Linking pipefishes and seahorses to their habitat: implications for species conservation in the Venice lagoon

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Linking pipefishes and seahorses to their habitat: implications for species conservation in the Venice lagoon Piero Franzoi1, Luca Scapin1*, Francesco Cavraro1, Stefano Malavasi1, Federico Riccato2 and Matteo Zucchetta1 1 Ca' Foscari University Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (DAIS), Italy 2 Laguna Project snc, Italy Seagrass meadows of the Venice lagoon (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy) are spatially heterogeneous systems, with attributes such as degree of coverage and plant assemblages varying along multiple environmental gradients. They play a particularly relevant role in conservation of fish diversity, since they provide vital habitats for pipefish and seahorse species (family Syngnathidae). Aim of the study was to investigate the diversity of syngnathid assemblages in the Venice lagoon and link species distributions to habitat characteristics, in order to evaluate the importance of seagrass meadows of the lagoon for the conservation of these species. The analyses of this work are based on eight years of fish data collected between 2001 and 2014 in 186 shallow water sites across the entire lagoon. Water parameters, presence of macroalgae, seagrass presence and coverage, as well as meadows species composition, were considered as predictors in a modelling framework, to explain the distribution of each species. Overall, two species of seahorses and seven species of pipefishes including the Adriatic endemism Syngnathus taenionotus were found. Three species (S. abaster, S. typhle and Nerophis ophidion) were the most abundant, together accounting for 98% of total individuals caught. Both seagrass presence and its coverage resulted significant predictors, with densities of S. abaster, S. typhle, N. ophidion and Hippocampus guttulatus being positively associated with higher percentages of seagrass cover. In addition, some evidences suggested a different functionality of different meadow types in supporting both S. typhle and N. ophidion. The study highlighted the role of Venice lagoon as biodiversity hotspot for syngnathids, since it supports nine out of the 10 species known in the Mediterranean (with only S. phlegon being absent). Results also suggested the importance of habitat management, which should aim at compensating for seagrass habitat loss and therefore helping the conservation of syngnathid diversity in the Venice lagoon. Keywords: Pipefishes, Seahorses, Venice Lagoon, Seagrass meadows, species conservation, Syngnathidae Conference: XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Ecology, Conservation and Invasive Species Citation: Franzoi P, Scapin L, Cavraro F, Malavasi S, Riccato F and Zucchetta M (2015). Linking pipefishes and seahorses to their habitat: implications for species conservation in the Venice lagoon. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XV European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2015.03.00115 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 16 Nov 2015; Published Online: 22 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Luca Scapin, Ca' Foscari University Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (DAIS), Venezia, 30170, Italy, luca.scapin@stud.unive.it Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Piero Franzoi Luca Scapin Francesco Cavraro Stefano Malavasi Federico Riccato Matteo Zucchetta Google Piero Franzoi Luca Scapin Francesco Cavraro Stefano Malavasi Federico Riccato Matteo Zucchetta Google Scholar Piero Franzoi Luca Scapin Francesco Cavraro Stefano Malavasi Federico Riccato Matteo Zucchetta PubMed Piero Franzoi Luca Scapin Francesco Cavraro Stefano Malavasi Federico Riccato Matteo Zucchetta Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.