The "Marinello Ponds Natural Reserve" (38,13°N - 15,05°E) is a brackish system located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, behind the Tindari Cliff (Italy). It is characterised by a rapid morphological dynamism that has determined in the last century marked changes in the shape and dimension of the area, as well as in the number of the ponds. Climatic forcings drive the sand bank evolution through the formation of hook-shaped littoral bars, whose progressive warp determines the formation of temporary or semi-permanent coastal ponds. Historically, the interaction between natural events and human activities has driven the mobilization of sand materials - coming from the neighbouring torrents - determining the alternation of erosion and accretion phases of the littoral system. At the moment it covers an area of approximately 500000 m2 and includes four small ponds: Marinello, Mergolo, Verde and Porto. The studies we carried out during different multidisciplinary investigations (1978; 1987-'88; 1997-'98; 2005-'06), have let us to record the dynamic of this area, in that concerns both the morphological evolution and the consequent changes in the hydrological, sedimentological and bionomic features of each pond. The most important process concerns the progressive confinement of the pods from the sea, that is evidenced by both mud enrichment and salinity decrease. The mud enrichment interested all ponds but was more marked in the northern ones, where the pelite recently exceeded the 75%, transforming the original sandy substratum. Moreover, from 1978 to 2005, the salinity mean value decreased from 35.85 to 29.14. As a consequence, the dynamic of the benthic populations shows a progressive evolution from a marine connotation to a more and more brackish one. In particular we have observed the increase of the brackish species Cerastoderma glaucum (Poiret) and Mytilaster marioni (Locard), that superseded the marine ones Tapes decussatus and Paphia aurea (Gmelin).
Life story of a Mediterranean dynamic coastal ecosystem: morphological, hydrological and bionomic evolution during the last three decades
Leonardi M;Azzaro F;Bergamasco A;
2011
Abstract
The "Marinello Ponds Natural Reserve" (38,13°N - 15,05°E) is a brackish system located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, behind the Tindari Cliff (Italy). It is characterised by a rapid morphological dynamism that has determined in the last century marked changes in the shape and dimension of the area, as well as in the number of the ponds. Climatic forcings drive the sand bank evolution through the formation of hook-shaped littoral bars, whose progressive warp determines the formation of temporary or semi-permanent coastal ponds. Historically, the interaction between natural events and human activities has driven the mobilization of sand materials - coming from the neighbouring torrents - determining the alternation of erosion and accretion phases of the littoral system. At the moment it covers an area of approximately 500000 m2 and includes four small ponds: Marinello, Mergolo, Verde and Porto. The studies we carried out during different multidisciplinary investigations (1978; 1987-'88; 1997-'98; 2005-'06), have let us to record the dynamic of this area, in that concerns both the morphological evolution and the consequent changes in the hydrological, sedimentological and bionomic features of each pond. The most important process concerns the progressive confinement of the pods from the sea, that is evidenced by both mud enrichment and salinity decrease. The mud enrichment interested all ponds but was more marked in the northern ones, where the pelite recently exceeded the 75%, transforming the original sandy substratum. Moreover, from 1978 to 2005, the salinity mean value decreased from 35.85 to 29.14. As a consequence, the dynamic of the benthic populations shows a progressive evolution from a marine connotation to a more and more brackish one. In particular we have observed the increase of the brackish species Cerastoderma glaucum (Poiret) and Mytilaster marioni (Locard), that superseded the marine ones Tapes decussatus and Paphia aurea (Gmelin).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
