Meiobenthos and ocean acidification: Effects on meiobenthic communities inhabiting Mediterranean cold shallow CO2-vents

Ocean acidification is causing major changes in marine ecosystems, with varying levels of impact, depending both on the habitat and the studied organisms. Here, we investigated for the first time the meiobenthos and nematode fauna inhabiting the sediments around Castello Aragonese (Ischia, Italy), c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Main Authors: Cocozza Di Montanara, A., Baldrighi, Elisa, López Correa, M., Chianese, E., Appolloni, L., Simoncini, N., Sandulli, R., Zeppilli, Daniela, Semprucci, F., Gambi, M.C., Ferrigno, F., Donnarumma, L.
Other Authors: Istituto di Science Marine (ISMAR ), National Research Council of Italy, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg = University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Biologie et Ecologie des Ecosystèmes Marins Profonds (BEEP), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2024
Subjects:
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]
Ocean acidification
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-04606332
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108730
Description
Summary:Ocean acidification is causing major changes in marine ecosystems, with varying levels of impact, depending both on the habitat and the studied organisms. Here, we investigated for the first time the meiobenthos and nematode fauna inhabiting the sediments around Castello Aragonese (Ischia, Italy), characterized by variable pH values due to coastal volcanic CO2 venting. In this scenario, nematode functional diversity changed according to different pH levels and grain size: maturity index was higher at most acidic stations and trophic composition spanned from the dominance of predators in the acidic stations, to the high abundance of non-selective deposit feeders and epistrate feeders in the ambient-pH stations. Overall, the present study revealed a relatively high tolerance of meiobenthos and nematodes to lower pH conditions. However, an in-depth analysis of nematode fauna showed differences in their assemblages at different pH levels with few nematode genera rather adapted to the extreme environmental conditions at the acidic stations.

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