Preprint volume - SIBM

Pre-print Volume - Oral presentations
Topic 1: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION SCIENCE: CONTRIBUTING TO MANAGEMENT
R. BEDINI, L. BONECHI, J. PISTOLESI, G. SARTONI*
Istituto di Biologia ed Ecologia Marina, Piazza Bovio - 57025 Piombino, Italia.
museomare@biomare.it
*Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira, 4 - 50121 Firenze, Italia.
MULTISCIPLINARY APPROACH AS A TOOL
TO EVALUATE PATTERNS OF BIODIVERSITY IN MARINE HABITATS
UN APPROCCIO MULTIDISCIPLINARE COME STRUMENTO
PER LA VALUTAZIONE DELLA BIODIVERSITÀ IN AMBIENTE MARINO
Abstract – The present paper shows results of a multidisciplinary study carried out around Pianosa Island,
in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, in order to evaluate the importance of a similar approach to
detect patterns of biodiversity.
Key-words: biodiversity, cartography, Pianosa Island.
Introduction – The conservation of natural biodiversity represents a main tool for
environment management following the UN conference on Environment and
Development in Rio in 1992. In order to manage biodiversity, it is necessary to make
inventories of diversity, to monitor change in diversity and to make plans focused on
the conservation of diversity (Gray, 2000). In this contest, a lot of studies have been
carried out to detect and/or monitor biodiversity in marine systems. The most part of
studies on this topic focused on a particular assemblage or taxonomic group (see Gray,
1997). Although each information is important for the knowledge of the structure of
ecosystems, results of these studies do not allow a complete assessment of patterns of
biodiversity of a determinate system. In fact, the knowledge of diversity related to
more taxonomic groups and including more habitats is necessary to obtain information
about the biodiversity of an ecological system and to determine patterns of functional
diversity. The knowledge of this latter aspect has an important role in ecosystem
management and it needs the detection of the most part of species present in each
ecosystem (Hooper et al., 2002). The aim of the present paper is to show results of a
multidisciplinary study carried out around a little island within a National Park, in
order to evaluate the importance of a similar approach to detect patterns of
biodiversity.
Material and methods – The study has been performed around the Island of Pianosa,
in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, north western Mediterranean Sea. The island
has a coastline of about 14 km. Two different surveys have been carried out, a first
investigation in 2004 and a second investigation starting in 2008. In the first survey, 7
sites were studied around the island. In the second survey, 33 sites were studied and
Posidonia oceanica meadows were investigated at 3 different depth ranges (upper limit
from -5 to -15 m; central zone from -18 to -26 m and lower limit from -27 to -48 m)
(Fig 1). The study aimed at achieving the following objectives:
• a detailed morphology and bionomic cartography of the bottom
• the structure of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadows
• the structure and biodiversity patterns of benthic assemblages from the surface
to a depth of 50 meters.
41 st S.I.B.M. CONGRESS Rapallo (GE), 7-11 June 2010
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