TY - JOUR
T1 - Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea:
T2 - Encounter Rate, Dominant Species, and Diversity Hotspots
AU - Gnone, Guido
AU - Bellingeri, Michela
AU - Airoldi, Sabina
AU - Gonzalvo, Joan
AU - David, Léa
AU - Di-Méglio, Nathalie
AU - Cañadas, Ana M.
AU - Akkaya, Aylin
AU - Awbery, Tim
AU - Mussi, Barbara
AU - Campana, Ilaria
AU - Azzolin, Marta
AU - Dede, Ayhan
AU - Tonay, Arda M.
AU - Monaco, Clara
AU - Pellegrino, Giuliana
AU - Tepsich, Paola
AU - Moulins, Aurelie
AU - Arcangeli, Antonella
AU - Labach, Hélène
AU - Scheinin, Aviad P.
AU - Mevorach, Yaly
AU - Carlucci, Roberto
AU - Santacesaria, Francesca C.
AU - Chicote, Carla A.
AU - Gazo, Manel
AU - Tintore, Beatriz
AU - Alessi, Jessica
AU - Mandich, Alberta
AU - Bittau, Luca
AU - Diaz lopez, Bruno
AU - Azzinari, Caroline
AU - La manna, Gabriella
AU - Pace, Daniela Silvia
AU - Decandia, Donatella
AU - Castelli, Alberto
AU - Nuti, Silvio
AU - Santoni, Marie-catherine
AU - Verga, Alessandro
AU - Tomasi, Nicolas
AU - Giacoma, Cristina
AU - Costantino, Matteo
AU - Falabrino, Marta
AU - Azzellino, Arianna
N1 - © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
PY - 2023/2/22
Y1 - 2023/2/22
N2 - We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained.
AB - We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained.
KW - Shannon index
KW - prevalence
KW - primary production
KW - chlorophyll
KW - habitat
KW - seabed
KW - bathymetry
U2 - 10.3390/d15030321
DO - 10.3390/d15030321
M3 - Article
SN - 1424-2818
VL - 15
JO - Diversity
JF - Diversity
IS - 3
ER -