Unexpected Refuge for Threatened Species Revealed by A Prolonged Low-Sea-Level Phase

Authors : Salvatore Giacobbe, İvan Angelo Gatì

Pages : 131-138

Doi:10.46384/jmsf.1671506

View : 78 | Download : 261

Publication Date : 2025-12-22

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The Sicily coast of Messina Strait (Central Mediterranean) is characterized by a rare beach rock formation, whose biotic features are poorly known. Situated near an amphidromic tidal point, the formation is not affected by tidal oscillations allowing the connected rocky pools to offer a relatively stable and suitable refuge for subtidal organisms. This environment, in February 2023, was affected by exceptional low sea levels caused by a prolonged high atmospheric pressure. The local fauna, not pre-adapted to such an unpredictable event, experienced a mass mortality episode that revealed an unexpectedly high biodiversity. Exclusively considering the megabenthic fauna, 63 species have been detected. Between them, species of great conservation interest, are the gastropods Naria spurca, Luria lurida, Vermetus triquetrus, and Talisman scrobilator, the bivalve Pinna rudis, and the echinoderm Ophidiaster ophidianus, which were reported for the first time from such formations. These records show that beach rock is a habitat worth conserving and one that is vulnerable to the effects of ongoing climate change.
Keywords : Sahil kayaları, Tehdit altındaki türler, Yaşam alanlarının korunması, Kitlesel ölümler, Iklim değişikliği

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