European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Characterization of ecological descriptors and at the investigation of structural and functional relationships benthos-nekton-plankton within the Benco di Santa Croce protected area, to allow the formulation of an effective management and protection plan. Several data-sets were collected and analysed (Nutrient concentration in the water column, chemical and physical descriptors, water currentometry, fractioned chlorophyll, micro- and macro-zooplankton, fish stocks evaluated by visual census and collections by nets, gut contents of fish and benthic invertebrates, faunistic and floristic composition of benthic assemblages, heavy metal contents of the tissues of fish) to obtain a dynamic model of simulation of the food web within the area.