Representativeness
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Marine Environment Protection Committee - Resolution MEPC.204(62) – Designation of the Straight of Bonifacio as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area – (Adopted on 15 July 2011) - Annex 2 - Ecological, Socio-Economic, and Scientific Attributes of the Strait of Bonifacio PSSA1 - 1 Ecological criteria - Representativeness

Representativeness

  1.21 Beds of Posidonia oceanica, high-priority protected habitats, are widely represented. A Posidonia bed is a very valuable ecosystem from the biodiversity point of view, and is also very important to fishing, coastal protection and the enrichment of certain other coastal ecosystems. It is an excellent indicator of the overall quality of the natural environment. In many parts of the Mediterranean, it has been seriously affected by human activities, and some beds are in serious decline. Beds of Posidonia oceanica are characteristic of the infralittoral stage in the Mediterranean. Those in the Strait of Bonifacio area cover more than 5,000 ha and are in excellent condition. They play a leading role in the area's productivity and provide sites for breeding, spawning and raising young.

  1.22 The alga Lithophyllum lichenoides found in belts in the intertidal zone is included in annex I of the "Habitat" directive. This species is well represented along the battered granite and limestone coasts of the Strait of Bonifacio. The oldest and largest belts are found along the cliffs at Bonifacio and in the Lavezzi Islands.

  1.23 Like other algae typical of sheltered sites in the infralittoral stage, certain types of Cystoseira have become rare because its habitat is suffering from pollution or eutrophication or has been destroyed by coastal management. Overgrazing by sea urchins, whose predators have been partially eliminated by man, also has to be taken into account. The Cystoseira are very well represented in the strait and certain species such as C. Funkii are seen on rare occasions at near-surface depths (Ballesteros & Pineda, 2003).

Parent topic: 1 Ecological criteria
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