Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T19:52:02.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Macrozoobenthic assemblages around a marine terminal for re-gasifying liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the north Adriatic Sea (Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2015

Benedetta Trabucco ,
Laura Grossi ,
Veronica Marusso ,
Tiziano Bacci ,
Fabio Bertasi Open the ORCID record for Fabio Bertasi [Opens in a new window] ,
Silvia Ceracchi ,
Serena Lomiri ,
Danilo Vani  and
Claudia Virno Lamberti
Benedetta Trabucco*
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Laura Grossi
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Veronica Marusso
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Tiziano Bacci
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Fabio Bertasi
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Silvia Ceracchi
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Serena Lomiri
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Danilo Vani
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
Claudia Virno Lamberti
Affiliation:
ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: B. Trabucco, ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy email: benedetta.trabucco@isprambiente.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The first offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Italy and the first gravity based structure (GBS) in the world for unloading, storing and re-gasifying liquefied natural gas, was authorized and realized. The Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA, formerly ICRAM) formulated and implemented a multidisciplinary monitoring plan at verifying possible impacts of the project on marine environment. Data from June 2006 to July 2012 on the soft-bottom macrozoobenthic assemblages around the LNG terminal are presented, with the aim of verifying possible disturbances on these assemblages associated with the LNG terminal, by comparing the structure of the benthic communities before and after installation of the terminal, and during its operation. Well-structured assemblages were observed for the entire period investigated, with all taxa normally represented both quantitatively and qualitatively. A temporary disturbance due to the construction of the LNG terminal was detected in the surrounding sediments, while the presence of the concrete structure did not show significant effects at the investigated distances.

Keywords

soft-bottom macrozoobenthosmarine LNG terminalliquefied natural gasLNGgravity based structureGBSNorth Adriatic SeaMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 95 , Issue 8 , December 2015 , pp. 1541 - 1553
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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

