Page 1 - Buia_Piraino_1989

Posidonia Newsleiier, 2(2), 1989,19-22

RECORD OF A POSIDONIA OCEANICA (L.) DELILE SEEDLING
IN THE EGADI ISLANDS (SICILY, ITALY)

M.C. BUIA * & S. PIRAINO **
* Stazione Zoologica di Napoli, Laboratorio di Ecologia del Benthos, 80077 Ischia

(NA),Italy .
** Dipartimento di Genetica,Biologia Generale e Molecolare, ViaMezzocannone 8,

80134 Napoli, Italy.

Posidonia fiowers are frequently stages of development.
recorded in the Mediterranean Sea while
Posidoniafruitshave notbeen observedas In both these expenments, the per-
frequently (MAZZELLA et al., 1984 ; centage of successful seeding was high
THELIN & BOUDOURESQUE, 1985), and there appeared to be no quiescent
because floweringsdonot alwaysresult in period between fmit maturation and seed
the same number of fruitings. Prior to the germination.
date of the finding described in this paper
(August 1986),there had been no reports The finding «in situ» of a Posidonia
of Posidonia seedlings «in situ». Subse- oceanica seedlingin the MarettimoIsland
quently gednations have been observed area of the Egadi Archipelago (north-
in the Gulf of Giens (Var, France) by western SiciIy, Fig. 1) is of someinterest.
FRANCOUR (in PERGENT, 1987, p. Posidonia meadows of this area were
28). previously described by GIACCONE &
SORTINO (1974). In addition, in Maret-
Seedling data were reported for the timo harbour we have obsewed the pre-
seeding experiments conducted by CDO- sente of a «banquette», more than one
PER (1979), as part of a project of reaffo- meter in height, during the cold season.
restation of the French coasts. He used
seedswhich were kept in seedbedsboth in The seedling (Fig. 2) was collected
thefieldand in the laboratory.Furtherdata in Cala Marino,near PuntaBassana,in the
camefrom astudyby CAYE&MEINESZ southernmost part of the island, at about
(1984),in which they grew seedlingsfrom two meters depth, on a rocky substratum,
mature beached fruits under laboratory near the upper limit of the Posidonia
conditions and described the successive meadows. Not anchored but embedded in
seaweed detritus, the seedling had many