CYSTOSEIRA CRINITA COMMUNITY UNDER REFERENCE CONDITIONS (WFD 2000/60/EE) IN THE AEGEAN SEA (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN)

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1 8ο Πανελλήνιο Συμποσιο Ωκεανογραφίας & Αλιείας 319 CYSTOSEIRA CRINITA COMMUNITY UNDER REFERENCE CONDITIONS (WFD 2000/60/EE) IN THE AEGEAN SEA (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN) Κ. Tsiamis (1), S. Orfanidis (2), A. Diapoulis (1), P. Panayotidis (1), A. Siakavara (1), Ε. Τsiaggα (2) and I. Varkitzi (1) (1) Hellenic Center of Marine Research, Anavissos, Athens, Greece, (2) NAGREF-Fisheries Research Institute, Nea Peramos, Kavala, Greece, ABSTRACT Cystoseira crinita s algal community was studied at different putatively pristine sites of the Aegean Sea in order (1) to develop an objective and statistically valid virtual list of the most common algal species under Reference Conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean, (2) to test the applicability of Orfanidis et al. (2001, 2003) conceptual and predictive model in the implementation of WFD in the Greek coasts. Based on the Hellenic NATURA 2000 data-base samples of C. crinita were selected and analyzed by SIMPER-analysis. From 113 (73 Rhodophyceae, 25 Phaeophyceae, 15 Chlorophyceae) species identified in total, 9 species contributed cumulatively by 90% in the community, while a group of 34 species contributed cumulatively by 99% in the community. Late-successional species classified in ESG I (87%) dominated quantitatively over the opportunistic species classified in ESG II (13%) approving the theory and praxis of the above mentioned authors. Keywords: photophilic algae, virtual species list, habitat-type reefs, Ecological State Groups (ESG) Η ΦΥΤΟΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ ΤΗΣ CYSTOSEIRA CRINITA ΣΕ ΣΥΝΘΗΚΕΣ ΑΝΑΦΟΡΑΣ (ΟΔΗΓΙΑ ΠΛΑΙΣΙΟ ΓΙΑ τα ΎΔΑΤΑ 2000/60/EE) ΣΤΟ ΑΙΓΑΙΟ ΠΕΛΑΓΟΣ (ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟΣ) Κ. Tσιάμης (1), Σ. Oρφανίδης (2), Α. Διαπούλης (1), Π. Παναγιωτίδης (1), A. Σιακαβάρα (1), Ε. Τσιάγγα (2) και Ι. Βαρκιτζή (1) (1) Ελληνικό Κέντρο Θαλασσίων Ερευνών, Ανάβυσσος, Αττική(2) ΕΘΙΑΓΕ- Ινστιτούτο Αλιευτικής Έρευνας, Νέα Πέραμος, Καβάλα ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Η παρούσα εργασία μελετά τη φυτοκοινωνία της Cystoseira crinita σε διάφορες υποθετικά αδιατάρακτες περιοχές του Αιγαίου, με σκοπό: (1) τη δημιουργία μιας «εικονικής» λίστας ειδών που θα ανταποκρίνεται στην τυπική σύνθεση της συγκεκριμένης φυτοκοινωνίας σε Συνθήκες Αναφοράς στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο, (2) να εξετάσει αν η κεντρική ιδέα και ο Δείκτης Οικολογικής Ποιότητας (ΕΕΙ), που αναπτύχθηκε από τους Orfanidis et al. (2001, 2003) για την εφαρμογή της Οδηγίας Πλαίσιο στις Ελληνικές ακτές, κινούνται προς τη σωστή κατεύθυνση. Τα εξεταζόμενα δείγματα επιλέχθηκαν από τη βάση δεδομένων του Ελληνικού δικτύου NATURA Από τα 113 (73 Ροδοφύκη, 25 Φαιοφύκη, 15 Χλωροφύκη) είδη που προσδιορίστηκαν, 9 είδη συμμετείχαν αθροιστικά σε ποσοστό 90% στη σύνθεση της κοινωνίας, ενώ 34 είδη συμμετείχαν αθροιστ. σε ποσοστό 99% στη σύνθεση της κοινωνίας. Τα είδη της καταληκτικής διαδοχής που ανήκουν στην Ομάδα Οικολογικής Ποιότητας I (ΕSG I) (87%) επικρατούσαν ποσοτικά των πρόδρομων-καιροσκοπικών ειδών που ανήκουν στην ΕSG II (13%), επιβεβαιώνοντας τη θεωρία και την πράξη των προαναφερθέντων συγγραφέων. Λέξεις κλειδιά: φωτόφιλα φύκη, τύπος οικοτόπου ύφαλοι, Ομάδες Οικολογικής Κατάστασης (ESG)

