Hostname: page-component-68945f75b7-tmfhh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-06T02:43:48.798Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Differences among fish assemblages associated with a nearshore vermetid reef and two other rocky habitats along the shores of Cape Milazzo (northern Sicily, central Mediterranean Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2008

P. Consoli ,
T. Romeo ,
U. Giongrandi  and
F. Andaloro
P. Consoli*
Affiliation:
ICRAM, Central Institute for Marine Research, Via dei Mille 44, 98057 Milazzo (Me), Italy
T. Romeo
Affiliation:
ICRAM, Central Institute for Marine Research, Via dei Mille 44, 98057 Milazzo (Me), Italy
U. Giongrandi
Affiliation:
Datalog Technology Ltd, Oil and Gas Services' Company, Unit 1, Cadleigh Close, Lee Mill Industrial Estate, Plymouth, PL21 9GB, UK
F. Andaloro
Affiliation:
ICRAM, Central Institute for Marine Research, Via dei Mille 44, 98057 Milazzo (Me), Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: P. Consoli ICRAM, Central Institute for Marine ResearchVia dei Mille 44, 98057 Milazzo (Me)Italy email: pierpaoloconsoli@hotmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Fish assemblages associated with shallow rocky bottoms along the coast of Cape Milazzo were investigated within three selected habitats, each represented by a different degree of complexity and namely vermetid reef (VR), rocky-algal reef (RR) and boulder and pebbles (BP). The area, located along the northern coast of Sicily (southern Tyrrhenian Sea) was studied by using a non-destructive diver visual census methodology evaluating species composition and abundance. A total of 39 fish taxa belonging to 15 families were recorded over the three habitats investigated. Multivariate and univariate approaches detected significant differences among the three habitats. These differences were either in fish assemblage structure, in the assemblage parameters or in the abundances of some common species. A multidimensional scaling performed on the entire fish density data set showed distinct groupings for the three habitats. The highest values of mean species richness (S), diversity (H′), evenness (J) and density (N) occurred over the more complex habitat, represented by VR, than over rocky-algal reef habitat or BP. Different habitat preferences were evidenced for several fish species. Diplodus sargus, Serranus scriba, Tripterygion tripteronotus, T. delaisi and T. melanurus were significantly more abundant over VR whereas Thalassoma pavo and Symphodus tinca were more abundant both over VR and BP habitats. Statistical comparison did not detect habitat preferences in Symphodus roissali, Oblada melanura, Diplodus vulgaris and Sarpa salpa. As far as the size is concerned, small, medium and large-sized specimens of D. sargus and only large-sized individuals of D. vulgaris were significantly more abundant over the VR habitat side than over the other two. These results suggest that differences in assemblage parameters are related to habitat structure. Greater habitat complexity means greater surface available, thus providing additional resources for adults and juveniles of many species: food, cavities, caves and then new niches, refuges from predation, from artisan fishery nets, as well as resting or mating sites, boosting the total number of individuals and species. The results of this study highlight the importance of VR in sustaining the biodiversity of fish assemblages and emphasize the need for their careful management in an area already proposed as a Site of Community Interest.

Keywords

fish assemblagesvermetid reefPendropoma petracumCape Milazzovisual census
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 401 - 410
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, M.J. (2001a) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Australian Ecology 26, 32–46.Google Scholar
Anderson, M.J. (2001b) Permutation tests for univariate or multivariate analysis of variance and regression. Canadial Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58, 626–639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonioli, F., Chemello, R., Improta, S. and Riggio, S. (1999) Dendropoma lower intertidal reef formations and their palaeoclimatological significance, NW Sicily. Marine Geology 161, 155–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azzopardi, L. (1992) Aspects of the ecology of vermetid gastropods on Maltese rocky shores. Dissertation, Department of Biology, University of Malta, 163 pp.Google Scholar
Badalamenti, F., Chemello, R., Gristina, M., Riggio, S. and Toccaceli, M. (1992a) Caratterizzazione delle piattaforme a Molluschi Vermetidi nella costa della Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro (TP). Oebalia 17, 543–545.Google Scholar
Badalamenti, F., Chemello, R., Gristina, M., Riggio, S. and Toccaceli, M. (1992b) Caratterizzazione delle Piattaforme a Molluschi Vermetidi nella costa tra Capo Gallo ed Isola delle Femmine (PA): area proposta come riserva naturale marina. Oebalia 17, 547–549.Google Scholar
Badalamenti, F., Chemello, R., D'Anna, G. and Riggio, S. (1998) Diversity of the polychaete assemblage in the hard bottom mediolittoral along the north-western Sicilian coast: the role played by the vermetid bioconstruction. In Abstract of the 1th CONISMA symposium ‘Diversità e Cambiamento’, Ischia, 11 November 1998.Google Scholar
