Gerovasileiou Vasilis, Dailianis Thanos, Panteri Emmanouela, Michalakis Nikitas, Gatti Giulia, Sini Maria, Dimitriadis Charalampos, Issaris Yiannis, Salomidi Maria, Filiopoulou Irene, Doğan Alper, Thierry de Ville d'Avray Laure, David Romain, Ҫinar Melih Ertan, Koutsoubas Drosos, Féral Jean-Pierre, Arvanitidis Christos
Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece.
Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and marine and terrestrial Ecology (IMBE), Aix Marseille Université/CNRS/IRD/Université d'Avignon, Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille, France.
Biodivers Data J. 2016 Nov 1(4):e8692. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e8692. eCollection 2016.
Over the last decade, inventorying and monitoring of marine biodiversity has significantly benefited from the active engagement of volunteers. Although several Citizen Science projects concern tropical reef ecosystems worldwide, none of the existing initiatives has yet specifically focused on their Mediterranean equivalents. Mediterranean coralline reefs, known as "coralligenous", are bioherms primarily built by calcifying rhodophytes on hard substrates under dim-light conditions; they are considered hotspots of biodiversity and are extremely popular among divers due to their complex structure, conspicuous biological wealth and high aesthetic value. Nevertheless, data on their distribution, structure and conservation status is lacking for several Mediterranean areas while they are vulnerable to an increasing number of threats.
In the framework of CIGESMED SeasEra (ERAnet) project a specialized Citizen Science project was launched, aiming to engage enthusiast divers in the study and monitoring of Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages through the gathering of basic information regarding their spatial occurrence, assemblage structure and associated pressures or threats. For its active implementation, a data collection protocol and a multilingual website were developed, comprising an educational module and a data submission platform. Georeferenced data reporting focuses on: (a) basic topographic and abiotic features for the preliminary description of each site, and the creation of data series for sites receiving multiple visits; (b) presence and relative abundance of typical conspicuous species, as well as (c) existence of pressures and imminent threats, for the characterization and assessment of coralligenous assemblages. A variety of tools is provided to facilitate end users, while divers have the choice to report additional information and are encouraged to upload their photographs. The long-term goal is the development of an active community of amateur observers providing widespread and ecologically significant data on coralligenous assemblages.
在过去十年中，海洋生物多样性的清查和监测因志愿者的积极参与而受益匪浅。尽管有几个公民科学项目关注全球热带珊瑚礁生态系统，但现有的倡议都没有专门针对地中海地区的同类生态系统。地中海珊瑚礁，即所谓的“珊瑚藻礁”，是主要由钙化红藻在弱光条件下在坚硬基质上形成的生物礁；它们被认为是生物多样性热点地区，因其复杂的结构、显著的生物多样性和高美学价值而在潜水者中极受欢迎。然而，在地中海的几个地区，关于它们的分布、结构和保护状况的数据仍然缺乏，同时它们还面临着越来越多的威胁。
在CIGESMED SeasEra（欧洲区域网络）项目框架内，启动了一个专门的公民科学项目，旨在通过收集有关地中海珊瑚藻群落的空间分布、群落结构以及相关压力或威胁的基本信息，让热情的潜水者参与到对其的研究和监测中来。为了积极实施该项目，制定了数据收集协议和一个多语言网站，该网站包括一个教育模块和一个数据提交平台。地理参考数据报告重点关注：（a）每个地点的基本地形和非生物特征，用于初步描述每个地点，并为多次访问的地点创建数据系列；（b）典型显著物种的存在和相对丰度，以及（c）压力和紧迫威胁的存在，用于珊瑚藻群落的特征描述和评估。提供了各种工具以方便最终用户，同时潜水者可以选择报告额外信息，并被鼓励上传他们的照片。长期目标是发展一个活跃的业余观测者社区，提供关于珊瑚藻群落的广泛且具有生态意义的数据。
