Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T14:02:49.872Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The rocky-reef fish assemblages of Malta and Lampedusa islands (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea): a visual census study in a changing biogeographical sector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2013

E. Azzurro ,
G. La Mesa  and
E. Fanelli
E. Azzurro*
Affiliation:
ISPRA, National Institute of Environmental Protection and Research, Sts Livorno, Piazzale dei Marmi 2, 57123 Livorno, Italy
G. La Mesa
Affiliation:
ISPRA, via di Casalotti 300, 00166 Roma, Italy
E. Fanelli
Affiliation:
ENEA, Marine Environment Research Centre, PO Box 224, 19100 Pozzuolo di Lerici (SP), Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: E. Azzurro, ISPRA, National Institute of Environmental Protection and Research, Sts Livorno, Piazzale dei Marmi 2, 57123 Livorno, Italy email: eazzurr@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The rising impact of invasive species and climate change on Mediterranean fish biodiversity highlight the urgency to evaluate the current status of natural assemblages. Here we investigated the rocky-reef fish of Malta and Lampedusa (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea), two islands of high biogeographical importance subjected to a different level of protection and anthropic pressure. By using underwater visual census, a total of 192 counts were performed in May–June and September–October 2007 using a hierarchical spatial design and four depth layers. Overall, 23 families and 61 different taxa were recorded. Out of them, two highly invasive species were censused (i.e. Siganus luridus and Fistularia commersonii) with relatively low abundances. Native Labridae and Sparidae shape the assemblage structure of both islands, and thermophilic species such as Sparisoma cretense and Thalassoma pavo occur with high densities. The fish assemblages of Malta and Lampedusa were relatively similar in species composition, richness and total abundance. Nevertheless, multivariate analysis depicted significant differences between these two islands, mainly attributable to the unevenness of Labridae. Significant differences in the size distribution of the most abundant species were detected between islands, with parallel variation across time. The pattern of spatio-temporal variability of the whole assemblage structure strongly resembled that of nekto-benthic fish, hence pointing out the relevance of this guild as an indicator species group in future monitoring activity. This study will serve as a current baseline against which future changes in the central Mediterranean fish assemblages can be assessed.

Keywords

underwater visual censusbiological invasionsspatial variationecological guildsmonitoring
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 8 , December 2013 , pp. 2015 - 2026
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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

Albouy, C., Guilhaumon, F., Araújo, M.B., Mouillot, D. and Leprieur, F. (2012) Combining projected changes in species richness and composition reveals climate change impacts on coastal Mediterranean fish assemblages. Global Change Biology 18, 2995–3003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, M.J. (2001) Permutation tests for univariate or multivariate analysis of variance and regression. Canadian Journal of Fishery and Aquatic Sciences 58, 626–639.Google Scholar
Anderson, M.J. and Willis, T.J. (2003) Canonical analysis of principal coordinates: a useful method of constrained ordination for ecology. Ecology 84, 511–525.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.Google Scholar
Axiak, V., Vella, A.J., Agiusa, D., Bonnicia, P., Cassara, G., Cassonea, R., Chircopa, P., Micallefa, D., Mintoffa, B. and Sammuta, M. (2000) Evaluation of environmental levels and biological impact of TBT in Malta (central Mediterranean). Science of the Total Environment 258, 89–97.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E. (2006) Fish biodiversity changes in the Mediterranean Sea: cases of study. PhD thesis. Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E. (2008) The advance of thermophilic fishes in the Mediterranean sea: overview and methodological questions. In Briand, F. (ed.) Climate warming and related changes in Mediterranean marine biota. CIESM Workshop Monograph no. 35. Monaco: CIESM, pp. 39–46.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E. and Andaloro, F. (2004) A new settled population of the Lessepsian migrant Siganus luridus (Pisces: Siganidae) in Linosa Island–Sicily Strait. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84, 819–821.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E., Moschella, P. and Maynou, F. (2011) Tracking signals of change in Mediterranean fish diversity based on Local Ecological Knowledge. Plos ONE 6 (9) e24885.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E., Pizzicori, P. and Andaloro, F. (2004) First record of Fistularia commersonii from the Central Mediterranean. Cybium 28, 72–74.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E., Pais, A., Consoli, P. and Andaloro, F. (2007) Evaluating day–night changes in shallow Mediterranean rocky reef fish assemblages by visual census. Marine Biology 151, 2245–2253.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E., Matiddi, M., Fanelli, E., Guidetti, P., La Mesa, G., Scarpato, A. and Axiak, V. (2010) Sewage pollution impact on Mediterranean rocky-reef fish assemblages. Marine Environmental Research 69, 390–397.Google Scholar