Bell, J.D. (1983) Effects of depth and marine reserve fishing restriction on the structure of a rocky reef fish assemblage in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Applied Ecology 20, 357–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, D.R., Wainwright, P.C., Fulton, C.J. and Hoey, A. (2002) Assembly rules and functional groups at global biogeographical scales. Functional Ecology 16, 557–562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Eliahu, M.N. (1975) Polychaete cryptofauna from rims of similar intertidal vermetid reefs on the Mediterranean coast of Israel and in the Gulf of Elat: Nereide (Polychaeta Errantia). Israel Journal of Zoology 24, 177–191.Google Scholar
Ben-Eliahu, M.N. (1976) Errant polychaete cryptofauna (excluding Syllidae and Nereidae) from rims of similar intertidal vermetid reefs on the Mediterranean coast of Israel and in the Gulf of Elat. Israel Journal of Zoology 25, 156–177.Google Scholar
Ben-Eliahu, M.N. (1977a) Polychaete cryptofauna from rims of similar intertidal vermetid reefs on the Mediterranean coast of Israel and in the Gulf of Elat: Syllinae and Eusyllinae (Polychaeta Errantia: Syllidae). Israel Journal of Zoology 26, 1–58.Google Scholar
Ben-Eliahu, M.N. (1977b) Polychaete cryptofauna from rims of similar intertidal vermetid reefs on the Mediterranean coast of Israel and in the Gulf of Elat: Exogoninae and Autolytinae (Polychaeta Errantia: Syllidae). Israel Journal of Zoology 26, 59–99.Google Scholar
Beukers, J.S. and Jones, G.P. (1997) Habitat complexity modifies the impact of piscivores on a coral reef fish population. Oecologia 114, 50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bitar, G. and Bitar-Kouli, S. (1995a) Aperçu de bionomie bentique et répartition des différents faciès de la roche littorale à Hannouch (Liban, Méditerranée orientale). Rapport Commission Internationale pour la Mer Méditerranée 34, 19 pp.Google Scholar
Bitar, G. and Bitar-Kouli, S. (1995b) Impact de la pollution sur la répartition des peuplemets de substrat dur à Beyrouth (Liban, Méditerranée orientale). Rapport Commission Internationale pour la Mer Méditerranée 34, 19 pp.Google Scholar
Bray, J.R. and Curtis, J.T. (1957) An ordination of upland forest communities of southern Wisconsin. Ecological Monographs 27, 325–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caley, M.J. and St John, J. (1996) Refuge availability structures assemblages of tropical reef fishes. Journal of Animal Ecology 65, 414–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, M.H. (1989) Effects of macroalgal assemblages on the recruitment of temperate zone reef fishes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 126, 59–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chemello, R. (1989) La bionomia bentonica ed i Molluschi. 5. Il piano Infralitorale: il marciapiede a vermeti. Notiziario SIM 7, 167–170.Google Scholar
Chemello, R., Dieli, T. and Antonioli, F. (2000) Il ruolo dei ‘reef’ a molluschi vermetidi nella valutazione della biodiversità. In ICRAM (ed.) Mare e cambiamenti globali. Rome, pp. 105–118.Google Scholar
Choat, J.H. and Ayling, A.M. (1987) The relationship between habitat structure and fish faunas on New Zealand reefs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 110, 257–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 117–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cocito, S. (2004) Bioconstruction and biodiversity: their mutual influence. Scientia Marina 68, 137–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connell, S. and Jones, G.P. (1991) The influence of habitat complexity on postrecruitment processes in a temperate reef fish population. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 151, 271–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalongeville, R. (1977) Formes littorales de corrosion dans le roches carbonatées du Liban: étude morphologique. Méditerranée 3, 21–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Girolamo, M. and Mazzoldi, C. (2001) The application of visual census on Mediterranean rocky habitats. Marine Environmental Research 51, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denny, M.W. (1994) Roles of hydrodynamics in the study of life on wave–swept shores. In Wainwright, P.C. and Reilly, S.M. (eds), Ecological morphology: integrative organismal biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 169–204.Google Scholar
De Quatrefages, A. (1854) Souvenirs d'un naturaliste. 1. Charpentier: Paris.Google Scholar
Dufour, V., Jouvenel, J.Y. and Galzin, R. (1995) Study of a Mediterranean reef fish assemblage. Comparisons of population distributions between depths in protected and unprotected areas over one decade. Aquatic Living Resources 8, 17–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fasola, M., Canova, L., Foschi, F., Novelli, O. and Bressan, M. (1997) Resource use by a Mediterranean rocky slope fish assemblage. Marine Ecology —PS ZNI 18, 51–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, W., Bauchot, M.I. and Schneider, M. (1987) Fiches FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche (Révision 1). Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. 1. Vegetaux et invertebres. Publication préparée par la FAO (Project GCP/INT/422/EEC). Rome, FAO, 760 pp.Google Scholar
Francour, P. (1994) Pluriannual analysis of the reserve effect on ichthyofauna in the Standola natural reserve (Corsica, northwestern Mediterranean). Oceanologica Acta 17, 309–317.Google Scholar
