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Ecosystem engineers and biogeomorphology of the Mediterranean algal reef Coralligenous

Authors :
Basso, D
Bracchi, V
Bazzicalupo, P
Bertolino, M
Bruno, F
Cipriani, M
Costa, G
D'Alpa, F
Donato, G
Fallati, L
Guido, A
Muzzupappa, M
Sanfilippo, R
Savini, A
Sciuto, F
Varzi, A
Rosso, A
Basso, Daniela
Bracchi, Valentina Alice
Bazzicalupo, Pietro
Bertolino, Marco
Bruno, Fabio
Cipriani, Mara
Costa, Gabriele
D'Alpa, Francesco
Donato, Gemma
Fallati, Luca
Guido, Adriano
Muzzupappa, Maurizio
Sanfilippo, Rossana
Savini, Alessandra
Sciuto, Francesco
Varzi, Andrea Giulia
Rosso, Antonietta
Basso, D
Bracchi, V
Bazzicalupo, P
Bertolino, M
Bruno, F
Cipriani, M
Costa, G
D'Alpa, F
Donato, G
Fallati, L
Guido, A
Muzzupappa, M
Sanfilippo, R
Savini, A
Sciuto, F
Varzi, A
Rosso, A
Basso, Daniela
Bracchi, Valentina Alice
Bazzicalupo, Pietro
Bertolino, Marco
Bruno, Fabio
Cipriani, Mara
Costa, Gabriele
D'Alpa, Francesco
Donato, Gemma
Fallati, Luca
Guido, Adriano
Muzzupappa, Maurizio
Sanfilippo, Rossana
Savini, Alessandra
Sciuto, Francesco
Varzi, Andrea Giulia
Rosso, Antonietta
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Coralligenous (C) is a type of Open Frame Reef, characterized by a variable association of calcareous red algae and macroinvertebrates. It is distributed across the Mediterranean shelf below the deepest seagrass meadows and down to the mesophotic zone, with different facies. The Italian project FISR “CRESCIBLUREEF” provided an extraordinary opportunity to explore the development of the Mediterranean C, from inception to present-day morphology and distribution off the SE coasts of Sicily. The spatial extension of C hybrid banks and discrete reliefs over the studied Sicilian shelf controls the hydrodynamics at the seafloor, the habitat biodiversity, and the related carbonate production at the shelf scale. The analyzed C samples, collected at about 36 m depth, had a columnar shape, were Holocene in age, and their development significantly modified the seafloor geomorphology. Our observations confirmed that most of the framework was built by calcareous red algae with an important contribution by bryozoans, with serpulids, molluscs, and rare corals as accompanying components of the sessile macroscopic fauna. The framework was highly porous, with a primary porosity derived from the growth, shape and structure of the skeletal components of both builders and dwellers, and an important secondary porosity derived from bioerosion and other early taphonomic processes involving both skeletonised and soft-bodied organisms, like sponges. During the entire process of framework growth and development, sponges played an important role as mineralization mediators of the autochthonous micrite fraction, which contributes significantly to the framework consolidation. Detrital micrite, rich in fine skeletal remains, is trapped in the primary and secondary cavities and represents an archive for the study of the organisms which are not directly involved in the framework building.

Details

Database :
OAIster
Notes :
English
Publication Type :
Electronic Resource
Accession number :
edsoai.on1456741145
Document Type :
Electronic Resource