Using geomorphometric techniques to assess spatial distribution and volume of coralligenous bioconstructions (mediterranean sea)

Within the framework of the BioMAP Project (BIOcostruzioni Marine in Puglia, - P.O. FESR 2007/2013), new acoustic data were acquired in order to identify and locate Coralligenous Habitats (CHs) along the Apulian continental shelf (South Adriatic Sea – Northern Ionian Sea). The analysis of the multibeam echosounder (MBES) dataset allowed us to identify different morphological expression of CHs. Geomorphometric techniques have been applied on the MBES data in order to (1) figure out relationships between the observed morphologies and the associated habitat distribution and (2) quantify the total volume of selected Coralligenous build-ups. Our results were obtained applying a quantitative analytical approach, focusing on the exploitation of the full potential of seafloor data sets in an objective manner. Our approach can be even used to monitor future changes, from anthropogenic impacts (e.g., bottom trawl damage) to the impacts of global change including ocean warming and acidification that can affect the structural complexity and total volume of carbonate deposits characterising the Mediterranean benthic environment.