Coral fauna of the coralligenous biocoenosis in the eastern Adriatic Sea

Koraligenska zajednica je jedna od najvažnijih i najtipičnijih po bioraznolikosti i bogatstvu vrsta, te se smatra jednim od najvažnijih „vrućih točaka (hot spot)“ biološke raznolikosti u Sredozemnom moru. Karakteriziraju je sciafilne crvene alge iz porodice Corallinaceae, po čemu su i dobile ime, i čijom su inkrustracijom kalcij karbonata nastale u zoni cirkalitorala u uvjetima smanjene količine svjetlosti. Tako nastaju biogene nakupine kompleksne strukture s puno zasjenjenih šupljina, rupa i škrilja u kojem obitava nevjerojatno velik broj različitih taksonomskih svojti i vrsta beskralježnjaka. Istraživanje bioraznolikosti bentoskih zajednica jedno je od najboljih pokazatelja stanja očuvanosti okoliša i najpouzdanijeg indikatora negativnih promjena uzrokovanih prirodnim i antropogenim čimbenicima. Glavni uzroci smanjenja bioraznolikosti morskog okoliša su onečišćenje otpadnim vodama, globalna promjena klime, invazivne vrste te neracionalno iskorištavanje bioloških dobara. Veliku bioraznolikost unutar koraligenske biocenoze imaju koralji (Anthozoa) koji pokazuju veliku osjetljivost na globalne klimatske promjene. Cilj ovog rada je istražiti raznolikost vrsta faune koralja koraligenske zajednice na 50 odabranih lokaliteta (u zaštićenim (nacionalni parkovi i parkovi prirode) i nezaštićenim područjima) u istočnom dijelu Jadrana, te proučiti njihovu dubinsku raspodjelu. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno je 42 vrste koralja u koraligenu istočnog Jadrana. Vrste Caryophyllia smithii i Leptopsammia pruvoti utvrđene su na svim postajama unutar ovog istraživanja, dok su vrlo česte vrste Caryophyllia inornata, Ceratotrochus magnaghii, Hoplangia durothrix, Paramuricea clavata i Eunicella cavolini. Ovaj rad pokazuje bogatstvo veliko bogatstvo koralja unutar koraligenske zajednice, ali su potrebna dodatna istraživanja usmjerena prema biologiji i ekologiji svake pojedine vrste da bi ih se moglo zaštititi od sve više štetnih utjecaja i prijetnji. Ovi rezultati pridonose uspostavi dugoročnog praćenja koraligenske zajednice, te naglašavaju nužnost daljnjih istraživanja, kako njene strukture tako i učinaka buduće promjene klime.The coralligenous community is one of the most important and most typical when it comes to species diversity in the Mediterranean, which includes the eastern part of the Adriatic. It is characterized by sciaphilic red algae from the Corallinaceae family after which they were named, and which enabled their creation by encrusting calcium carbonate in the circalittoral zone in reduced light conditions. This led to the creation of biogenic sediments with complex structures, containing numerous shaded cavities, holes and protrusions in which there is an incredibly high number of various invertebrate taxonomic categories and species. Research into biodiversity of bentonic communities offers one of the best insights of the extent to which an environment has been conserved, and is the most reliable indicator of negative changes caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. The main causes of a biodiversity decrease in a sea environment are waste waters pollution, global climate change, invasive species, and irrational exploitation of biological resources. Coralligenous biocenosis is considered to be one of the most important hot spots of biological diversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Corals (Anthozoa) which exhibit high sensitivity to global climate changes have great biodiversity within coralligenous biocenosis. Recent massive die-offs, caused by unusually high sea water temperatures, have also been confirmed in the Adriatic Sea. Precisely because of that it is important to posess a list of the coral species residing in the Adriatic Sea, and to track their status in the ever increasing pressure of global climate changes and anthropogenically caused changes. The goal of this paper is to explore the fauna diversity of corals in the coralligenous community at 50 chosen localities (in protected (national parks and nature parks) and unprotected areas) in the eastern part of the Adriatic, and to study their depth distribution. This provides insight into its current state and the degree to which it is endagered, making it possible to plan the protection of these severely endagered and ecologically important species, and also the habitats in the Adriatic Sea. It will feature a comparison of stations according to the make-up and number of coral species inhabiting them, as well as the population number of various coral species at the stations included in the research. An estimate on the presence of endagered and legally protected corals will also be made