Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea)
The Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea) host a unique hydrothermal system called the “Smoking Land” due to the presence of over 200 volcanic CO 2 -vents, resulting in water acidification phenomena and the creation of an acidified benthic environment. Here, we report the results of a study conducted...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9385133b7b004ba396efdd5008398d72 2023-10-01T03:58:37+02:00 Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) Emanuela Fanelli Simone Di Giacomo Cristina Gambi Silvia Bianchelli Zaira Da Ros Michael Tangherlini Franco Andaloro Teresa Romeo Cinzia Corinaldesi Roberto Danovaro 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020321 https://doaj.org/article/9385133b7b004ba396efdd5008398d72 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/2/321 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology11020321 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/9385133b7b004ba396efdd5008398d72 Biology, Vol 11, Iss 321, p 321 (2022) ocean acidification shallow hydrothermal vents meiofauna macrofauna biodiversity Mediterranean Sea Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020321 2023-09-03T00:42:12Z The Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea) host a unique hydrothermal system called the “Smoking Land” due to the presence of over 200 volcanic CO 2 -vents, resulting in water acidification phenomena and the creation of an acidified benthic environment. Here, we report the results of a study conducted at three sites located at ca. 16, 40, and 80 m of depth, and characterized by CO 2 emissions to assess the effects of acidification on meio- and macrobenthic assemblages. Acidification caused significant changes in both meio- and macrofaunal assemblages, with a clear decrease in terms of abundance and a shift in community composition. A noticeable reduction in biomass was observed only for macrofauna. The most sensitive meiofaunal taxa were kinorhynchs and turbellarians that disappeared at the CO 2 sites, while the abundance of halacarids and ostracods increased, possibly as a result of the larger food availability and the lower predatory pressures by the sensitive meiofaunal and macrofaunal taxa. Sediment acidification also causes the disappearance of more sensitive macrofaunal taxa, such as gastropods, and the increase in tolerant taxa such as oligochaetes. We conclude that the effects of shallow CO 2 -vents result in the progressive simplification of community structure and biodiversity loss due to the disappearance of the most sensitive meio- and macrofaunal taxa. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biology 11 2 321 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
ocean acidification shallow hydrothermal vents meiofauna macrofauna biodiversity Mediterranean Sea Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
ocean acidification shallow hydrothermal vents meiofauna macrofauna biodiversity Mediterranean Sea Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Emanuela Fanelli Simone Di Giacomo Cristina Gambi Silvia Bianchelli Zaira Da Ros Michael Tangherlini Franco Andaloro Teresa Romeo Cinzia Corinaldesi Roberto Danovaro Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
topic_facet |
ocean acidification shallow hydrothermal vents meiofauna macrofauna biodiversity Mediterranean Sea Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
The Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea) host a unique hydrothermal system called the “Smoking Land” due to the presence of over 200 volcanic CO 2 -vents, resulting in water acidification phenomena and the creation of an acidified benthic environment. Here, we report the results of a study conducted at three sites located at ca. 16, 40, and 80 m of depth, and characterized by CO 2 emissions to assess the effects of acidification on meio- and macrobenthic assemblages. Acidification caused significant changes in both meio- and macrofaunal assemblages, with a clear decrease in terms of abundance and a shift in community composition. A noticeable reduction in biomass was observed only for macrofauna. The most sensitive meiofaunal taxa were kinorhynchs and turbellarians that disappeared at the CO 2 sites, while the abundance of halacarids and ostracods increased, possibly as a result of the larger food availability and the lower predatory pressures by the sensitive meiofaunal and macrofaunal taxa. Sediment acidification also causes the disappearance of more sensitive macrofaunal taxa, such as gastropods, and the increase in tolerant taxa such as oligochaetes. We conclude that the effects of shallow CO 2 -vents result in the progressive simplification of community structure and biodiversity loss due to the disappearance of the most sensitive meio- and macrofaunal taxa. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emanuela Fanelli Simone Di Giacomo Cristina Gambi Silvia Bianchelli Zaira Da Ros Michael Tangherlini Franco Andaloro Teresa Romeo Cinzia Corinaldesi Roberto Danovaro |
author_facet |
Emanuela Fanelli Simone Di Giacomo Cristina Gambi Silvia Bianchelli Zaira Da Ros Michael Tangherlini Franco Andaloro Teresa Romeo Cinzia Corinaldesi Roberto Danovaro |
author_sort |
Emanuela Fanelli |
title |
Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
title_short |
Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
title_full |
Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
title_fullStr |
Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea) |
title_sort |
effects of local acidification on benthic communities at shallow hydrothermal vents of the aeolian islands (southern tyrrhenian, mediterranean sea) |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020321 https://doaj.org/article/9385133b7b004ba396efdd5008398d72 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Biology, Vol 11, Iss 321, p 321 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/2/321 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology11020321 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/9385133b7b004ba396efdd5008398d72 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020321 |
container_title |
Biology |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
321 |
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1778531537428414464 |