Ambrose, F. and Anderson, T.W. (1990) Influence of an artificial reef on the surrounding infaunal community. Marine Biology 107, 41–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amjad, S. and Khan, M.U.A. (2011) Marine ecological assessment for LNG terminal at Port Qasim. Pakistan Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences 1, 74–85.Google Scholar
Anderson, M.J., Diebel, C.E., Blom, W.M. and Landers, T.J. (2005) Consistency and variation in kelp holdfast assemblages: spatial patterns of biodiversity for the major phyla at different taxonomic resolutions. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 320, 35–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, M.J., Gorley, R.N. and Clarke, K.R. (2008) PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: guide to software and statistical methods. Plymouth: PRIMER-E, 214 pp.Google Scholar
Arvanitidis, C., Koutsoubas, D., Dounas, C. and Eleftheriou, A. (1999) Annelid fauna of a Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova lagoon, south- west Greece): community structure in a severely fluctuating environment. Journal of Marine Biology Assessment UK 79, 849–856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barros, F., Underwood, A.J. and Lindegarth, M. (2001) The influence of rocky reefs on structure of benthic macrofauna in nearby soft-sediments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52, 191–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, I.A. (1996) Famiily Oweniidae Rioja, 97, 17–27. In Blake, I.A., Hilbig, B. and Scott, P.V. (eds) Taxonomic atlas of the benthic fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. The Annelida Part 4: Polychaeta: Flabelligeridae to Sternaspidae. Volume 7. Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 348 pp.Google Scholar
Borja, A., Franco, J. and Perez, V. (2000) A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40, 1100–1114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bray, J.R. and Curtis, J.T. (1957) An ordination of the upland forest communities of Southern Wisconsin. Ecological Monographs 27, 325–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicero, A.M. and Di Girolamo, I. (2001) Metodologie Analitiche di riferimento del Programma di Monitoraggio per il controllo dell'Ambiente marino costiero (triennio 2001–2003). Ministero dell'Ambiente e della tutela del territorio, ICRAM. © ICRAM 2001.Google Scholar
Cicero, A.M., Di Mento, R., Gabellini, M., Maggi, C., Trabucco, B., Astori, M. and Ferraro, M. (2003) Monitoring of environmental impact resulting from offshore oil and gas installations in the Adriatic sea: preliminary evaluation. Annali di Chimica, Journal of Analytical Environmental and Cultural Heritage Chemistry 93, 701–705.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Gorley, R.N. (2006) PRIMER v6: user manual/tutorial. Plymouth: PRIMER-E.Google Scholar
Davis, N., Vanblaricom, G.R. and Dayton, P.K. (1982) Man-made structures on marine sediments: effects on adjacent benthic communities. Marine Biology 70, 295–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Franco, A., Bulleri, F., Pennetta, A., De Benedetto, G., Clarke, K.R. and Guidetti, P. (2014) Within-Otolith variability in chemical fingerprints: implications for sampling designs and possible environmental interpretation. PLoS ONE 9, e101701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dormann, C.F. (2007) Effects of incorporating spatial autocorrelation into the analysis of species distribution data. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16, 129–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, J.I., Fraser, G. and Russell, J. (2012) Discharged drilling waste from oil and gas platforms and its effects on benthic communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 456, 285–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, J.I. and Schneider, D.C. (1997) Evaluation of a gradient sampling design for environmental impact assessment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 48, 157–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorentino, D., Caruso, T. and Terlizzi, A. (2012) Spatial autocorrelation in the response of soft-bottom marine benthos to gas extraction activities: the case of amphipods in the Ionian Sea. Marine Environmental Research 79, 79–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T. and Paul, D.R. (2001) Past: Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica 4, art. 4. http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/past/issue1_01.htm.Google Scholar
Kamp, R. (2005) An overview of environmental and other impacts of the potential DKRW LNG plant/pipeline and Arizona Clean Fuels refinery in Tacna, Arizona with oil port and pipeline. Report for Proyecto Fronterizo de Educacion Ambiental, Playas de Tijuana, Baja California August 19, 26 pp. Available at: http://www.etechinternational.org/us-mexico-border/.Google Scholar
Legendre, P. (1993) Spatial autocorrelation: trouble or new paradigm? Ecology 74, 1659–1673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manoukian, S., Spagnolo, A., Scarcella, G., Punzo, E., Angelini, R. and Fabi, G. (2010) Effects of two offshore gas platforms on soft-bottom benthic communities (northwestern Adriatic Sea, Italy). Marine Environmental Research 70, 404–410. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2010.08.004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, D., Pinedo, S. and Sarda, R. (2000) Distribution patterns and trophic structure of soft-bottom polychaete assemblages in a north-western Mediterranean shallow-water bay. Ophelia 53, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moodley, L., Heip, C.H.R. and Middelburg, J.J. (1998) Benthic activity in sediments of the northwestern Adriatic Sea: sediment oxygen consumption, macro- and meiofauna dynamics. Journal of Sea Research 40, 263–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ockelmann, K.W. and Muus, K. (1978) The biology, ecology and behaviour of the bivalve, Mysella bidentata. Ophelia 17, 1–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsgard, F. and Gray, J.S. (1995) A comprehensive analysis of effects of offshore oil and gas exploration and production on the benthic communities of the Norwegian continental shelf. Marine Ecology Progress Series 122, 277–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, R., Kennedy, R. and Patterson, A. (2006) Destruction of conspecific bioturbation structures by Amphiura filiformis (Ophiuroida) evidence from luminophore tracers and in situ time-lapse sediment-profile imagery. Marine Ecology Progress Series 315, 99–111. doi:10.3354/meps315099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, T.H. and Rosenberg, R. (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology – An Annual Review 16, 229–311.Google Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1974) Population and community ecology, principles and methods. New York, NY: Gordon and Breach Sci. Publ., 424 pp.Google Scholar
Posey, M.H. and Ambrose, W.G. Jr. (1994) Effects of proximity to an off-shore hard-bottom reef on infaunal abundances. Marine Biology 118, 745–753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, C.E. (1948) A mathematical theory of communication. Bell System Technical Journal 27, 379–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigvaldadóttir, E. and Mackie, A.S. (1993) Prionospio steenstrupi, P. fallax and P. dubia (Polychaeta, Spionidae): re-evaluation of identity and status. SARSIA 78, 203–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snelgrove, P.V.R. and Butman, C.A. (1994) Animal-sediment relationships revisited: cause versus effect. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 32, 111–177.Google Scholar
Spagnolo, A., Panfili, M., Giampieri, A., Spegne, R. and Trovatelli, L. (2002) Cambiamenti indotti sulla comunità bentonica di fondo mobile da una piattaforma estrattiva off-shore (Adriatico settentrionale). Biologia Marina Mediterranea 9, 191–198.Google Scholar
Ter Braak, C.J.F. (1986) Canonical correspondence analysis: a new eigenvector technique for multivariate direct gradient analysis. Ecology 67, 1167–1179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terlizzi, A., Bevilacqua, S., Scuderi, D., Fiorentino, D., Guarnieri, G., Giangrande, A., Licciano, M., Felline, S. and Fraschetti, S. (2008) Effects of offshore platforms on soft-bottom macro-benthic assemblages: a case study in a Mediterranean gas field. Marine Pollution Bulletin 56, 1303–1309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trabucco, B., Bacci, T., Marusso, V., Lomiri, S., Vani, D., Marzialetti, S., Cicero, A.M., Di Mento, R., De Biasi, A.M., Gabellini, M. and Virno Lamberti, C. (2008) Studio della macrofauna attorno alle piattaforme off-shore in Adriatico Centrale – study of the macrofauna sorrounding off-shore platforms in the Central Adriatic sea. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 15, 141–143.Google Scholar
Trabucco, B., Cicero, A.M., Gabellini, M., Virno Lamberti, C., Di Mento, R., Bacci, T., Moltedo, G., Tomassetti, P., Panfili, M., Marusso, V. and Cornello, M. (2006) Studio del popolamento macrozoobentonico di fondo mobile in prossimità di una piattaforma off-shore (Adriatico Centrale) – study of the soft bottom macrozoobenthic community around an off-shore platform (Central Adriatic sea). Biologia Marina Mediterranea 13, 659–662.Google Scholar
Trabucco, B., Maggi, C., Manfra, L., Nonnis, O., Di Mento, R., Mannozzi, M., Virno Lamberti, C., Cicero, A.M. and Gabellini, M. (2012) Monitoring of impacts of offshore platforms in the Adriatic Sea (Italy). In Al-Megren, H.A. (ed.) Natural Gas. Intech Books, pp. 285–300. doi: 10.5772/2324.Google Scholar
Virno Lamberti, C., Gabellini, M., Maggi, C., Nonnis, O., Manfra, L., Ceracchi, S., Trabucco, B., Moltedo, G., Onorati, F., Franceschini, G. and Di Mento, R. (2013) An environmental monitoring plan for the construction and operation of a marine terminal for regasifying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the North Adriatic Sea. In Hughes, T.B. (ed.) Mediterranean sea: ecosystems, economic importance and environmental threats. Nova Science Publisher, pp. 115–133.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Trabucco supplementary material S1

Trabucco supplementary material

Download Trabucco supplementary material S1(File)
File 93.5 KB