Cartography of littoral rocky-shore communities (CARLIT) as a tool for ecological quality assessment of coastal waters in the Eastern Adriatic Sea

• Published in: Ecological indicators Vol. 34; pp. 87 - 93
• Main Authors: Nikolić, Vedran, Žuljević, Ante, Mangialajo, Luisa, Antolić, Boris, Kušpilić, Grozdan, Ballesteros, Enric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adriatic Sea; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; CARLIT; cartography; coastal water; coasts; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Cystoseira; Echinoidea; Ecological status; ecosystems; European Union; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; land use; Macroalgae; monitoring; nondestructive methods; normal values; overgrazing; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Synecology; Water framework directive; water quality; Adriatic Sea; Mediterranean Sea; CARLIT; Water framework directive; Adriatic Sea; Macroalgae; Cystoseira; Ecological status; Environmental assessment; Cartography; Water Framework Directive; Algae; Hard substrate; Marine alga; Coastal zone; Marine environment; Heterokontophyta; Coastal water; Environmental monitoring; Community; Phaeophyceae; Environmental protection; Environment quality
• ISSN: 1470-160X; 1872-7034
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.04.021

•First wide-scale application of CARLIT method in the Adriatic Sea.•Definition of reference conditions specific to the Eastern Adriatic Sea.•Validation of the method by comparison with land use index and water quality.•CARLIT can be used as a reliable biomonitoring tool in the Eastern Adriatic Sea.•Rocky bottom overgrazed by sea urchins quantified on a GIS. Littoral cartography is a valuable tool which uses shallow water macroalgal communities for monitoring ecosystem health and water quality. Cartography of littoral rocky-shore communities (CARLIT) is a European Union Water Framework Directive-compliant monitoring method widely used in the Western Mediterranean Sea. This non-destructive method is based on a visual observation of the type and length of coast occupied by rocky-shore communities in the upper-sublittoral zone. Here we present the first wide-scale application of CARLIT in the Adriatic Sea. The reference values calculated specifically for the Croatian coast (Eastern Adriatic Sea) ensure accurate calculation of the ecological status. The measured ecological quality ratio values (EQR) show a good linear relation with the Land Uses Simplified Index (LUSI) and appropriately reflect an increase in nutrient concentrations. The results suggest that this method can be used as a reliable biomonitoring tool in the Eastern Adriatic Sea. This study highlighted that Cystoseira forests thrive in 39% of the surveyed coastline and 23% of the coastline seems to be subjected to overgrazing by sea urchins. Our results provide a spatially accurate information on the abundance of different upper-sublittoral communities and the associated ecological status, which can be used in future management plans for improving water quality.