Assessing the Ecological Status
of Gongolaria Barbata (Stackhouse) Kuntze (Fucales, Ochrophyta) Habitat
Along the Romanian Black Sea Coast
- A Source of Multiple Ecosystem Services
Oana Alina MARIN1, Alina
SPÎNU1
1 National
Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa“, 300 Mamaia Blvd., Constanta, Romania (omarin@alpha.rmri.ro)
Abstract. Gongolaria
barbata (Stackhouse) Kuntze (formerly known as Cystoseira barbata (Stackhouse)
C. Agardh, 1820) builds essential habitats for marine biodiversity and
ecosystem optimal functioning along the Romanian Black Sea coast. G. barbata
forms so-called brown algal forests especially in the southern part of the Romanian
Black Sea shore, providing all categories of ecosystem services, at the same
time being a source of potentially bioactive metabolites. Over the last
decades, Cystoseira sensu lato have suffered a general decline due to
anthropogenic pressure and the Romanian Black Sea coast is not an exception. G.
barbata is the only remained representative of Cystoseira s. l. from the
Romanian coast and currently the most important habitat - forming species,
being a suggestive indicator of environmental degradation and loss of habitats.
The study aims to present the last fourteen years ecological status assessment
of the sensitive habitat Upper-infralittoral rock dominated by G. barbata.
Sampling was conducted between 2009 – 2022 (summer seasons) and a total number of
144 samples were collected using the “quadrat method” (20 x 20 cm). Data were
statistically analyzed, and the specific Ecological Index (EI) was applied to
evaluate the ecological status. The results of this study showed that this
vulnerable habitat reached good ecological status during 2009 - 20122, except
for 2012 and 2014. Nevertheless, the current distribution of G. barbata habitat
is sparse, and the species remains highly sensitive to increasing anthropogenic
activities in coastal zones.
Key words: Gongolaria barbata, canopy-forming algae, MSFD, ecological status,
Romania.
DOI https://doi.org/10.56082/annalsarscibio.2023.1.42
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