Contained in:
Book Chapter

Ecological status of the Tuscan Archipelago rocky habitats assessed by the MedSens index

  • Eva Turicchia
  • Carlo Cerrano
  • Matteo Ghetta
  • Francesca Giannini
  • Marco Abbiati
  • Massimo Ponti

MedSens index provides the environmental status of subtidal rocky coastal habitats based on open data collected by trained volunteers using the Reef Check Mediterranean Underwater Coastal Environment Monitoring protocol. It is based on 25 species, incorporating their sensitivities to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive pressures and their distributions and abundances. MedSens was applied along the Tuscan Archipelago National Park Islands’ coasts, providing the mean sensitivity of the assemblages. It can help decision-makers in implementing marine biodiversity conservation measures.

  • Keywords:
  • Community-based ecosystem monitoring,
  • Marine Citizen Science,
  • Indicator species,
  • Marine Protected Areas,
  • Impact assessment,
  • Coralligenous habitats,
+ Show More

Eva Turicchia

University of Bologna, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-8952-9028

Carlo Cerrano

Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-9580-5546

Matteo Ghetta

Faunalia, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-5321-4497

Francesca Giannini

Tuscan Archipelago National Park, Italy - ORCID: NA

Marco Abbiati

University of Bologna, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-2426-4524

Massimo Ponti

University of Bologna, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-6521-1330

  1. Cerrano C., Milanese M., Ponti M. (2017) - Diving for science - science for diving: Volunteer scuba divers support science and conservation in the Mediterranean Sea, Aquat. Conserv. 27 (2): 303-323. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2663
  2. Deter J., Descamp P., Ballesta L., Boissery P., Holon F. (2012) - A preliminary study toward an index based on coralligenous assemblages for the ecological status assessment of Mediterranean French coastal waters, Ecol. Indic. 20 (0): 345-352. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.03.001
  3. Gatti G., Bianchi C. N., Morri C., Montefalcone M., Sartoretto S. (2015) - Coralligenous reefs state along anthropized coasts: Application and validation of the COARSE index, based on a rapid visual assessment (RVA) approach, Ecol. Indic. 52: 567-576. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.026
  4. Hill J., Wilkinson C. (2004) - Methods for ecological monitoring of coral reefs. A resource for managers, Australian Institute for Marine Science, Townsville, AU.
  5. Kelly R., Fleming A., Pecl G. T., von Gönner J., Bonn A. (2020) - Citizen science and marine conservation: a global review, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 375 (1814): 20190461. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0461
  6. Micheli F., Halpern B. S., Walbridge S., Ciriaco S., Ferretti F., Fraschetti S., et al. (2013) - Cumulative human impacts on Mediterranean and Black Sea marine ecosystems: Assessing current pressures and opportunities, PLoS ONE. 8 (12): e79889. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079889
  7. Piazzi L., Acunto S., Cinelli F. (2000) - Mapping of Posidonia oceanica beds around Elba Island (western Mediterranean) with integration of direct and indirect methods, Oceanologica Acta. 23 (3): 339-346. DOI: 10.1016/S0399-1784(00)00132-8
  8. Piazzi L., Gennaro P., Cecchi E., Serena F., Bianchi C. N., Morri C., et al. (2017) - Integration of ESCA index through the use of sessile invertebrates, Sci. Mar. 81 (2): 283-290 DOI: 10.3989/scimar.04565.01B
  9. Piazzi L., Gennaro P., Montefalcone M., Bianchi C. N., Cecchi E., Morri C., et al. (2019) - STAR: An integrated and standardized procedure to evaluate the ecological status of coralligenous reefs, Aquat. Conserv. 29: 189-201. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2983
  10. Sartoretto S., Schohn T., Bianchi C. N., Morri C., Garrabou J., Ballesteros E., et al. (2017) - An integrated method to evaluate and monitor the conservation state of coralligenous habitats: The INDEX-COR approach, Mar. Pollut. Bull. 120 (1-2): 222-231. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.020
  11. Turicchia E., Abbiati M., Sweet M., Ponti M. (2018) - Mass mortality hits gorgonian forests at Montecristo Island, Dis. Aquat. Org. 131 (1): 79-85. DOI: 10.3354/dao03284
  12. Turicchia E., Cerrano C., Ghetta M., Abbiati M., Ponti M. (2021) - MedSens index: The bridge between marine citizen science and coastal management, Ecol. Indic. 122: 107296. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107296
  13. Turicchia E., Ponti M., Rossi G., Cerrano C. (2021) - The Reef Check Med Dataset on Key Mediterranean Marine Species 2001–2020, Front. Mar. Sci. 8 (1714). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.675574
  14. Turicchia E., Ponti M., Rossi G., Milanese M., Di Camillo C. G., Cerrano C. (2021) - The Reef Check Mediterranean Underwater Coastal Environment Monitoring protocol, Front. Mar. Sci. 8 (8): 620368. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.620368
  15. Tyler-Walters H., Tillin H. M., d’Avack E. A. S., Perry F., Stamp T. (2018) - Marine Evidence-based Sensitivity Assessment (MarESA) – A Guide, Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth (UK).
  16. Valisano L., Palma M., Pantaleo U., Calcinai B., Cerrano C. (2019) - Characterization of North–Western Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages by video surveys and evaluation of their structural complexity, Mar. Pollut. Bull. 148: 134-148. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.012
  17. Volpi C., Benvenuti D., Borri M., Cannicci S., Lazzara L., Santoni G., et al. (2009) - BioMarT Atlante della Biodiveristà - Individuazione di biocenosi vulnerabili e hotspot di biodiversità in ambiente costiero di substrato duro e censimento di specie rare nel mare della Toscana, Regione Toscana and Museo di Storia Naturale Firenze, Giunta Regione Toscana.
  18. Wilkinson M. D., Dumontier M., Aalbersberg I. J., Appleton G., Axton M., Baak A., et al. (2016) - The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, Scientific Data. 3 (1): 160018. DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18
PDF
  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Pages: 785-793

XML
  • Publication Year: 2022

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Ecological status of the Tuscan Archipelago rocky habitats assessed by the MedSens index

Authors

Eva Turicchia, Carlo Cerrano, Matteo Ghetta, Francesca Giannini, Marco Abbiati, Massimo Ponti

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0030-1.75

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Ninth International Symposium “Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques”

Book Subtitle

Livorno (Italy) 14th-16th June 2022

Editors

Laura Bonora, Donatella Carboni, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0030-1

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0030-1

eISBN (xml)

979-12-215-0031-8

Series Title

Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques

Series ISSN

2975-0423

Series E-ISSN

2975-0288

174

Fulltext
downloads

142

Views

Export Citation

1,340

Open Access Books

in the Catalogue

2,191

Book Chapters

3,790,127

Fulltext
downloads

4,399

Authors

from 923 Research Institutions

of 65 Nations

64

scientific boards

from 348 Research Institutions

of 43 Nations

1,247

Referees

from 380 Research Institutions

of 38 Nations