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Downloaded By: [Furnari, G.] At: 10:31 24 May 2010 Chemistry and Ecology
Vol. 26, Supplement, June 2010, 249–266

Seagrasses along the Sicilian coasts

Sebastiano Calvoa*, Agostino Tomaselloa, Germana Di Maidaa, Maria Pirrottaa,
Maria Cristina Buiab, Francesco Cinellic, Mario Cormacid, Giovanni Furnarid,

Giuseppe Giacconed, Filippo Luzzua, Antonio Mazzolaa, Carla Orestanoa,
Gabriele Procaccinib, Gianluca Saràa, Antonino Scannavinoa and Salvatrice Vizzinia

aDipartimento di Ecologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy; bStazione Zoologica Anton
Dohrn, Naples, Italy; cDipartimento di Scienze dell’Uomo e dell’Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Pisa,

Pisa, Italy; d Dipartimento di Botanica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Catania, Italy

(Received 10 July 2009; final version received 19 January 2010 )

All seagrass species known from the Mediterranean basin have been recorded along the Sicilian coast,
where studies have been carried out at a very local scale and information is fragmented or confined to the
grey literature. The objective of this article is to summarise and evaluate current knowledge on seagrass
species on the Sicilian coasts, providing an overview of species distribution, genetic diversity, biology and
ecology, based on the literature and unpublished data. Most literature studies have been carried out on
Posidonia oceanica meadows because of their wide distribution, complexity and ecological importance.
In this study, the analyses carried out on P. oceanica structural and functional features show that the
Sicilian meadows are in good condition with respect to the Mediterranean average, probably because of
relatively low anthropogenic pressure and favourable ecological conditions. The available data on this
species summarised in this article represent an important starting point from which to build effective
plans for understanding levels of environmental threats and for supporting conservation strategies for these
important ecosystems. Conversely, the limited information available on other seagrasses only allows the
description of some structural and functional features, and does not permit to drive overall conclusions on
their general health status.

Keywords: seagrass; Mediterranean; Sicily; distribution; status

1. Introduction

Although seagrasses include relatively few species globally (∼60), they are now known to play a
key functional, ecological and economic role in coastal ecosystems worldwide [1,2]. Seagrasses
are considered ‘ecosystem engineers’ because they build up and support complex ecosystems.
Seagrasses exert important ‘ecosystem services’, being important primary producers, performing
physical functions of filtering coastal waters, dissipating wave energy preventing the erosion of
sandy shores, stabilising and structuring the seabed and providing habitat and nursery areas for
many organisms (including commercially caught species) [1].

*Corresponding author. Email: calvo@unipa.it

ISSN 0275-7540 print/ISSN 1029-0370 online
© 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/02757541003636374
http://www.informaworld.com