title: The effect of breakwaters on the structure of marine soft-bottom assemblages: a case study from a North-Western Mediterranean basin.
abstract: This two-year study is the first attempt to analyse the ecological effects of breakwater systems on soft-bottom assemblages along the North Tyrrhenian coast. Differently from previous studies focusing on infauna of on-shore and off-shore sides, we compared the assemblages inhabiting the surrounding soft-bottoms not directly protected by the breakwaters, defining our sampling stations at varying distances from the breakwaters and at constant distance from the coast. Data collected revealed that abundance, species richness and M-AMBI ecological quality differed between northern and southern sides, and were related to distance from structures. Multivariate analyses of relationships between assemblages and abiotic characteristics support this hypothesis. The extension of these effects, that resulted to be weak and limited to a restricted area, could be a consequence of coastal current on local hydrodynamics. This study provides novel and critical information for the management of the coastal defence infrastructure spreading along the western coast of Italy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: claudia.becchi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: irene.ortolani@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ortolani
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.muir@nhm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muir
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.cannicci@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cannicci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D007558:Italy; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Benthic macrofauna; Breakwater; M-AMBI; North Tyrrhenian; Soft-bottom assemblage; Spatial variability