Azzurro, E., Soto, S., Garofalo, G. and Maynou, F. (2012) Fistularia commersonii in the Mediterranean Sea: invasion history and distribution modeling based on presence-only records. Biological Invasions 14, 1–14.Google Scholar
Bell, J.D. (1983) Effects of depth and marine reserve fishing restrictions on the structure of a rocky reef fish assemblage in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Applied Ecology 20, 357–369.Google Scholar
Ben Rais Lasram, F. and Mouillot, D. (2008) Increasing southern invasion enhances congruence between endemic and exotic Mediterranean fish fauna. Biological Invasions 11, 697–711.Google Scholar
Ben Rais Lasram, F., Guilhaumon, F., Albouy, C., Somot, S., Thuiller, W. and Mouillot, D (2010) The Mediterranean Sea as a ‘cul-de-sac’ for endemic fishes facing climate change. Global Change Biology 16, 3233–3245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Béranger, K., Mortier, L., Gasparini, G.P., Gervasio, L., Astraldi, M. and Crépon, M. (2004) The dynamics of the Sicily Strait: a comprehensive study from observations and models. Deep-Sea Research Part I 11, 411–440.Google Scholar
Bianchi, C.N. (2007) Biodiversity issues for the forthcoming tropical Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 580, 7–21.Google Scholar
Briand, F. (2008) Climate warming and related changes in Mediterranean marine biota. CIESM Workshop Monograph no. 35. Monaco: CIESM.Google Scholar
Budaev, S.V. (1997) Alternative styles in the European wrasse, Symphodus ocellatus: boldness-related schooling tendency. Environmental Biology of Fishes 49, 71–78.Google Scholar
Bulleri, F., Underwood, A. and Benedetti-Cecchi, L. (2007) The assessment and interpretation of ecological impacts in human-dominated environments. Environmental Conservation 34, 181–182.Google Scholar
Choat, J.H., Klanten, O.S., Herwerden, L.V., Robertson, D.R. and Clements, K.D. (2012) Patterns and processes in the evolutionary history of parrotfishes (Family Labridae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 107, 529–557.Google Scholar
Cormaci, M., Lanfranco, E., Borg, J.A., Buttigieg, S., Furnari, G., Micallef, S.A., Mifsud, C., Pizzuto, F., Scammacca, B. and Serio, D. (1997) Contribution to the knowledge of benthic marine algae on rocky substrata of the Maltese islands (Mediterranean Sea) Botanica Marina 40, 203–216.Google Scholar
Curley, B.G., Kingsford, M.J. and Gillanders, B.M. (2002) Spatial and habitat-related patterns of temperate reef fish assemblages: implications for the design of Marine Protected Areas. Marine and Freshwater Research 53, 1197–1210.Google Scholar
De Girolamo, M. and Mazzoldi, C. (2001) The application of visual census on Mediterranean rocky habitats. Marine Environmental Research 51, 1–16.Google Scholar
Deidun, A., and Germanà, A. (2011) On the increasing occurrence of the Bluespotted Cornetfish Fistularia commersonii (Rüppel, 1838) in the Central Mediterranean (Osteichthyes, Fistulariidae). Biodiversity Journal 2, 19–26.Google Scholar
Edelist, D., Rilov, G., Golani, D., Carlton, J.T. and Spanier, E. (2013) Restructuring the sea: profound shifts in the world's most invaded marine ecosystem. Diversity and Distributions 19, 69–77.Google Scholar
Ferreira, C.E.L., Gonçalves, J.E.A. and Coutinho, R. (2001) Community structure of fishes and habitat complexity on a tropical rocky shore. Environmental Biology of Fishes 61, 353–369.Google Scholar
Fischer, W., Schneider, M. and Bauchot, M.L. (1987) Fiches FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche (Révision 1). Méditerranée et Mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37, Volume II. Vertebrés. Rome: FAO, pp. 761–1530.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 18, 157–173.Google Scholar
Francour, P., Boudouresque, C.F., Harmelin, J.G., Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and Quignard, J.P. (1994) Are the Mediterranean waters becoming warmer? Information from biological indicators. Marine Pollution Bulletin 28, 523–526.Google Scholar
Garcia-Charton, J.A. and Pérez-Ruzafa, A. (2001) Spatial patterns and the habitat structure of a Mediterranean rocky reef fish local assemblage. Marine Biology 138, 917–934.Google Scholar
Garcia-Rubies, E. and Macpherson, E. (1995) Substrate use and temporal pattern of recruitment in juvenile fishes of the Mediterranean littoral. Marine Biology 124, 35–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidetti, P., Giardina, F. and Azzurro, E. (2010) A new record of Cephalopholis taeniops in the Mediterranean Sea, with considerations on the Sicily channel as a biogeographical crossroad of exotic fish. Marine Biodiversity Records 3, 1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidetti, P., Terlizzi, A., Fraschetti, S. and Boero, F. (2003) Changes in Mediterranean rocky-reef fish assemblages exposed to sewage pollution. Marine Ecology Progress Series 253, 269–278.Google Scholar
