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First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective

In the Mediterranean Sea, brown algae belonging to the Cystoseira genus play a valuable role as foundation species. Due to evidences of regression/loss of the habitats of these species caused by the interplay of human and climatic disturbances, active restoration measures have been encouraged by EU...

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Autores principales: De La Fuente, Gina, Chiantore, Mariachiara, Asnaghi, Valentina, Kaleb, Sara, Falace, Annalisa
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: PeerJ Inc. 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6657741/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31367482
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7290
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author De La Fuente, Gina
Chiantore, Mariachiara
Asnaghi, Valentina
Kaleb, Sara
Falace, Annalisa
author_facet De La Fuente, Gina
Chiantore, Mariachiara
Asnaghi, Valentina
Kaleb, Sara
Falace, Annalisa
author_sort De La Fuente, Gina
collection PubMed
description In the Mediterranean Sea, brown algae belonging to the Cystoseira genus play a valuable role as foundation species. Due to evidences of regression/loss of the habitats of these species caused by the interplay of human and climatic disturbances, active restoration measures have been encouraged by EU regulations. In particular, nondestructive restoration techniques, which avoid the depletion of threatened species in donor populations, are strongly recommended. In the framework of the EU project ROCPOP-Life, the first ex situ outplanting experience of Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta has been implemented in the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area (northwestern Mediterranean). A total of 400 clay tiles, hosting approximately three mm-long germlings of C. amentacea, were fixed to the rocky shore with screws: the tiles were monitored for the next 2 months by photographic sampling, and survival (presence/absence of juveniles on the tiles), cover and growth were assessed. Additional sampling was performed 6 months after tile deployment, after which an unprecedented storm surge severely affected the restoration performance. After 2 months, over 40% of the tiles were covered with Cystoseira juveniles, which reached approximately eight mm in total length. The tiles that survived the storm hosted three to six cm-long juveniles. The high cover (≥25%), assuring moisture and shading, and the appropriate size of the juveniles, to avert micro-grazing, at time of deployment were key to the survival and growth of the outplanted juveniles, increasing the potential for restoration success. Our findings show that outplanting of midlittoral canopy-forming species is a feasible approach for restoration efforts, with particular attention given to the early phases: (i) laboratory culture, (ii) transport, and (iii) juvenile densities. These results are strongly encouraging for the implementation of restoration actions for C. amentacea on a large scale, in light of EU guidelines.
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spelling pubmed-66577412019-07-31 First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective De La Fuente, Gina Chiantore, Mariachiara Asnaghi, Valentina Kaleb, Sara Falace, Annalisa PeerJ Conservation Biology In the Mediterranean Sea, brown algae belonging to the Cystoseira genus play a valuable role as foundation species. Due to evidences of regression/loss of the habitats of these species caused by the interplay of human and climatic disturbances, active restoration measures have been encouraged by EU regulations. In particular, nondestructive restoration techniques, which avoid the depletion of threatened species in donor populations, are strongly recommended. In the framework of the EU project ROCPOP-Life, the first ex situ outplanting experience of Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta has been implemented in the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area (northwestern Mediterranean). A total of 400 clay tiles, hosting approximately three mm-long germlings of C. amentacea, were fixed to the rocky shore with screws: the tiles were monitored for the next 2 months by photographic sampling, and survival (presence/absence of juveniles on the tiles), cover and growth were assessed. Additional sampling was performed 6 months after tile deployment, after which an unprecedented storm surge severely affected the restoration performance. After 2 months, over 40% of the tiles were covered with Cystoseira juveniles, which reached approximately eight mm in total length. The tiles that survived the storm hosted three to six cm-long juveniles. The high cover (≥25%), assuring moisture and shading, and the appropriate size of the juveniles, to avert micro-grazing, at time of deployment were key to the survival and growth of the outplanted juveniles, increasing the potential for restoration success. Our findings show that outplanting of midlittoral canopy-forming species is a feasible approach for restoration efforts, with particular attention given to the early phases: (i) laboratory culture, (ii) transport, and (iii) juvenile densities. These results are strongly encouraging for the implementation of restoration actions for C. amentacea on a large scale, in light of EU guidelines. PeerJ Inc. 2019-07-22 /pmc/articles/PMC6657741/ /pubmed/31367482 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7290 Text en © 2019 De La Fuente et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
spellingShingle Conservation Biology
De La Fuente, Gina
Chiantore, Mariachiara
Asnaghi, Valentina
Kaleb, Sara
Falace, Annalisa
First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title_full First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title_fullStr First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title_full_unstemmed First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title_short First ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
title_sort first ex situ outplanting of the habitat-forming seaweed cystoseira amentacea var. stricta from a restoration perspective
topic Conservation Biology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6657741/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31367482
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7290
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