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Can Rock Composition Affect Sublittoral Epibenthic Communities?
Author(s) -
CattaneoVietti Riccardo,
Albertelli Giancarlo,
Bavestrello Giorgio,
Bianchi Carlo Nike,
Cerrano Carlo,
Chiantore Mariachiara,
Gaggero Laura,
Morri Carla,
Schiaparelli Stefano
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.2002.tb00008.x
Subject(s) - benthic zone , petrography , geodiversity , geology , ecology , mediterranean sea , composition (language) , abundance (ecology) , community structure , mediterranean climate , oceanography , biodiversity , biology , geochemistry , linguistics , philosophy
. Biomineralogy, as the complex of interactions at different levels (cell, organism, species, and community) between organisms and minerals, may play a significant role in the spatial distribution and structure of marine communities. For instance, a negative influence of quartz has been underlined on the Mediterranean benthic communities, which show a species‐poorer structure in quartz‐rich environments. Excluding the role of quartz, the aim of this work is to verify whether the composition of various mineralogical substrata can affect a hard‐bottom benthic community. In the Ligurian Sea, the Levanto area shows an astonishing complex of substrata with different petrographic characters: in a few kilometres, sandstones, serpentinites, gabbros, and basalts occur in geometric association. Consequently, this area represents a suitable frame for this type of study. Herein, algal photophilic assemblages growing on the four mineralogical substrata show significant differences in number of species and percentage cover or abundance. This suggests a significant influence of rock mineral composition on the hard bottom community. Therefore, rock composition must be taken into account for a better understanding of the processes at the basis of hard‐bottom community development and diversity.