Hereu, B., Zabala, M. and Sala, E. (2008) Multiple controls of community structure and dynamics in a sublittoral marine environment. Ecology 89, 3423–3435.Google Scholar
Harmelin, J.G. (1987) Structure et variabilité de l'ichtyofaune d'une zone rocheuse protegée en Méditerranée (National Park of Port-Cros, France). Marine Ecology 8, 263–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Harmelin, J.G., Chauvet, C., Duval, C., Galzin, R., Lejeune, P., Barnabe, G., Blanc, F., Chevalier, R., Duclerc, J. and Lasserre, G. (1985) Evaluation des peuplements et populations de poissons. Méthodes et problemes. Revue d'Écologie (Terre Vie) 40, 467–539.Google Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Bitar, G., Harmelin, J.G and Monestiez, P. (2005) The littoral fish community of the Lebanese rocky coast (eastern Mediterranean Sea) with emphasis on Red Sea immigrants. Biological Invasions 7, 625–637.Google Scholar
La Mesa, G. and Vacchi, M. (1999) An analysis of the coastal fish assemblage of the Ustica Island Marine Reserve (Mediterranean Sea). Marine Ecology 20, 147–165.Google Scholar
Larkum, A.W.D., Drew, E.A. and Crossett, R.N. (1967) The vertical distribution of attached marine algae in Malta. Journal of Ecology 55, 361–371.Google Scholar
Letourneur, Y., Ruitton, S. and Sartoretto, S. (2003) Environmental and benthic habitat factors structuring the spatial distribution of a summer infralittoral fish assemblage in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83, 193–204.Google Scholar
Magurran, A.E., Baillie, S.R., Buckland, S.T., Dick, J.M., Elston, D.A., Scott, E.M., Smith, R.I., Somerfield, P.J. and Watt, A.D. (2010) Long-term data-sets in biodiversity research and monitoring: assessing change in ecological communities through time. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25, 574–582.Google Scholar
Milazzo, M., Mirto, S., Domenici, P., Gristina, M. and Genner, M. (2012) Climate change exacerbates interspecific interactions in sympatric coastal fishes. Journal of Animal Ecology 82, 468–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moranta, J., Palmer, M., Morey, G., Ruiz, A. and Morales-Nin, B. (2006) Multi-scale spatial variability in fish assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68, 579–592.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouillot, D., Albouy, C., Guilhaumon, F., Ben Rais Lasram, F., Coll, M., Devictor, V., Meynard, C.N., Pauly, D., Tomasini, J.A., Trousellier, M., Velez, L., Watson, R., Douzery, E.J.P. and Mouquet, N. (2011) Protected and threatened components of fish biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Current Biology 21, 1044–1050.Google Scholar
Ordines, F., Moranta, J., Palmer, M., Lerycke, A., Suau, A., Morales-Nin, B. and Grau, A.M. (2005) Variations in a shallow rocky reef fish community at different spatial scales in the western Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 304, 221–233.Google Scholar
Pais, A., Azzurro, E. and Guidetti, P. (2007) Effects of wave exposure on the spatial variability of shallow rocky reefs fish assemblages in a Central Western Mediterranean Marine Protected Area. Italian Journal of Zoology 74, 277–287.Google Scholar
Sala, E., Ballesteros, E., Dendrinos, P., Di Franco, A., Ferretti, F., Foley, D., Fraschetti, S., Friedlander, A., Garrabou, J., Güçlüsoy, H., Guidetti, P., Halpern, B.S., Hereau, B., Karamanlidis, A.A., Kizilkaya, Z., Macpherson, E., Mangialajo, L., Mariani, S., Micheli, F., Pais, A., Kristin, R., Rosenberg, A.A., Sales, M., Selkoe, K.A., Starr, R. Tomas, F. and Zabala, M. (2012) The structure of Mediterranean rocky reef ecosystems across environmental and human gradients, and conservation implications. PLoS ONE 7, e32742. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schembri, P.J., Deidun, A. and Falzon, M.A. (2012) One Siganus or two? On the occurrence of Siganus luridus and Siganus rivulatus in the Maltese Islands. Marine Biodiversity Records 5, e71. doi:10.1017/S175526721200053X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, S.R., Casella, G. and McCulloch, C.E. (1992) Variance components. Toronto: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Westneat, M.W. and Alfaro, M.E. (2005) Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the reef fish family Labridae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36, 370–390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zenetos, A., Gofas, S., Morri, C., Rosso, A., Violanti, D., GarcíaRaso, J.E., Cinar, M.E. Almogi-Labin, A., Ates, A. S., Azzurro, E., Ballesteros, E., Bianchi, C.N., Bilecenogtu, M., Gombi, M.C., Giangrande, A., Gravili, C., Hyams-Kaphzan, O., Karachle, U., Katsanevakis, S., Lipej, L., Mastrototoro, F., Mineur, F., Panucci-Papadopoulou, M.A., Ramos-Esplá, A., Salas, C., San Martin, G., Streftaris, N. and Verlaque, M. (2012) Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part 2. Introduction trends and pathways. Mediterranean Marine Science 12, 328–352.Google Scholar