M. Targusi

This study analyses the amphipod assemblages found in seven sites situated along the coasts of the Marche Region (central Adriatic Sea, Italy), before and after beach nourishment activities. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the changes in the structure and species composition of amphipod assemblages after nourishment. Amphipod samples were collected at each site at 2 m and 5 m depths during two different periods: May-June 2008 (before) and June-July 2010 (after). Granulometric analyses were also carried out at the same depths. Nourishment was performed in two periods: May-November 2009 (in all sites except Civitanova Marche) and February 2010 (only in Civitanova Marche). The amphipod assemblages collected before and after beach nourishment at the two depths differed in terms of species composition and abundance, while no significant differences were observed between the control stations and the impacted stations (affected by beach nourishment). The differences observed can prob...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the long-term development of a hard bottom amphipod assemblage over a period of 12 years. Amphipod data were collected in the artificial reef of Fregene, situated in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Amphipod samplings were carried out by scuba diving in two different periods: 1991-1992 (1st period) and 2001-2003 (2nd period). The amphipod assemblage’s structure and species composition changed over the years, as the species collected on the reef in the second period differed from those collected in the first. In addition, within the same timeframe the assemblage shows an increase in both abundance and diversity, as a result of the reef’s increase in spatial heterogeneity.