2 320 8ο Πανελλήνιο Συμποσιο Ωκεανογραφίας & Αλιείας INTRODUCTION At the upper infralittoral zone (0-1 m depth) of the Mediterranean coasts the species of the genus Cystoseira are usually the dominant and most productive (Ballesteros, 1989) elements of the less anthropogenic stressed hard substratum benthic vegetation (Soltan et al. 2001). Since the Cystoseira algal community is considered as the final stage (climax) of the photophilic algal communities succession (Peter & Picard, 1964), it can be considered as indicative of the environmental conditions (see also Thibaut et al. 2005) that, using Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EE) terminology, reveals Reference Conditions (RC). In the Eastern Mediterranean the Cystoseira crinita Duby community (including C. crinitophylla Ercegovic; see Athanasiadis 1987) is one of the most common elements of the vegetation in undisturbed areas, with an extensive distribution from exposed to sheltered sites of the Aegean Sea (Panayotidis & Montesanto, 2000). The present paper studies the C. crinita algal community at different putatively pristine Aegean Sea sites in order (1) to develop an objective and statistically valid virtual list of the most common algal species in the Aegean under RC, (2) to test the conceptual model and the biotic index EEI recently developed by Orfandis et al. (2001, 2003) for the implementation of WFD in Greek coasts. METHODOLOGY The data used in the present paper are part of the Hellenic NATURA 2000 data-base build up by a scientific consortium (scientists in charge in Panayotidis et al., 2001) in years 2000 to A selection of 62 Cystoseira crinita quantitative (20 x 20 cm or 25 x 25 cm) and destructive samples from 26 putatively pristine Aegean sites was undertaken (Fig. 1). They were representatives of the photophilic algal community (EUNIS code A3.23) of rocky shallow to deep water body types, habitat-type Reefs (Natura code 1170). In the laboratory formalin fixed samples were carefully analyzed by identifying species presence and by estimating their vertically projected coverage. The total coverage usually Fig. 1. Map of the sampling sites.

3 8ο Πανελλήνιο Συμποσιο Ωκεανογραφίας & Αλιείας 321 Table 1. Common algal species found in Cystoseira crinita community under Reference Conditions in the Aegean Sea, ESG=Ecological State Group. Species ESG Average abundance Contrib. (%) Cumulative Contrib. (%) Corallina granifera Ellis & Solander I 12,27 39,62 39,62 Cystoseira compressa (Esper) Gerloff et Nizamuddin I 14,82 23,08 62,70 Jania rubens (Linnaeus) Lamouroux I 8,31 16,01 78,72 Padina pavonica (Linnaeus) Lamouroux I 3,51 2,66 81,37 Herposiphonia secunda (C. Agardh) Ambronn II 1,39 2,29 83,66 Corallina elongata Ellis & Solander I 2,60 1,93 85,59 Cladophora spp. II 2,37 1,56 87,15 Sphacelaria cirrosa (Roth) C. Agardh II 0,89 1,50 88,65 Titanoderma cystoseirae (Hauck) Woelkerling et I 1,50 1,43 90,08 al. Dasya hutchinsiae Harvey in Hooker II 0,37 1,13 91,21 Laurencia obtusa (Hudson) Lamouroux II 1,02 1,02 92,23 Asparangopsis cf. armata Harvey II 0,92 0,61 92,84 Melobesia membranacea (Esper) Lamouroux I 0,27 0,56 93,41 Herposiphonia tenella (C. Agardh) Ambronn II 1,08 0,56 93,96 Fosliella farinosa (Lamouroux) Howe I 0,52 0,53 94,49 Cystoseira barbata C. Agardh I 2,86 0,47 94,97 Anotrichium barbatum (C. Agardh) Nageli II 1,21 0,43 95,40 Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux II 1,05 0,42 95,82 Halopteris scoparia (Linnaeus) Sauvageau II 1,98 0,41 96,23 Dilophus mediterraneus Schiffner II 0,44 0,40 96,63 Wrangelia penicillata (C. Agardh) C. Agardh II 0,63 0,40 97,03 Ceramium flaccidum (Kόtzing) Ardissone II 0,19 0,31 97,34 Laurencia sp. II 0,93 0,18 97,52 Sargassum vulgare C. Agardh I 1,10 0,17 97,68 Jania corniculata (Linnaeus) Lamouroux I 0,76 0,16 97,84 Ceramium tenerrimum (Martens) Okamura II 0,15 0,15 97,99 Champia parvula (C. Agardh) Harvey II 0,15 0,15 98,14 Anadyomene stellata (Wulfen) C. Agardh I 0,56 0,13 98,27 Amphiroa rubra (Philippi) Woelkerling I 0,74 0,12 98,39 Dictyopteris polypodioides (D.C.) Lamouroux II 0,93 0,12 98,52 Ceramium diaphanum (Lightfoot) Roth II 0,13 0,12 98,64 Valonia utricularis (Roth) C. Agardh II 0,34 0,11 98,75 Pseudochlorodesmis furcellata (Zanardini) Borgesen. II 0,34 0,10 98,85 Dictyota dichotoma (H.) Lam. var. intricata (C. Agardh) Grev. II 0,34 0,10 98,95