Francour, P. (1997) Fish assemblages of Posidonia oceanica beds at Port-Cros (France, NW Mediterranean): assessment of composition and long-term fluctuations by visual census. Marine Ecology—PS ZNI 18, 157–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedlander, A.M. and Parrish, J.D. (1998) Habitat characteristics affecting fish assemblages on a Hawaiian coral reef. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 224, 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Charton, J.A. and Pérez-Ruzafa, A. (1998) Correlation between habitat structure and a rocky reef fish assemblage in the southwest Mediterranean. Marine Ecology—PS ZNI 19, 111–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Charton, J.A. and Pérez-Ruzafa, A. (2001) Spatial pattern and the habitat structure of a Mediterranean reef fish local assemblage. Marine Biology 138, 917–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia-Rubies, A. and Zabala, M. (1990) Effects of total fishing prohibition on the rocky fish assemblages of Medes Islands marine reserve (NW Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 54, 317–328.Google Scholar
Goren, M. and Galil, B.S. (2001) Fish biodiversity in the vermetid reef of Shiqmona (Israel). Marine Ecology— PS ZNI 22, 369–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmelin, J.G. (1987) Structure at variabilité de l'ichtyofaune d'une zone rocheuse protégée en Méditerranée (Parc national de Port-Cros, France). Marine Ecology—PS ZNI 8, 263–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and Francour, P. (1992) Trawling or visual censuses? Methodological bias in the assessment of fish populations in sea grass beds. Marine Ecology—PS ZNI 13, 41–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. et al. (1985) Evaluation visuelle des peuplements et populations de poissons: méthodes et problèmes. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre Vie) 40, 467–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hixon, M.A. and Beets, J.P. (1993) Predation prey refuges and the structure of coral-reef fish assemblages. Ecological Monographs 63, 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holbrook, S.J., Schmitt, R.J. and Ambrose, R.F. (1990) Biogenic habitat structure and characteristics of temperate reef fish assemblages. Australian Journal of Ecology 15, 489–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holbrook, S.J., Forrester, G.E. and Schmitt, R.J. (2000) Spatial patterns in abundance of a damselfish reflect availability of suitable habitat. Oecologia 122, 109–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huston, M.A. (1994) Biological diversity. The coexistence of species in changing landscapes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jones, B. and Hunter, I.G. (1995) Vermetid buildups from Grand Cayman, British West Indies. Journal of Coastal Research 11, 973–983.Google Scholar
Jones, G.P. (1988) Ecology of rocky reef fish of north-eastern New Zealand: a review. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 22, 445–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keen, A.M. (1961) A proposed reclassification of the gastropod family Vermetidae. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 7, 181–213.Google Scholar
Kelletat, D. (1979) Geomorphologishe Studien an den Küsten Kretas. Abhandlungen der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse. 3° Folge, 32 pp.Google Scholar
Kempf, M. and Laborel, J. (1968) Formations de vermets et d'algues calcaires sur les côtes du Bresil. Recueil des Travaux de la Station Marine d'Endoume 43, 9–23.Google Scholar
Kruskal, J.B. and Wish, M. (1978) Multidimensional scaling. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laborel, J. (1987) Marine biogenic constructions in the Mediterranean. A review. Scientific Reports of the Port-Cros National Park, France 13, 97–126.Google Scholar
La Mesa, G. and Vacchi, M. (2005) Analysis of the blennoid assemblages associated with different rocky shore habitats in the Ligurian Sea. Journal of Fish Biology 66, 1300–1327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, P.S. and Hay, M.E. (1996) Responses of temperate reef fishes to alterations in algal structure and species composition. Marine Ecology Progress Series 134, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln Smith, M.P. (1988) Effects of observer swimming speed on sample counts of temperate rocky reef fish assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series 43, 223–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln Smith, M.P. (1989) Improving multispecies rocky reef fish censuses by counting different groups of species using different procedures. Environmental Biology of Fishes 26, 20–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luckhurst, B.E. and Luckhurst, K. (1978) Analysis of the influence of substrate variables on coral reef fish communities. Marine Biology 49, 317–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacPherson, E. (1994) Substrate utilization in a Mediterranean littoral fish community. Marine Ecology Progress Series 114, 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mannino, A.M. (1992) Studio fitosociologico della vegetazione mesolitorale a Lithophyllum lichenoides PHILIPPI (Rhodophyceae, Corallinales). Naturalista Siciliano, Palermo, s. IV, 16, 3–25.Google Scholar
