La Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée
Abstract
This work was partially funded through the European
Social Fund under the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (STEPS)
scheme grants.The mediolittoral macrofaunal assemblages associated with concrete jetties and natural rocky substrata in two Maltese bays were compared to assess potential differences in the molluscan assemblages between artificial and natural hard substrata. The whole extent of the mediolittoral zone was sampled and the molluscs present were identified and counted. Overall species richness was significantly lower on jetties. Densities of species common on the natural rock, such as Cerithium spp. and Eatonina spp., were lower on jetties; however, the densities of Patella spp. were higher.peer-reviewe