4 322 8ο Πανελλήνιο Συμποσιο Ωκεανογραφίας & Αλιείας exceeded 100% due to the presence of different vegetation layers (canopy, bushy, crusts and epiphytes). Untransformed data were analyzed by SIMPER-analysis (PRIMER v. 5) to estimate algal species abundance and contribution (%). The species were classified in two Ecological State Groups (ESG) in accordance to Orfanidis et al. (2001, 2003) approach. RESULTS & DISCUSSION One hundred thirteen (113) taxa (73 Rhodophyceae, 25 Phaeophyceae, 15 Chlorophyceae) were identified in total. The taxa with higher abundance and contribution (%) to Cystoseira crinita community are shown in Table 1 (C. crinita was excluded from the analysis). Nine (9) taxa contributed cumulatively by 90% in the community, whereas 34 taxa contributed cumulatively by 99%. Bushy layer considerably dominated to the community with most common representatives the red coralligenous algae Corallina granifera, C. elongata and Jania rubens, and the brown alga Padina pavonica. It was followed by C. crinita s epiphytes distinguished in: 1) filamentous green (Cladophora spp.), brown (Sphacelaria cirrosa) and red (Herposiphonia secunda) algae, and 2) in encrusting red algae (Titanoderma cystoseire and Fosliella spp.). Cystoseira compressa contributed significantly (23.08 %) to C. crinita community indicating that these species share common habitat resources in the Aegean Sea, a phenomenon also known, at least at the past (see Thibaut et al. 2005), in the Albιres coasts of France (Feldman 1937). It is interesting to note that massive presence of C. compressa in Italian coasts was regarded as a regressive evolution of the Cystoseiretum strictae community (Giaccone 1986). If the latter hypothesis is true and also valid for the Aegean Sea s C. crinita community, is something that should be tested in the future. Within the most common Cystoseira crinita taxa 21 (62%) belong to opportunistic ESG II, whereas 13 (38%) taxa belong to late-successional ESG I (Table 1). By contrast, the ESG I taxa (87%) dominated quantitatively the ESG II (13%) taxa in the C. crinita community. This result is in accordance both: (1) to the conceptual model of Orfanidis et al. (2001, 2003) that in less anthropogenic stressed coastal areas (pristine) the late-successional species dominate and (2) to the basic assumption of the Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI) that ESG II average contribution in RC (high quality status) is less than 30%. ACknoWleDgEments The NATURA 2000 data base was co-financed by the European Community and Greek Ministry of Environment, in the framework of the implementation of the habitat Directive (92/43/EEC). REFERENCES ATHANASIADIS A., A survey of the seaweeds of the Aegean Sea with taxonomic studies on species of the tribe Antithamnieae (Rhodophyta). PhD thesis, University of Gφeteborg, Sweden. BALLESTEROS E., Production of seaweeds in North-western Mediterranean marine communities: its relation with environmental factors. Scientia Marina 53 (2-3): FELDMANN J., Recherches sur la vιgιtation marine de la Mιditerranιe. La cτte des Albιres. Imprimerie Wolf. Rouen 339 (pl I-XX). GIACCONE G., The vertical zonation along the phytal system in the Mediterranean Sea and the effects of municipal and industrial waste-water disposal on phytobenthos communities. 5 th Optima meeting, ΟRFANIDIS S., PANAYOTIDIS P. & STAMA- TIS S., Ecological evaluation of transitional and coastal waters: a marine benthic macrophytes model. Mediterranean Marine Science 2 (2):

5 8ο Πανελλήνιο Συμποσιο Ωκεανογραφίας & Αλιείας 323 ΟRFANIDIS S., PANAYOTIDIS P. & STAMA- TIS S., An insight to the ecological evaluation index (EEI). Ecological Indicators 3: PANAYOTIDIS P. & MONTESANTO B., The Cystoseira spp. communities from the Aegean Sea (north-east Mediterranean). J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 80: PANAYOTIDIS P., SIAKAVARA A., ORFANI- DIS S. & HARITONIDIS S., Identification and description of habitat types at sites of interest for conservation. Study 5: Marine habitats. Final Technical Report, Athens October PERÈS J. M. & PICARD J., Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la mer Mediterranιe. Rec. Trav. St. Mar. Endoume 31 (47): SOLTAN D., VERLAQUE M., BOUDOUR- ESQUE C. F. & FRANCOUR P., Changes in macroalgal communities in the vicinity of a Mediterranean seawage outfall after the setting up of a treatment plant. Marin Pollution Bulletin 42: THIBAUT T., PINEDO S., TORRAS X. & BALLESTEROS E., Long-term decline of the populations of Fucales (Cystoseira spp. and Sargassum spp.) in the Albθres coast (Frame, North-western Mediterranean). Marine Pollution Bulletin 50:

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