Affiliation:
1. Institute for Water Research (IRSA)-CNR, Via Roma 3, 74123 Taranto, Italy
Abstract
The collection of photos during the systematic monitoring activities is useful to witness the ecological role of marine phanerogams as hosts for a rich variety of organisms in coastal and transitional waters. Cymodocea nodosa is present in the Taranto seas. In Mar Piccolo, it reached high coverage in a short amount of time, up to 100%, due to the improvement in environmental conditions. The most recent observations showed that it offers a welcoming habitat for several vertebrates and invertebrates, native and non-indigenous, as well as to micro- and macroalgae. The NPPR-funded activities will make these observations more robust and structural.
Reference36 articles.
1. Borum, J., Duarte, C.M., Krause-Jensen, D., and Greve, T.M. (2004). Why are seagrasses important?—Goods and services provided by seagrass meadows. European Seagrasses: An Introduction to Monitoring and Management, The M&MS Project, EU.
2. Economic assessment of ecosystem services: Monetary value of seagrass meadows for coastal fisheries;Tuya;Ocean Coast. Manag.,2014
3. Factors modulating herbivory patterns in Cymodocea nodosa meadows;Egea;Limnol. Oceanogr.,2021
4. A review of seagrass ecosystem services: Providing nature-based solutions for a changing world;Bergamo;Hydrobiologia,2023
5. Shayka, B.F., Hesselbarth, M.H., Schill, S.R., Currie, W.S., and Allgeier, J.E. (2023). The natural capital of seagrass beds in the Caribbean: Evaluating their ecosystem services and blue carbon trade potential. Biol. Lett., 19.