Valeria Palummo, the first PhD student from the Calabria branch and now a CRIMAC research fellow, has expanded our understanding of deep soft seabeds by studying the ecological role of certain key organisms found in these environments.
The research findings, the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration between scientific staff at the SZN centres in Calabria, Sicily and Rome and researchers from the University of Messina, have been published in Scientific Reports under the title “Ecological role of benthic Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) indicator taxa on soft bottoms”.
Thanks to a campaign in the Strait of Sicily, coordinated by the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, high-resolution ROV imagery and bathymetric data have been collected, enabling researchers to map the seabed morphology, identify changes caused by human activities, and assess the presence of indicator organisms. Indeed, the presence of fish, crustaceans, gorgonians, pennatulaceans and crinoids, and their ecological relationships, can provide us with valuable information on the health of these vulnerable marine ecosystems and how they are responding to environmental variables and anthropogenic pressures.
Furthermore, the data collected highlighted the key role these organisms play in the formation of complex habitats, which increase the heterogeneity of soft seabeds, thereby providing shelter and resources essential for the survival of numerous other species.
One of the key subjects of this study is Isidella elongata, commonly known as the bamboo coral, an important indicator species for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) typical of the deep soft-bottom habitats of the Mediterranean Sea, which is now under serious threat from trawling.
This research has enabled us to deepen our understanding of deep-sea environments and has provided data of great importance for the proper spatial management of the sea, which is essential for identifying areas suitable for offshore wind farms and for achieving environmental sustainability as soon as possible.
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