title: Temporal distribution of intertidal macrozoobenthic assemblages in a Nanozostera noltii-dominated area (Lagoon of Venice).
abstract: We describe the temporal distribution of intertidal macrozoobenthic assemblages in a small marsh pond of the Lagoon of Venice colonized by the seagrass Nanozostera noltii (Hornemman) Tomlinson et Posluzny. Three stations ranging in the degree of N. noltii cover were selected about 100 m apart and sampled 9 times at regular intervals from March 1996 to March 1997. We applied the concepts of resistance and resilience to "natural stress" (e.g. extent of protection from seagrass meadows, exposure of macrozoobenthic assemblages to high temperatures in summer) with the aim to assess the stability of a community along a gradient of seagrass coverage. Results showed that the most structured and taxa-rich macrozoobenthic assemblage occurred at the station covered by a continuous stand of N. noltii, where permanent taxa (i.e. found in 100% of samples) were almost double than those found at the other stations. During the annual cycle, the macrozoobenthic assemblages showed a cyclical pattern, with temporal fluctuations increasing as they moved further away from the seagrass beds. We propose the role of N. noltii offering structural complexity and stability as the more probable explanation to the observed differences between stations in the intertidal assemblages.
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR), Arsenale - Tesa 104, Castello 2737/F, 30122 Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tagliapietra
authors.affiliation: Greensea scarl, Via Zannier 18, 30025 Fossalta di Portogruaro, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pessa
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Castello 4665, 30122 Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornello
authors.affiliation: University IUAV of Venice, Venice 30123, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zitelli
authors.affiliation: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero (CNR-IAMC), Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, 09170 Oristano, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.magni@cnr.it.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magni
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000502:physiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D007558:Italy; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012621:Seasons; D035962:Zosteraceae / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Animal-seagrass interactions; Benthos; Coastal lagoons; Lagoon of Venice; Nanozostera noltii; Seasonal variation