In this study, we present a framework for seagrass habitat mapping in shallow (5–50 m) and very shallow water (0–5 m) by combining acoustic, optical data and Object-based Image classification. The combination of satellite multispectral images-acquired from 2017 to 2019, together with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photomosaic maps, high-resolution multibeam bathymetry/backscatter and underwater photogrammetry data, provided insights on the short-term characterization and distribution of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, 1813 meadows in the Calabrian Tyrrhenian Sea. We used a supervised Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA) processing and classification technique to create a high-resolution thematic distribution map of P. oceanica meadows from multibeam bathymetry, backscatter data, drone photogrammetry and multispectral images that can be used as a model for classification of marine and coastal areas. As a part of this work, within the SIC CARLIT project, a field application was carried out in a Site of Community Importance (SCI) on Cirella Island in Calabria (Italy); different multiscale mapping techniques have been performed and integrated: the optical and acoustic data were processed and classified by different OBIA algorithms, i.e., k-Nearest Neighbors’ algorithm (k-NN), Random Tree algorithm (RT) and Decision Tree algorithm (DT). These acoustic and optical data combinations were shown to be a reliable tool to obtain high-resolution thematic maps for the preliminary characterization of seagrass habitats. These thematic maps can be used for time-lapse comparisons aimed to quantify changes in seabed coverage, such as those caused by anthropogenic impacts (e.g., trawl fishing activities and boat anchoring) to assess the blue carbon sinks and might be useful for future seagrass habitats conservation strategies.

Mediterranean seagrasses are represented by five species, whose most representative are Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile and Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson. Spatial data analysis through remote sensing techniques is certainly a useful tool in order to understand and quantify the extent or loss of seagrass areas. Seagrass mapping and monitoring by remote sensing have been established using various optical remote sensors and mapping methods1. In most studies for habitat mapping, the most common satellite images used are Landsat, Ikonos, Quickbird, Pleiades, World View 2 and the recent Sentinel-2 etc. 1-2. The aim of this work is to compare the spatial accuracy of medium – resolution satellite images (Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 OLI) vs. high-resolution images (MIVIS and WorldView-2) for mapping P. oceanica meadows and evaluating their conservation status. The present study was conducted in 2016 within the MPA “Capo Rizzuto” (Mediterranean Sea - Southern Ionian Sea). Remote sensing images were processed following several stages such as preprocessing phase, segmentation, supervised classification and accuracy classification assessment. Preliminary results highlighted differences in spatial and thematic accuracy between medium and very high spatial resolution images for seagrass habitat mapping.

European legislative framework supports a multidisciplinary strategy of environmental monitoring because the environment is a complex system of abiotic and biotic interactions, and it should not be studied and protected by looking at one single aspect. The resulting heterogeneous data request to be carefully processed, and the application of Weight of Evidence (WOE) approaches is, thereby, an integrated validated tool. In this perspective, the present study aims to: (i). apply a specific model (Sediqualsoft) based on the WOE approach for processing multidisciplinary data related to four Lines Of Scientific Evidence (LOEs: chemical analyses, ecotoxicological bioassays, bioaccumulation tests and biomarkers) regarding sediments from an area of the Adriatic Sea; (ii). evaluate the usefulness of this specific integrated approach to estimate the potential environmental hazard due to the presence of gas production platforms respect to the traditional approach of sediment chemical characterization. This latter recognized a more contaminated area within 100 m of the platforms in which the Sediqualsoft model showed the presence of a chemical hazard, ranging from moderate to severe, and identified the contaminants (e.g., some metals, benzo(a)pyrene and acenaphthene) most responsible for it. A significant hazard also appeared in some of the sampled stations by analyzing the LOEs dedicated to the biological responses. The choice of different reference values (regulatory limits, threshold values or concentrations measured in the control area) influenced only the chemical hazard but not the overall integration with other LOEs, showing a moderate hazard for the majority of stations. Here, the concentrations measured in a control area are firstly proposed as possible reference values in Sediqualsoft model applications; this could be of particular relevance when Sediment Quality Guidelines are not available for all the measured substances. Moreover, the limitations of a conventional pass-to-fail approach or worst-case scenario were overcoming interpreting whole chemical and ecotoxicological results. All data analyzed and discussed confirm Sediqualsoft as a suitable tool for processing environmental data, including those first processed here on a monitoring scenario of gas platforms that discharge Produced Water into the sea.

Data from several research and monitoring projects carried out between 1999 and 2009, for a total of 26 study areas located along the Italian continental shelf (Mediterranean Sea), were extracted from ISPRA's data set, to revise and update the existing information on the ecology and spatial distribution of 20 selected soft-sediment polychaete species. The species were selected taking into account their spatial distribution and ecological role in the benthic assemblages and the existence of voucher specimens deposited in ISPRA's reference collection. Samplings were taken at 872 stations on soft sediments, at depths ranging from 1 to 155 m. Surface sediment composition data were available at each site. The number of specimens from the selected species was extracted at each site, and relative abundance (%)calculated. The spatial distribution of each species was investigated according to the biogeographical zones identified in the Italian Seas. The distribution of five species (Aponuphis bilineata, A. brementi, A. fauveli, Nothria conchylega, and Onuphis eremita) was updated. Several species that were previously considered to be characteristic of a specific biocenosis, sensu Pérès & Picard ( 1964 Pérès, JM and Picard, J. 1964. Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la Mer Méditérranée. Recueil des travaux de la Station Marine d'Endoume, 31: 137 [Google Scholar] ), e.g. Diopatra neapolitana, Ditrupa arietina, Notria conchylega and Sternaspis scutata, were found to be distributed over a wider bathymetric and granulometric range of surface sediments. Indicator Species Analysis highlights that the distribution of 17 selected species depends on definite granulometric characteristics of the sediment. This new relevant information outlines the important contribution of environmental monitoring programmes to scientific knowledge.

Nonnis, O.; Maggi, C., Lanera, P.; Proietti, R.; Izzi, A.; Antonelli, P. and Gabellini, M., 2016. The management of information to identify the submarine cable route: the case study of Campania island. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 1002 - 1006. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Offshore pipelines and cables are infrastructures frequently located in the midst of delicate marine ecosystems. The route definition is one of the more complex and strategic aspect for the operation of laying a submarine cable or pipeline. In the designing phase different cable's routes are selected analyzing in detail the natural and/or anthropogenic constraints of the areas to be crossed, to identify the optimal alternative with less environmental impact. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to group all the area's and infrastructure's...

Exogone (Parexogone) gambiae, a new polychaete species of the family Syllidae, is described from specimens collected in the western Mediterranean Sea. The affinities of this taxon with the most closely related congeners [E. molesta (Banse, 1972), E. sexoculata Hartmann‐Schröder, 1979, E. convoluta Campoy, 1982, E. obtusa Hartmann‐Schröder & Rosenfeldt, 1988, E. obtusa tasmanica Hartmann‐Schröder, 1989] are also discussed.