20.500.12556/DiRROS-28382 From loss to life: how empty Pinna nobilis shells enhance motile macroinvertebrate habitats in soft-bottom environments The noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) is experiencing mass mortality events across the Mediterranean Sea. In the northern Adriatic, as in many other regions, soft-bottom habitats are now covered with numerous empty shells. To assess their ecological role, we conducted underwater SCUBA surveys using quadrats in 2023 and 2024. We examined the function of empty shells as refuges for motile epibenthic macroinvertebrates across vegetated and unvegetated habitats. Specifically, we compared invertebrate diversity among habitats with and without shells, assessed the influence of shell orientation on community composition, and identified taxa characteristic of each habitat type using non-invasive methods that did not displace shells. Most shells remained upright, though their density and orientation varied among the six study locations. We recorded fauna from seven classes, with malacostracans and gastropods being the most species-rich groups. Biodiversity metrics differed markedly among the four microhabitat types (sediment, sediment with shells, meadow, meadow with shells), reaching the highest values in meadows with shells and the lowest in bare sediment. Malacostracans and polyplacophorans were significantly more abundant in samples containing shells, while other taxa showed no consistent trends. Shell orientation did not affect the composition of motile fauna, but distinct assemblages were associated with specific habitat types. These findings highlight the ecological importance of P. nobilis shells as microhabitats that enhance coastal biodiversity even after the death of the organism and underline the potential negative consequences of their degradation or removal. habitat engineering benthic community mass mortality macroinvertebrates Northern Adriatic Noble pen shell veliki leščur gradnik habitata masovni pogini pridneni nevretenčarji morski travniki true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2026-03-16 15:56:40 2026-03-16 15:56:41 2026-03-24 03:52:24 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 6. 3. 2026; str. 1-9 Vol. 333, [article no.] 109789 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-01-01 574.5 1096-0015 10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109789 270799107 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2026.109789 1 5b675684-2148-11f1-a455-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=41970 RAZ_Fortic_Ana_2026.pdf RAZ_Fortic_Ana_2026.pdf 1 EA0F1B3BB07C800A56A9FBC236900F7A 716d474f659b82c4ecef9edc913e4c320860bb1bf1bf2549119bd252df646b93 6e02fb66-2148-11f1-a455-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=41971 Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo 0 0 0