Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy)
Hydrothermal venting is rather prevalent in many marine areas around the world, and marine shallow vents are relatively abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, especially around Italy. However, investigations focusing on the characterization of meiofaunal organisms inhabiting shallow vent sediments are s...
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PeerJ Inc.
2020-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/9058.pdf |
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| author | Elisa Baldrighi Daniela Zeppilli Luca Appolloni Luigia Donnarumma Elena Chianese Giovanni Fulvio Russo Roberto Sandulli |
| author_facet | Elisa Baldrighi Daniela Zeppilli Luca Appolloni Luigia Donnarumma Elena Chianese Giovanni Fulvio Russo Roberto Sandulli |
| author_sort | Elisa Baldrighi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrothermal venting is rather prevalent in many marine areas around the world, and marine shallow vents are relatively abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, especially around Italy. However, investigations focusing on the characterization of meiofaunal organisms inhabiting shallow vent sediments are still scant compared to that on macrofauna. In the present study, we investigated the meiobenthic assemblages and nematode diversity inhabiting the Secca delle Fumose (SdF), a shallow water vent area located in the Gulf of Naples (Italy). In this area, characterized by a rapid change in the environmental conditions on a relative small spatial scale (i.e., 100 m), we selected four sampling sites: one diffusive emission site (H); one geyser site (G) and two inactive sites (CN, CS). Total meiofauna abundance did not vary significantly between active and inactive sites and between surface and deeper sediment layers due to a high inter-replicate variability, suggesting a pronounced spatial-scale patchiness in distribution of meiofauna. Nematofauna at site H presented the typical features of deep-sea vents with low structural and functional diversity, high biomass and dominance of few genera (i.e., Oncholaimus; Daptonema) while from site G we reported diversity values comparable to that of the inactive sites. We hypothesized that site G presented a condition of “intermediate disturbance” that could maintain a high nematode diversity. Environmental features such as sediment temperature, pH, total organic carbon and interstitial waters ions were found to be key factors influencing patterns of meiofauna and nematofauna assemblages at SdF. Even though the general theory is that nematodes inhabiting shallow vent areas include a subset of species that live in background sediments, this was not the case for SdF vent area. Due to a marked change in nematode composition between all sites and to the presence of many exclusive species, every single investigated site was characterized by a distinct nematofauna reflecting the high spatial heterogeneity of SdF. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:29:20Z |
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| id | doaj.art-d94adfd94f574db9b9c4a2e753a60cb2 |
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| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:29:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-d94adfd94f574db9b9c4a2e753a60cb22023-12-03T11:10:37ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-05-018e905810.7717/peerj.9058Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy)Elisa Baldrighi0Daniela Zeppilli1Luca Appolloni2Luigia Donnarumma3Elena Chianese4Giovanni Fulvio Russo5Roberto Sandulli6Istituto per le Risorse Biologiche e le Biotecnologie Marine (IRBIM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Lesina, ItalyLaboratoire Environnement Profond, Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la MER (IFREMER), Plouzané, FranceDepartment of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology (DiST), Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, ItalyHydrothermal venting is rather prevalent in many marine areas around the world, and marine shallow vents are relatively abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, especially around Italy. However, investigations focusing on the characterization of meiofaunal organisms inhabiting shallow vent sediments are still scant compared to that on macrofauna. In the present study, we investigated the meiobenthic assemblages and nematode diversity inhabiting the Secca delle Fumose (SdF), a shallow water vent area located in the Gulf of Naples (Italy). In this area, characterized by a rapid change in the environmental conditions on a relative small spatial scale (i.e., 100 m), we selected four sampling sites: one diffusive emission site (H); one geyser site (G) and two inactive sites (CN, CS). Total meiofauna abundance did not vary significantly between active and inactive sites and between surface and deeper sediment layers due to a high inter-replicate variability, suggesting a pronounced spatial-scale patchiness in distribution of meiofauna. Nematofauna at site H presented the typical features of deep-sea vents with low structural and functional diversity, high biomass and dominance of few genera (i.e., Oncholaimus; Daptonema) while from site G we reported diversity values comparable to that of the inactive sites. We hypothesized that site G presented a condition of “intermediate disturbance” that could maintain a high nematode diversity. Environmental features such as sediment temperature, pH, total organic carbon and interstitial waters ions were found to be key factors influencing patterns of meiofauna and nematofauna assemblages at SdF. Even though the general theory is that nematodes inhabiting shallow vent areas include a subset of species that live in background sediments, this was not the case for SdF vent area. Due to a marked change in nematode composition between all sites and to the presence of many exclusive species, every single investigated site was characterized by a distinct nematofauna reflecting the high spatial heterogeneity of SdF.https://peerj.com/articles/9058.pdfSecca delle FumoseGulf of NaplesShallow ventMeiofaunaNematode diversity |
| spellingShingle | Elisa Baldrighi Daniela Zeppilli Luca Appolloni Luigia Donnarumma Elena Chianese Giovanni Fulvio Russo Roberto Sandulli Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) PeerJ Secca delle Fumose Gulf of Naples Shallow vent Meiofauna Nematode diversity |
| title | Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) |
| title_full | Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) |
| title_fullStr | Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) |
| title_short | Meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples, Italy) |
| title_sort | meiofaunal communities and nematode diversity characterizing the secca delle fumose shallow vent area gulf of naples italy |
| topic | Secca delle Fumose Gulf of Naples Shallow vent Meiofauna Nematode diversity |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/9058.pdf |
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