Ten Years of Censuses of Fish Fauna on the Loana Artificial Reef

Visual census activities were implemented on a monthly basis from February 1989 to December 1998 to analyze trends in the fish population on the Loana artificial reef. This reef is located in the Ligurian Sea off the coast of Italy. Researchers documented gradual increases in the values for species...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ICES journal of marine science 2002-10, Vol.59
Main Authors: Relini, Giulio, Relini, Marco, Torchia, Giovanni, Palandri, Giovanni
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Visual census activities were implemented on a monthly basis from February 1989 to December 1998 to analyze trends in the fish population on the Loana artificial reef. This reef is located in the Ligurian Sea off the coast of Italy. Researchers documented gradual increases in the values for species richness per census and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. Analyses of the evolution of the community have identified the arrival of several new species, including Phycis phycis, Epinephelus marginatus, Muraena helena, and Parablennius gattorugine. Other species have disappeared from the region, including Gobius cruentatus. Gradual increases in the density of certain species typically favoring hard substrata have also been documented. Observed data underscored the long-term nature of reef community stabilization processes.
ISSN:1054-3139