Preprint volume - SIBM

Pre-print Volume - Posters
BENTHOS COMMITEE
M. BURGASSI, G. PARDI 1 , I. MALVASO 1 , F.S. RENDE, M.L. GRIPPA 2 , F. CINELLI 1
A.C.S.D.I.S.S.D “Anna Proietti Zolla”, Via Monte Grappa, 28 - 01100 Viterbo, Italia.
burgamari@hotmail.com;
1 Department of Biology, Pisa University, Italia.
2 Url CoNISMa, Department of Biology, Pisa University, Italia.
PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE EPIPHYTIC COMMUNITY
OF TRANSPLANTED POSIDONIA OCEANICA (L.) DELILE SHOOTS
STUDIO PRELIMINARE DELLA COMUNITÀ EPIFITA
DI FASCI TRAPIANTATI DI POSIDONIA OCEANICA (L.) DELILE
Abstract – In October 2006 an experiment on Posidonia oceanica (Angiospermae) cuttings was undertaken.
In March 2009, several transplanted cuttings were removed to study if the epiphytic community of
transplanted shoots and autochthonous shoots seemed different. In this paper we show the preliminary
results.
Key-words: epiphytic community, Posidonia oceanica, restoration.
Introduction - In October 2006, an experiment on new materials for marine restoration
with Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile was undertaken. Several transplantation devices
were placed in Cavo Bay (Elba Island), for each device about 20 cuttings of P.
oceanica were taken away from the nearby natural meadow and placed overtop (Cinelli
et al., 2007).
Materials and methods – In March 2009, several transplanted cuttings of P. oceanica
were removed to study in the laboratory the shoots’ epiphytic community and to verify
if the epiphytic community of transplanted shoots and autochthonous shoots were
different.
In the same site at 7 m deep, 6 areas were selected at random: 3 areas in natural
meadow of P. oceanica and 3 areas in the transplantation devices. In each area, 3
vertical shoots were collected at random by SCUBA diving and preserved in 4%
formalin seawater until the time of examination in the laboratory.
The whole internal and external faces of the two external leaves per shoot were
observed utilizing a dissecting microscope and a binocular stereomicroscope.
All the organisms (both animal and vegetal ones) were identified at species level where
possible and the coverage for each species was expressed as percentage cover.
Analysis of variance (2 way ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis that the
percentage cover of the most abundant species (percentage cover >1%) and richness of
species differed between transplanted shoots and autochthonous shoots.
Multivariate analysis of variance based on permutations (PERMANOVA) (Anderson,
2001) was used to test the hypothesis that epiphytic assemblages differed between
transplanted shoots and authocthonous shoots. A graphical representation of
multivariate patterns was obtained by non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS).
Results - A total of 34 macroalgae (7 Heterokontophyta, 3 Clorophyta, 24
Rhodophyta) and 23 sessile animal taxa (3 Anellida, 3 Foraminifera, 7 Cnidaria, 8
Bryozoa, 1 Tunicata, 1 Porifera) were found.
41 st S.I.B.M. CONGRESS Rapallo (GE), 7-11 June 2010
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