Preprint volume - SIBM

Pre-print Volume - Oral presentations
Topic 2: MARINE ORGANISMS AND ECOSYSTEMS AS MODEL SYSTEMS
C. CAROPPO, L. GIORDANO * , F. RUBINO, A.P. BISCI, T.S. HOPKINS *
Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, National Research Council (IAMC-CNR),
Via Roma, 3 - 74100 Taranto, Italia.
carmela.caroppo@iamc.cnr.it
* IAMC-CNR, Calata Porta di Massa, Napoli, Italia.
PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITIES AS INDICATORS
OF ECOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE ANTHROPOGENICALLY
IMPACTED MAR PICCOLO OF TARANTO (IONIAN SEA)
LE COMUNITÀ FITOPLANCTONICHE QUALI INDICATORI
DELLE VARIAZIONI DI UN ECOSISTEMA SOGGETTO AD IMPATTO
ANTROPICO: IL MAR PICCOLO DI TARANTO (MAR IONIO)
Abstract – Preliminary results on phytoplankton community dynamics obtained by constructing a system
based simulation model are here presented. This constitutes a component in a larger ecological model,
which has been developed under the FP6 Integrated Project SPICOSA (Science and Policy Integration for
Coastal Assessment). This model is aimed to quantify the main forcing due to human activities and
environmental factors acting on the Mar Piccolo coastal system (Taranto, Italy) that is changing its
response to these forcing. The succession of phytoplankton groups provides a useful indicator of system
response to human perturbations, a calibration parameter for the species-specific growth, an indicator of
trophic changes, and a control on the growth of mussels reared in Mar Piccolo.
Key-words: coastal zone, indicators, model, phytoplankton, Ionian Sea.
Introduction - Coastal lagoons and semi-enclosed seas have peculiar functional and
structural characteristics due to their location at the interface between land and sea.
They generally show large temporal and spatial variations in hydro-chemical
characteristics and considerable biological diversity (Castel et al., 1996). By
considering the dynamic nature of these ecosystems, there is an urgent need to develop
sensitive and broadly applicable indicators for detecting water quality and ecosystem
health. Phytoplankton, which conduct a bulk of primary production and can rapidly
respond to a wide range of environmental perturbations, represent a sensitive and
important indicator for detecting ecological change in coastal systems (Paerl et al.,
2009), like Mar Piccolo in Taranto. In this ecosystem, in the last fifty years, urban
expansion and intensive agricultures have caused an increase in nutrients and organic
matter levels, which are higher than the self-depurating capacities of the basin. Since
2000, to improve the water quality, a depuration plan has been implemented in Mar
Piccolo. In the framework of the Integrated Project, SPICOSA (Science and Policy
Integration for COastal Systems Assessment), system-based models are being
developed to provide higher-level information and decision-support tools for solving
problematic issues in coastal zones. In this paper, we refer about the phytoplankton
sub-model that is included into a more complex ecological model developed under the
SPICOSA Mar Piccolo experiment.
Materials and methods –The simulation model was developed considering a System
Approach Framework and the principles of the Systems Theory (von Bertalanffy,
1968). Globally, the System Theory states that complex, non-linear systems function
differently in vivo than a separate scrutiny of their component parts might indicate.
41 st S.I.B.M. CONGRESS Rapallo (GE), 7-11 June 2010
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