20.500.12556/DiRROS-19423 Diversity of molluscan assemblage in relation to biotic and abiotic variables in brown algal forests Canopy-forming macroalgae, mainly those belonging to the order Fucales, form the so-called brown algal forests, which are among the most productive assemblages in shallow coastal zones. Their vertical, branching canopies increase nearshore primary production, provide nursery areas for juvenile fish, and sustain understory assemblages of smaller algae and both sessile and vagile fauna. The majority of benthic invertebrates inhabiting these forests have larval stages that spend some time floating freely or swimming in the plankton. Therefore, canopy-forming macroalgae play an important role as species collectors related to larval supply and hydrodynamic processes. During the past several decades, brown algal forests have significantly reduced their extension and coverage in the Mediterranean basin, due to multiple interacting natural and anthropogenic pressures, with negative consequences also for the related fauna. The aim of this research was to examine how differences in macrophyte abundance and structure, as well as environmental variables, affect the associated molluscan communities in the shallow northern Adriatic Sea. Sampling sites with well-developed vegetation cover dominated by different canopy-forming species were selected in the shallow infralittoral belt of the northern Adriatic Sea in the spring–summer period of the years 2019 and 2020. Our results confirm the importance of algal forests for molluscan assemblage, with a total of 68 taxa of molluscs found associated with macrophytes. Gastropods showed the highest richness and abundance, followed by bivalves. Mollusc richness and diversity (in terms of biotic indices) were not related with the degree of development of canopy-forming species (in terms of total cover and total volume), nor with the ecological status of benthic macroalgae at different depths. On the contrary, the variability in molluscan taxa abundances was explained by some environmental variables, such as temperature, pH, light, and nitrates concentration. canopy-forming algae coverage molluscan assemblage diversity abiotic factors Adriatic Sea alge pokrivnost alg raznovrstnost abiotski dejavniki Jadransko morje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2024-07-17 03:58:27 2024-07-17 10:15:00 2024-07-18 03:54:02 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2022 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 31. 8. 2022; str. 1-21 iss. 16 Vol. 11 16. Aug. 2022 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2022-08-16 574.1:59 2223-7747 10.3390/plants11162131 119705091 https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/16/2131 1 4b17a441-43cf-11ef-b487-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=26787 RAZ_Orlando-Bonaca_Martina_2022.pdf RAZ_Orlando-Bonaca_Martina_2022.pdf 1 E8BDFBE4828F07995C01165E03375ED2 952de96b49e44bd754ba9d36bca906c688d9f300401fa58cf73660686db67d5f 04aaddce-4404-11ef-b487-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=26823 Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo 0 0 0