Spatial-temporal distribution of macrozooplankton in the Western Adriatic Sea in relation to mucilage events

2026/06/13 by Emanuela Fiori, Giuseppe Alfonso, Sara Ancona +13
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine and coastal ecosystems #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology #Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes

paper · doi:10.1093/plankt/fbag052

Abstract

Abstract The macrozooplankton in the Western coast of the Adriatic Sea is poorly studied, in particular in the central and southern parts of the basin. The goal of this research is to provide a large-scale spatial and temporal coverage of the macrozooplankton abundance and diversity. Macrozooplankton was monitored bimonthly in the whole Adriatic Sea from 2016 to 2024 with standardized monitoring activity, in order to have a more realistic and comparable dataset of spatial distribution and seasonal variability considering abundance and species diversity. Furthermore, abundance data were related with corresponding physical and chemical data (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, inorganic nutrients) in order to give a clearer understanding of the environmental status and the ecological response. The presence of macrozooplankton organisms and changes in environmental conditions were studied during two mucilage events (July 2018 and 2024). Our results underlined a drastic decrease of gelatinous organisms in the presence of mucilage in the North West Adriatic (NWA) and Central West Adriatic. Changes in nutrient concentrations and N/P ratio (calculated as DIN/P-PO4) were also confirmed in NWA. In the present work, we documented the first recorded sighting (June 2025) of Drymonema dalmatinum (Scyphozoa) in the Western coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Citations

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