Decapods' community associated with an artificial reef (Adriatic Sea)

Artificial reefs (ARs) are man-made structures deliberately deployed in coastal waters for a range of applications (e.g.: habitat protection and restoration, concentration and/or improvement of aquatic resources, fishery enhancement). In the Mediterranean Sea, ARs have been used over 40 years and Italy was one of the first Countries to make extensive use of these structures. More than 70 ARs have been deployed along Italian coasts. Similarly to most of human intervention on the marine environment, it is strictly necessary to assess the impacts induced by the reef construction on the components of the marine ecosystem. The present study refers to temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the decapods' community associated with an AR placed in Adriatic Sea and represents a contribution to the knowledge on the decapod's diversity in this area.