state of an ecosystem-engineer is linked to its habitat structure. Ecological Indicators, 98, 49-60.
Desroy, N., Dubois, S. F., Fournier, J., Ricquiers, L., le Mao, P. et al., 2011. The conservation status of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) (Polychaeta: Sabellariidae) reefs in the bay of Mont- Saint-Michel. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 21 (5), 462-471.
Dubois, S., Retière, C., Frèdèric, O., 2002. Biodiversity associated with Sabellaria alveolata (Polychaeta: Sabellariidae) reefs: effects of human disturbances. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 82 (5), 817- 826.
Dubois, S., Barillé, L., Cognie, B., Beninger, P.G., 2005. Particle capture and processing mechanisms in Sabellaria alveolata (Polychaeta: Sabellariidae). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 301, 159-171.
Dubois, S., Commito, J.A., Olivier, F., Retière, C., 2006. Effects of epibionts on Sabellaria alveolata (L.) biogenic reefs and their associated fauna in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 68 (3-4), 635-646.
Dubois, S., Comtet, T., Retière, C., Thiébaut, E., 2007. Distribution and retention of Sabellaria alveolata larvae (Polychaeta: Sabellariidae) in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, France. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 346, 243-254.
Firth, L.B., Mieszkowska, N., Grant, L.M., Bush, L.E., Davies, A.J. et al., 2015. Historical comparisons reveal multiple drivers of decadal change of an ecosystem engineer at the range edge. Ecology and Evolution, 5 (15), 3210-3222.
Firth, L.B., Curd, A., Hawkins, S.J., Knights, A.M., Blaze, J.A. et al., 2021. On the diversity and distribution of a data deficient habitat in a poorly mapped region: The case of Sabellaria alveolata L. in Ireland. Marine Environmental Research, 169, 105344.
Franzitta, G., Colletti, A., Savinelli, B., Lo Martire, M., Corinaldesi, C. et al., 2022. Feasibility of the Sabellarid Reef Habitat Restoration. Frontiers in Marine Science, 349.
Gasparini, G.P., Ortona, A., Budillon, G., Astraldi, M., Sansone, E., 2005. The effect of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient on the hydrographic characteristics in the Strait of Sicily and in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 52 (6), 915-935.
Gibb, N., Pearce, B., Tyler-Walters, H., 2014. Assessing the sensitivity of Sabellaria spinulosa reef biotopes to pressures associated with marine activities. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) report, No 504, 72 pp.
Gravina, M. F., Cardone, F., Bonifazi, A., Bertrandino, M.S., Chimienti, G. et al., 2018. Sabellaria spinulosa (Polychaeta, Annelida) reefs in the Mediterranean Sea: Habitat mapping, dynamics and associated fauna for conservation management. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 200, 248-257.
Gruet, Y., 1986. Spatio-temporal Changes of Sabellarian Reefs Built by the Sedentary Polychaete Sabellaria alveolata (LINNE). Marine Ecology, 7 (4), 303-319.
Gruet, Y., Bodeur Y., 1995. Ecological conditions of modern sabellarian reefs developoment: geological implications. Publication du Service Géologique du Luxembourg, 29, 73- 80.
Gubbay, S., 2007. Defining and managing Sabellaria spinulosa reefs: Report of an inter-agency workshop 1-2 may, 2007. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) report, No 405, 26 pp.
Gubbay, S., Sanders, N., Haynes, T., Janssen, J.A.M., Rodwell J.R. et al., 2016. European red list of habitats. Part 1: Marine habitats. Luxembourg: Publication office of the European Union (IS), 52 pp.
Hendrick, V.J., Foster-Smith, R.L., 2006. Sabellaria spinulosa reef: a scoring system for evaluating “reefiness” in the context of the Habitats Directive. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 86 (4), 665-677.
Holt, T.J., Rees, E.I., Hawkins, S.J., Seed, R., 1998. Biogenic Reefs (volume IX). An overview of dynamic and sensitivity characteristics for conservation management of marine SACs. Scottish Association for Marine Science (UK Marine SACs Project), 170 pp.
Ingrosso, G., Abbiati, M., Badalamenti, F., Bavestrello, G., Belmonte, G. et al., 2018. Mediterranean Bioconstructions Along the Italian Coast. Advances in Marine Biology, 79,
-136.
Jones, A.G., Dubois, S.F., Desroy, N., Fournier, J., 2018. Interplay between abiotic factors and species assemblages mediated by the ecosystem engineer Sabellaria alveolata (Annelida: Polychaeta). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 200, 1-18.
La Porta, B., Nicoletti, L., 2009. Sabellaria alveolata (Linnaeus) reefs in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy) and associated polychaete fauna. Zoosymposia, 2, 527-536.
