Abstract
This research is part of the LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) project, a network of terrestrial, freshwater, transitional water and marine sites, on which ecological research is conducted on a multi-decade scale. LTER studies ecosystems, their dynamics and evolution, the relationships between biodiversity and ecological functionality, water quality, productivity, the role of resource availability, the effects of pollution and climate change. The research focuses on the study of the variability of zooplankton groups in the Portofino marine protected area, in Punta Faro. The samplings were carried out in the years 2018–2019, and the results were compared with the values of the years 2003–2005, interesting from a meteorological climatic and biological point of view. The plankton community of the Punta Faro system was analyzed by means of a modeling approach to obtain information on the functionality and health status of the system and to verify whether this has undergone any alterations in the last decade. The analyses carried out show a clear difference between the three-year period 2003–2005 and the two-year period 2018–2019, highlighting how environmental changes, such as the increase in temperature, have led to higher costs of system functioning in the last two years. The mesozooplankton community has changed both in terms of abundance of organisms and in terms of organization and functionality.
Highlights
Accepted: 25 December 2021The LTER-Italy Network is based on the general principles of the International LTER network and has the primary objective of promoting and supporting the acquisition of data and information relating to the basic variability and evolutionary trends of ecological processes and to support the development of sustainable management strategies of ecosystems, which can favor the integration of terrestrial and aquatic ecological research
Numerous long-term studies regarding the variations of plankton community due to climate and hydrological changing conditions are available mainly regarding the oceans [51,52,53,54,55,56]
Even when the plankton community is investigated, the studies focused on the analysis of the variations in the composition of the community, comparing abundances of different species or assemblages of species
Summary
Accepted: 25 December 2021The LTER-Italy Network is based on the general principles of the International LTER network and has the primary objective of promoting and supporting the acquisition of data and information relating to the basic variability and evolutionary trends of ecological processes and to support the development of sustainable management strategies of ecosystems, which can favor the integration of terrestrial and aquatic ecological research. The research is aimed at continuing the study of the structure and dynamics of zooplankton groups in the Portofino MPA, in Punta Faro. The organisms that make up mesozooplankton feed directly on phytoplankton, microzooplankton, other mesozooplankton and detritus and they are among the largest organisms that still have a significant feedback interaction with primary production [1]. They are one of the main players in the flow of vertical particles in the oceans, so they are important both in the pelagic food web and in export processes, influencing the biogeochemical cycle of carbon and other nutrients in marine environment.
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