CANESE , S.

The presence of red coral, Corallium rubrum (Coralliidae, Gorgonacea) was reported during a monitoring study on biodiversity of hard bottom substrata along the coast of Calabria. A total of 52 transects at depths ranging between 50 and 200 m were surveyed by means of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The ROV was equipped with a digital camera...

The discovery of wide populations of the gorgonian Acanthogorgia cf. hirsuta (Acanthogorgiidae, Gorgonacea), in the waters off the Calabrian coast (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) is herein reported. The colonies of this coral species are single or grouped in patches as far as 30 specimens growing on small boulders on soft bottoms. The...

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The Mediterranean coralligenous communities are vulnerable ecosystems, greatly sensitive to the changes of a broad range of environmental and anthropic variables. In particular, along the Italian coasts, these communities are known to be subjected to major direct and indirect impacts from the fishing activities. To protect these communities,...

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The false black coral Gerardia savaglia (Cnidaria, Zoanthidea) is a colonial hexacoral unable of creating branch-like colonies on its own. It invades gorgonian colonies and, partly or entirely, covers them over. This species is an important component of the twilight zone, usually presents at depth below 60 m. G. savaglia is considered a rare...

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Density and distribution of four species of cerianthids were recorded in three Mediterranean regions: North-West Sicily, Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, and western Ligurian Riviera. Cerianthus membranaceus was recorded in all the studied regions with sparse polyps. Pachycerianthus dohrni was recorded only in the southern regions, while P....

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A marine biodiversity monitoring project was conducted by ICRAM in the coastal waters of Calabria (South Italy) on board of ICRAM's research vessel R/V Astrea, by means of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The aim of the project was to study the hard bottom macrozoobenthos in the 30- 250 m depth range. The ROV was equipped with an underwater...

Red coral (Corallium rubrum L.) populations of five banks in the Gulf of Naples, previously described at the beginning of the past century and heavily harvested for a long time, were investigated by ROV surveys conducted in 2010-2012. At present, in two of the five banks we did not record any red coral colony while in the other three banks C....