The Adriatic Sea is more crowded than expected: in its southern waters, five new species of 'marine worms' (polychaetes) have been identified which allow themselves to be carried by the currents, thus enriching marine zooplankton.
The discovery, which confirms the Canale di Otranto as an important biodiversity hotspot, is published in the journal Scientific Reports by a multidisciplinary group coordinated by the Institute of Marine Sciences (Ismar) of the National Research Council (Cnr) of Venice, in which they participated also the Zoological Station 'A. Dohrn 'and the universities of Messina and Salento. The study made it possible to clarify the relationship between the presence of these organisms and the oceanographic mechanisms that regulate the circulation of marine waters in the area between the Otranto Channel, the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic basin, as explained by the coordinator of the study Alessandro Bergamasco (Cnr-Ismar).
"The comparison between the richness of the species in the different masses of water - says the expert - suggests that the surface ionic waters are the main vector of the species in the area, although a significant contribution also comes from the deep Adriatic waters, which could feed (through bottom currents and cascading phenomena, i.e. sinking of saltier and / or colder and therefore denser waters) the deepest basins of the southern Adriatic with larval or juvenile forms of pelagic polychaetes that we also find in the northern Adriatic As if, near the seabed, 'connectivity windows' opened which allow these organisms to be transported, especially in the late winter or early spring ".
5 new marine worms discovered in the southern Adriatic
2019-12-27T09:59:05.921Z
The Adriatic Sea is more crowded than expected: in its southern waters five new species of 'marine worms' (polychaetes) have been identified which allow themselves to be carried by the currents (ANSA)
