Megabenthic invertebrate diversity in Mediterranean trawlable soft bottoms: a synthesis of current knowledge
Abstract
Mediterranean bottom trawling is generally characterised by a highly diversified mixed catch, composed of fish, cephalopods,
crustaceans, and other megabenthic invertebrates. Although management of Mediterranean trawling requires a multispecies approach on a community basis, this does not seem to be the case in the relevant literature. Herein, we present an extensive review of
the existing knowledge on megabenthic invertebrate communities, focusing on the trawlable bottoms. A total of 207 publications
from 1930 to the early 2021 was collected and classified into seven research areas. Research effort on soft bottom megabenthic
invertebrates of trawlable grounds was higher for the Western Mediterranean and the depth zone of 50-200 m. Overall, 1,797 taxa
were reported belonging to different taxonomic groups, the most diverse of which were Mollusca, Crustacea, Polychaeta, and
Porifera. Among the reported taxa, 43 species are alien to the Mediterranean Sea, and 42 are included in the lists of threatened/ endangered and protected species under the Barcelona and Bern Conventions. The Western Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea were
the ecoregions with the highest number of megabenthic invertebrate species reported from trawlable grounds. All Mediterranean
ecoregions were grouped according to their megabenthic fauna at a similarity level of 27%. The present work compiles the known
scattered information, highlights knowledge gaps, and underlines the need for time series data on the megabenthic communities
of the Mediterranean fishing grounds.
Article Details
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STAMOULI, C., ZENETOS, A., KALLIANIOTIS, A., & VOULTSIADOU, E. (2022). Megabenthic invertebrate diversity in Mediterranean trawlable soft bottoms: a synthesis of current knowledge. Mediterranean Marine Science, 23(3), 447–459. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.29165
- Fascicolo
- V. 23 N. 3 (2022): VOL 23, No 3 (2022)
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- Review Article
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