Palummo Valeria, Milisenda Giacomo, Pica Daniela, Canese Simonepietro, Salvati Eva, De Vincenzis Ludovica, Battaglia Pietro, Spanò Nunziacarla, Romeo Teresa, Greco Silvestro
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Calabria Marine Centre (CRIMAC), C.da Torre Spaccata, Amendolara, 87071, CS, Italy.
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Sicily Marine Centre, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo N. 4521 (ex Complesso Roosevelt) Località Addaura, Palermo, 90149, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 22;15(1):26654. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-10243-3.
Several aspects of the relationships between VME indicator taxa and associated fauna have been previously explored mainly on rocky habitat respect the soft bottom. However, the soft bottom hosts many VMEs indicator taxa for which the ecological role remained still unexplored. This habitat hosts many associated species, a lot of them also of commercial value making this habitat more vulnerable to fishing pressure. The present study investigates the variables that shape the distribution of associated fauna and their relationship with VME indicator species in the deep soft bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Analyzing 74 ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) transects, VMEs indicator taxa and fish and crustacean density were extracted and analyzed together with environmental, morphological and anthropogenic variables. Through Redundancy Analysis (RDA), our findings reveal a clear relationship between several fish and crustacean species of commercial value and VME indicator taxa, like Isidella elongata and Pennatuloidea. By applying multivariate statistical approaches to an integrative dataset, the study provides a community-level perspective on the factors shaping fish and crustacean assemblages in potentially vulnerable habitats. The result highlights the necessity to better investigate the relationship among deep sea species in a wide prospectives to give powerful data for their conservation.
以前主要在岩石栖息地而非软底环境中探索了VME指示分类群与相关动物群之间关系的几个方面。然而，软底环境中有许多VME指示分类群，其生态作用仍未得到探索。该栖息地有许多相关物种，其中许多也具有商业价值，这使得该栖息地更容易受到捕捞压力的影响。本研究调查了影响地中海深海软底相关动物群分布的变量及其与VME指示物种的关系。通过分析74条遥控潜水器（ROV）样带，提取了VME指示分类群以及鱼类和甲壳类动物的密度，并与环境、形态和人为变量一起进行分析。通过冗余分析（RDA），我们的研究结果揭示了几种具有商业价值的鱼类和甲壳类物种与VME指示分类群（如长形艾氏柳珊瑚和海笔纲）之间存在明显的关系。通过将多元统计方法应用于一个综合数据集，该研究提供了一个群落层面的视角，以了解影响潜在脆弱栖息地中鱼类和甲壳类动物群落的因素。结果强调了有必要从更广泛的角度更好地研究深海物种之间的关系，以便为它们的保护提供有力数据。
