Characteristics of the mesophotic megabenthic assemblages of the Vercelli Seamount (North Tyrrhenian Sea)
Bo, M.; Bertolino, M.; Borghini, M.; Castellano, M.; Harriague, A.C.; Di Camillo, C.G.; Gasparini, G.; Misic, C.; Povero, P.; Pusceddu, A.; Schroeder, K.; Bavestrello, G. (2011). Characteristics of the mesophotic megabenthic assemblages of the Vercelli Seamount (North Tyrrhenian Sea). PLoS One 6(2): e16357. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016357
In: PLoS One. Public Library of Science: San Francisco. ISSN 1932-6203; e-ISSN 1932-6203, more
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| Authors | | Top | Dataset |
- Bo, M.
- Bertolino, M.
- Borghini, M.
- Castellano, M.
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- Harriague, A.C.
- Di Camillo, C.G.
- Gasparini, G.
- Misic, C.
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- Povero, P.
- Pusceddu, A.
- Schroeder, K.
- Bavestrello, G.
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| Abstract |
The biodiversity of the megabenthic assemblages of the mesophotic zone of a Tyrrhenian seamount (Vercelli Seamount) is described using Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video imaging from 100 m depth to the top of the mount around 61 m depth. This pinnacle hosts a rich coralligenous community characterized by three different assemblages: (i) the top shows a dense covering of the kelp Laminaria rodriguezii; (ii) the southern side biocoenosis is mainly dominated by the octocorals Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella cavolinii; while (iii) the northern side of the seamount assemblage is colonized by active filter-feeding organisms such as sponges (sometimes covering 100% of the surface) with numerous colonies of the ascidian Diazona violacea, and the polychaete Sabella pavonina. This study highlights, also for a Mediterranean seamount, the potential role of an isolated rocky peak penetrating the euphotic zone, to work as an aggregating structure, hosting abundant benthic communities dominated by suspension feeders, whose distribution may vary in accordance to the geomorphology of the area and the different local hydrodynamic conditions. |
| Dataset |
- CorMedNet- Distribution and demographic data of habitat-forming invertebrate species from Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages between 1882 and 2019., more
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