Document of bibliographic reference 333501

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Cohabiting with litter: fish and benthic assemblages in coastal habitats of a heavily urbanized area

Abstract

Anthropogenic litter negatively impacts the marine environment and threatens biodiversity. At the same time, it represents a suitable substrate for the settlement of sessile species, thus potentially altering composition and structure of soft bottom benthic assemblages. By using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), we hereby investigated patterns of abundance, distribution, and origin of benthic litter in three subtidal habitats of a heavily urbanized area and tested whether litter distribution related to patterns of fish and mega- and macro-benthic diversity. Litter accumulation mostly occurred on soft bottoms, while rocky substrata were the least affected, albeit being particularly threatened by sea-based pollution. As expected, the highest biodiversity was observed on rocky bottoms, hosting notable biogenic formations (Cladocora caespitosa, Leptogorgia sarmentosa) despite the area is historically affected by anthropogenic activities. No correlation was found between biota and marine litter, suggesting that litter does not apparently influence biodiversity and distribution of the investigated assemblages.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000627124800001

Bibliographic citation

Rizzo, L.; Musco, L.; Crocetta, F. (2021). Cohabiting with litter: fish and benthic assemblages in coastal habitats of a heavily urbanized area. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 164: 112077. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112077

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true