Characterizing Benthic Habitats in Two Marine Protected Areas on the West Florida Shelf

A combined technology approach, using towed underwater video from the Camera-Based Assessment Survey System (C-BASS) and previously collected multibeam data, was used to characterize two concurrently established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) located between 60 and 180 m on the West Florida Shelf (WFS): Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps. C-BASS video was used to characterize habitats, identify reef species such as groupers and snappers, and estimate populations and assemblages. Several previously undefined habitat characteristics were identified in C-BASS video imagery in these areas and added to a Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)-based flowchart, developed to suit towed video analysis on the WFS, including high-relief hard bottom, moderate-relief hard bottom, low-relief hard bottom, and covered low-relief hard bottom. In Madison-Swanson, the most commonly observed fishes were Lutjanidae spp., Priacanthidae spp., and Serranidae spp.; similarly, in Steamboat Lumps the most frequently encountered fishes were Lutjanidae spp. and Serranidae spp. Between the two MPAs, Madison-Swanson contained both higher abundance and diversity of fishes in the years observed with towed underwater video. Initial results of multivariate statistical analyses suggest habitat preferences of certain fish species, as well as substantial contributions from widespread sandy habitats to total fish abundance despite higher densities of fish over rocky habitats

Marine landscapes and habitars of Cilento Geopark (Italy) - linking geo- and biodiversity using a multiscalar approach.

The Cilento, Vallo di Diano, and Alburni Geopark Administration appointed the Geological Survey of Italy (ISPRA), in collaboration with the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the University “Parthenope” of Naples (DISAM), to map the seascapes off Cilento down to a depth of 100 m, as part of the official Geological Map of the Park. The map was realized at 1:110,000 scale for the entire Geopark, covering a marine area of 460 square kilometers, up to a depth of 100 m. A detailed map of the marine protected area “Santa Maria di Castellabate” was produced at 1:30,000 scale. The seafloor was described according to a classification based on geomorphology, geological composition, and dominant organisms. The cartographic representation is largely based on the morphological features derived by a detailed bathymetry, completed using geological seabed data compiled by the Italian Geological Mapping Project at 1:50,000 scale (CARG Project). Complementary biological data were collected by Remotely Operated Vehicle inspections. Morphological features have been subdivided into seven geoforms (bank, ridge, fan, plain, ledge, terrace, boulder field/rock) that, coupled with substrate types and dominant biota, identified 12 landscape units in the 1:100,000 map, whereas they resulted in 14 habitat units in the 1:30,000 map. This study highlights the relevance of geophysical and geological data for the interpretation of benthic habitat characteristics at different scales. The approach is aimed at emphasizing the strict relationship between geodiversity and biodiversity