No place to hide: Assessing habitat shifts of Benthocometes robustus from Cold-Water corals to marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Hauptverfasser: De Vincenzis, Ludovica, Battaglia, Pietro, Palummo, Valeria, Milisenda, Giacomo, Canese, Simonepietro, Cardone, Frine, Pica, Daniela, Salvati, Eva, Stenico, Francesco, Consoli, Pierpaolo, Costa, Valentina, Giova, Antonio, Greco, Silvestro, Romeo, Teresa
Format: Artículo científico
Sprache:en
Veröffentlicht: Marine environmental research 2026
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author De Vincenzis, Ludovica
Battaglia, Pietro
Palummo, Valeria
Milisenda, Giacomo
Canese, Simonepietro
Cardone, Frine
Pica, Daniela
Salvati, Eva
Stenico, Francesco
Consoli, Pierpaolo
Costa, Valentina
Giova, Antonio
Greco, Silvestro
Romeo, Teresa
author_facet De Vincenzis, Ludovica
Battaglia, Pietro
Palummo, Valeria
Milisenda, Giacomo
Canese, Simonepietro
Cardone, Frine
Pica, Daniela
Salvati, Eva
Stenico, Francesco
Consoli, Pierpaolo
Costa, Valentina
Giova, Antonio
Greco, Silvestro
Romeo, Teresa
De Vincenzis, Ludovica
Battaglia, Pietro
Palummo, Valeria
Milisenda, Giacomo
Canese, Simonepietro
Cardone, Frine
Pica, Daniela
Salvati, Eva
Stenico, Francesco
Consoli, Pierpaolo
Costa, Valentina
Giova, Antonio
Greco, Silvestro
Romeo, Teresa
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents No place to hide: Assessing habitat shifts of Benthocometes robustus from Cold-Water corals to marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea. De Vincenzis, Ludovica Battaglia, Pietro Palummo, Valeria Milisenda, Giacomo Canese, Simonepietro Cardone, Frine Pica, Daniela Salvati, Eva Stenico, Francesco Consoli, Pierpaolo Costa, Valentina Giova, Antonio Greco, Silvestro Romeo, Teresa Animals Mediterranean Sea Anthozoa Ecosystem Environmental Monitoring Coral Reefs Fishes Biodiversity Conservation of Natural Resources Increased anthropogenic pressures caused by unsustainable fishing activities and Marine Litter (ML), including Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) and other anthropogenic discard, are leading to many changes in the functioning of deep-sea marine ecosystems, threatening sensitive habitats such as Cold-Water Coral (CWCs) reefs and forests. CWCs are considered biodiversity hotspots providing shelter, nursery and feeding areas for many organisms, such as the elusive and poorly studied deep-sea fish Benthocometes robustus (Osteichthyes: Ophidiidae). The aims of this paper are: i) to investigate the association of B. robustus with CWCs, describing its coral-cryptic behaviour in the natural habitat; and ii) to reveal potential changes in the behaviour of B. robustus in impacted habitats, where ML occurs and CWCs are compromised. Our study is based on Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) surveys (1497 h of footage, 4387 km of explored surface) conducted in different Mediterranean areas. Overall, 317 individuals were recorded, and their behaviour was described, reporting depth, habitat, associated CWC, fish spatial position and locomotion. In total, 183 specimens were associated with CWCs, mostly Leiopathes glaberrima (Anthozoa: Leiopathidae) and Madrepora oculata (Anthozoa: Madreporidae), whereas 119 were found on ML (mainly ALDFG) or shipwrecks. The results underlined the significance of a well-structured habitats for B. robustus but also highlighted the adaptive behaviour of the species to anthropogenic substrates (e.g. ALDFG) to cope with the depletion of habitat-forming organisms in impacted environments. In light of the results obtained, the importance and necessity of management actions for EFH conservation is emphasised, given the pivotal role of CWCs in maintaining biodiversity.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41386150
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher Marine environmental research
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle No place to hide: Assessing habitat shifts of Benthocometes robustus from Cold-Water corals to marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea.
De Vincenzis, Ludovica
Battaglia, Pietro
Palummo, Valeria
Milisenda, Giacomo
Canese, Simonepietro
Cardone, Frine
Pica, Daniela
Salvati, Eva
Stenico, Francesco
Consoli, Pierpaolo
Costa, Valentina
Giova, Antonio
Greco, Silvestro
Romeo, Teresa
Animals
Mediterranean Sea
Anthozoa
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Coral Reefs
Fishes
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
No place to hide: Assessing habitat shifts of Benthocometes robustus from Cold-Water corals to marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea. De Vincenzis, Ludovica Battaglia, Pietro Palummo, Valeria Milisenda, Giacomo Canese, Simonepietro Cardone, Frine Pica, Daniela Salvati, Eva Stenico, Francesco Consoli, Pierpaolo Costa, Valentina Giova, Antonio Greco, Silvestro Romeo, Teresa Animals Mediterranean Sea Anthozoa Ecosystem Environmental Monitoring Coral Reefs Fishes Biodiversity Conservation of Natural Resources Increased anthropogenic pressures caused by unsustainable fishing activities and Marine Litter (ML), including Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) and other anthropogenic discard, are leading to many changes in the functioning of deep-sea marine ecosystems, threatening sensitive habitats such as Cold-Water Coral (CWCs) reefs and forests. CWCs are considered biodiversity hotspots providing shelter, nursery and feeding areas for many organisms, such as the elusive and poorly studied deep-sea fish Benthocometes robustus (Osteichthyes: Ophidiidae). The aims of this paper are: i) to investigate the association of B. robustus with CWCs, describing its coral-cryptic behaviour in the natural habitat; and ii) to reveal potential changes in the behaviour of B. robustus in impacted habitats, where ML occurs and CWCs are compromised. Our study is based on Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) surveys (1497 h of footage, 4387 km of explored surface) conducted in different Mediterranean areas. Overall, 317 individuals were recorded, and their behaviour was described, reporting depth, habitat, associated CWC, fish spatial position and locomotion. In total, 183 specimens were associated with CWCs, mostly Leiopathes glaberrima (Anthozoa: Leiopathidae) and Madrepora oculata (Anthozoa: Madreporidae), whereas 119 were found on ML (mainly ALDFG) or shipwrecks. The results underlined the significance of a well-structured habitats for B. robustus but also highlighted the adaptive behaviour of the species to anthropogenic substrates (e.g. ALDFG) to cope with the depletion of habitat-forming organisms in impacted environments. In light of the results obtained, the importance and necessity of management actions for EFH conservation is emphasised, given the pivotal role of CWCs in maintaining biodiversity.
title No place to hide: Assessing habitat shifts of Benthocometes robustus from Cold-Water corals to marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea.
topic Animals
Mediterranean Sea
Anthozoa
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Coral Reefs
Fishes
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41386150/