Lezzi, M., Cardone, F., Mikac, B., Giangrande, A., 2015. Variation and ontogenetic changes of opercular paleae in a population of Sabellaria spinulosa (Polychaeta: Sabellaridae) from the South Adriatic Sea, with remarks on larval development. Scientia Marina, 79 (1), 137-150.
Lisco, S. N., Moretti, M., Moretti, V., Cardone, F., Corriero, G. et al., 2017. Sedimentological features of Sabellaria spinulosa biocontructions. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 87, 203-212.
Lisco, S. N., Acquafredda, P., Gallicchio, S., Sabato, L., Bonifazi, A. et al., 2020. The sedimentary dynamics of Sabellaria alveolata bioconstructions (Ostia, Tyrrhenian Sea, central Italy). Journal of Palaeogeography, 9 (2).
Lisco, S.N., Pierri, C., Lazic, T., Bonifazi, A., Gravina, M.F. et al., 2021. Sabellaria alveolata versus Sabellaria spinulosa reefs along the Italian coasts: A new methodological proposal to compare different growth models. Geosciences (Switzerland), 11 (10), 426.
Molinier, R., Picard, J., 1953. Notes biologiques à propos d’un voyage d’étude sur les côtes de Sicile. Masson. Annales de l’Institut Oceanographique, 28, 164-187.
Naylor, L.A., Viles, H.A., 2000. A temperate reef builder: an evaluation of the growth, morphology and composition of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) colonies on carbonate platforms in South Wales. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 178 (1), 9-19.
Plicanti, A., Domínguez, R., Dubois, S.F., Bertocci, I., 2016. Human impacts on biogenic habitats: Effects of experimental trampling on Sabellaria alveolata (Linnaeus, 1767) reefs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 478, 34-44.
Porras, R., Bataller, J.V., Murgui, E., Torregrosa, M.T., 1996. Trophic Structure and Community Composition of Polychaetes Inhabiting Some Sabellaria alveolata (L.) Reefs Along the Valencia Gulf Coast, Western Mediterranean. Marine Ecology, 17 (4), 583-602.
Poulain, P.M., Zambianchi, E., 2007. Surface circulation in the central Mediterranean Sea as deduced from Lagrangian drifters in the 1990s. Continental Shelf Research, 27 (7), 981-1001.
Riesen, W., Reise, K., 1982. Macrobenthos of the subtidal Wadden Sea: revisited after 55 years. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen, 35 (4), 409-423.
Sanfilippo, R., Rosso, A., Mastandrea, A., Viola, A., Deias, C.
et al., 2019. Sabellaria alveolata sandcastle worm from the Mediterranean Sea: new insights on tube architecture and biocement. Journal of Morphology, 280 (12), 1839-1849.
Sanfilippo, R., Guido, A., Insacco, G., Deias, C., Catania, G. et al., 2020. Distribution of Sabellaria alveolata (Polychaeta Sabellariidae) in the Mediterranean Sea: update and new findings. Zoosymposia, 19 (1), 198-208.
Sanfilippo, R., Serio, D., Deias, C., Rosso, A., 2021. Sabellaria alveolata (Annelida, Polychaeta) bioconstructions and associated macroalgal community from Portopalo di Capo Passero (SE Sicily). Mediterranean Marine Science, 23 (1), 150-156.
Schimmenti, E., Musco, L., lo Brutto, S., Mikac, B., Nygren, A. et al., 2016. Mediterranean record of Eulalia ornata (Annelida: Phyllodocidae) corroborating its fidelity link with the Sabellaria alveolata reef habitat. Mediterranean Marine Science, 17 (2), 359-370.
Van der Reijden, K.J., Koop, L., Mestdagh, S., Snellen, M., Herman, P.M.J. et al., 2021. Conservation Implications of Sabellaria spinulosa Reef Patches in a Dynamic Sandy-Bottom Environment. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 642659.
Ventura, D., Dubois, S.F., Bonifazi, A., Jona Lasinio, G., Seminara, M. et al., 2021. Integration of close-range underwater photogrammetry with inspection and mesh processing software: a novel approach for quantifying ecological dynamics of temperate biogenic reefs. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 7 (2), 169-186.
Vorberg, R., 2000. Effects of shrimp fisheries on reefs of Sabellaria spinulosa (Polychaeta). ICES Journal of Marine Science, 57 (5), 1416-1420.
Windfinder, 2022. Windfinder. https://it.windfinder.
com/#10/40.4840/17.3694 (Accessed 15 February 2022).
Articles les plus lus par le même auteur ou la même autrice