McArdle, B.H. and Anderson, M.J. (2001) Fitting multivariate models to community data: a comment on distance-based redundancy analysis. Ecology 82, 290–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClanahan, T.R. and Arthur, R. (2001) The effect of marine reserves and habitat on populations of east African coral reef fishes. Ecological Applications 11, 559–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molinier, R. (1955a) Les platformes et corniches recifales de Vermets (Vermetus cristatus Biondi) en Mediterranée occidentale. Les Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 240, 361–363.Google Scholar
Molinier, R. (1955b) Deux nouvelles formations organogenes biologiques construites en Mediterranée occidentale. Les Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 240, 2166–2168.Google Scholar
Molinier, R. and Picard., J. (1953) Notes biologiques a propos d'un voyage d'étude sur les cotes de Sicile. Annales de l'Institut Océanographique 28, 163–188.Google Scholar
Orlando, V.E. (1978) Malacofauna del ‘Trottoir’ a vermetidi nella Sicilia occidentale. Naturalista Siciliano 2, 87–96.Google Scholar
Pandolfo, A., Chemello, R. and Riggio, S. (1992a) Prime note sui popolamenti associati ai ‘trottoir’a vermetidi delle coste siciliane: i Molluschi. Oebalia 17, 379–382.Google Scholar
Pandolfo, A., Chemello, R. and Riggio, S. (1992b) Notes sur la signification écologique de la malacofaune d'un ‘Trottoir à Vermets’ le long de la côte de Palerme (Sicile). Rapport Commission Internationale pour la Mer Méditerranée 33, 47 pp.Google Scholar
Pandolfo, A., Chemello, R., Ciuna, I., Lo Valvo, M. and Riggio, S. (1996) Analisi della distribuzione dei molluschi nella zona di transizione tra mesolitorale ed infralitorale superiore lungo le coste della Sicilia. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 3, 78–87.Google Scholar
Pérès, J.M. and Picard, J. (1952) Les corniches calcaires d'origine biologique en Méditerranée occidentale. Recueil des Travaux de la Station Marine d'Endoume 4, 2–34.Google Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1966) The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology 13, 131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, C.M. and Ormond, R.F.G. (1987) Habitat complexity and coral reef fish diversity and abundance on Red Sea fringing reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 41, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Safriel, U. (1966) Recent vermetid formation on the Mediterranean shore of Israel. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 37, 27–34.Google Scholar
Safriel, U. (1974) Vermetid gastropods and intertidal reefs in Israel and Bermuda. Science 186, 1113–1115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Safriel, U. (1975) The role of vermetid gastropods in the formations of Mediterranean and Atlantic reefs. Oecologia 20, 85–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Safriel, U.N. and Ben-Eliahu, M.N. (1991) The influnce of habitat structure and environmental stability on the species diversity of polychaetes in vermetid reefs. In Bell, S.S. McCoy, E.D. and Mushinsky, H.R. (eds.), Habitat structure: the physical arrangements of objects in space. London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd, pp. 349–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sala, E. (1997) The role of fish in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community. I: epifaunal communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 212, 45–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sala, E. and Boudouresque, C. (1997) The role of fish in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community. I: algal communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 212, 25–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, M.A. (1999) Effects of shelter and predators on reef fishes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 233, 65–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Templado, J., Templado, D. and Calvo, M. (1992) The formations of vermetid gastropod Dendropoma petraeum (Monterosato, 1884) on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula (Western Mediterranean). In Giusti, F. and Manganelli, G. (eds), Abstracts of the 11th Internetional Malacological Congress, Siena, pp. 514–515.Google Scholar
Tolimieri, N. (1995) Effects of microhabitat characteristics on the settlement and recruitment of a coral reef fish at two spatial scales. Oecologia 102, 52–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tolimieri, N. (1998) Contrasting effects of microhabitat use on large-scale adult abundance in two families of Caribbean reef fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 167, 227–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tupper, M. and Boutilier, R.G. (1997) Effects of habitat on settlement, growth, predation risk and survival of a temperate reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 151, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1981) Techniques of analysis of variance in experimental marine biology and ecology. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 19, 513–605.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Williams, D.M. (1991) Patterns and processes in the distribution of coral reef fishes. In Sale, P.F. (ed.), The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 437–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willis, T.J. and Anderson, M.J. (2003) Structure of cryptic reef fish assemblages: relationships with habitat characteristics and predator density. Marine Ecology Progress Series 257, 209–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar