From the CNR research vessel Gaia Blu, engaged in the scientific expedition ‘Demetra’ comes the discovery of a hitherto unknown, extensive and ancient coral reef located in the centre of the Dohrn Canyon in the Gulf of Naples, more than 500 metres below the sea surface. A submerged, spectacular and hitherto unknown landscape
A hitherto unknown, extensive and ancient coral reef located in the centre of the Dohrn Canyon in the Gulf of Naples, more than 500 metres below the sea surface: the discovery was made as part of the scientific expedition ‘Demetra’ underway on the National Research Council’s research vessel Gaia Blu, coordinated by the CNR Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-Ismar) with the involvement of scientific staff from the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, the Polytechnic University of the Marches, and the Federico II University of Naples.
The finding is the result of a close synergy between the CNR and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, which have integrated scientific expertise and field knowledge to achieve the identification and characterisation of white coral bioconstructions in the Dohrn Canyon. This is not the only success of the campaign: there were, in fact, numerous outstanding results from the scientific excellence of all the institutes involved. These achievements testify to how cooperation between Italian institutions involved in marine science can generate knowledge of great value for the understanding and protection of the Mediterranean’s deep-sea ecosystems.
Explorations carried out using a remotely controlled underwater vehicle (ROV) revealed the presence of imposing structures more than two metres wide and distributed along a vertical wall of more than 80 metres, formed by deep-sea hard corals, commonly referred to as ‘white corals’ due to their lack of colour, belonging to the species Desmophyllum pertusum and Madrepora oculata.
“It is an exceptional find for the Italian seas: bioconstructions of this species of such magnitude had never been observed in the Dohrn Canyon and rarely elsewhere in our Mediterranean,” says Giorgio Castellan, head of the campaign’s mission and a researcher at CNR-Ismar in Bologna. “Their discovery represents a fundamental step towards understanding the ecological role of deep coral habitats and their distribution, especially with a view to protection and restoration actions”.
In addition to white corals, the reef hosts a unique community in terms of richness and biodiversity: black corals, solitary corals, sponges and other species of great ecological importance. But that is not all. The canyon walls also preserve fossil traces of oysters and ancient corals, true geological evidence of a remote past.
“The exploration of this hitherto unknown portion of the Dohrn Canyon gives us a picture of a deep marine ecosystem of extraordinary scientific interest and naturalistic value. The white coral bioconstructions found here, consisting of imposing colonies of Desmophyllum pertusum and enriched by the presence of species whose distribution in the Mediterranean is restricted to just a few sites, such as the bivalve Acesta excavata and the deep-sea oyster Neopycnodonte zibrowii, testify to the structural uniqueness of the marine communities that characterise this system,” explains Frine Cardone, researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. “Alongside the living communities, we observed extensive fossil aggregations of N. zibrowii, which are a testimony to the ancient biodiversity of the Dohrn Canyon and provide valuable palaeoecological information on its evolution over time.”
The Dohrn Canyon is one of the pilot sites of the European Life Dream project – coordinated by Federica Foglini of the CNR-Ismar in Bologna- and the European REDRESS project coordinated by Roberto Danovaro professor at the Università Politecnica delle Marche. The two projects aim to promote the active restoration of deep-sea ecosystems damaged by human activities.
“The discovery reinforces the value of the projects in this canyon and in the Gulf of Naples, and offers us new opportunities to restore vitality to a fragile and extraordinary heritage,” stresses Foglini.
As part of the LIFE DREAM project, the site has been proposed as a new protected area of the European Natura 2000 network, confirming its relevance for the conservation of marine biodiversity.
Per informazioni:
Giorgio Castellan
Cnr-Ismar
giorgio.castellan@cnr.it
