Articles | Volume 21, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-49-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-49-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 03 Jan 2024
| 03 Jan 2024
Origin and role of non-skeletal carbonate in coralligenous build-ups: new geobiological perspectives in biomineralization processes
Mara Cipriani
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 15b, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Carmine Apollaro
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 15b, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Daniela Basso
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196, Rome, Italy
Pietro Bazzicalupo
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
Marco Bertolino
Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Genoa, 16126, Genoa, Italy
Valentina Alice Bracchi
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy
CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196, Rome, Italy
Fabio Bruno
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 45, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Gabriele Costa
AGRIS Sardegna, Agricultural Research Agency of Sardinia, S.S. 291 Sassari-Fertilia, 07100, Bonassai, Sassari, Italy
Rocco Dominici
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 15b, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Alessandro Gallo
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 45, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Maurizio Muzzupappa
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 45, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Antonietta Rosso
CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196, Rome, Italy
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia, 57, 95129, Catania, Italy
Rossana Sanfilippo
CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196, Rome, Italy
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia, 57, 95129, Catania, Italy
Francesco Sciuto
CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196, Rome, Italy
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia, 57, 95129, Catania, Italy
Giovanni Vespasiano
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 15b, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 15b, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Related authors
Giuseppe Maruca, Mara Cipriani, Rocco Dominici, Gianpietro Imbrogno, Giovanni Vespasiano, Carmine Apollaro, Francesco Perri, Fabio Bruno, Antonio Lagudi, Umberto Severino, Valentina A. Bracchi, Daniela Basso, Emilio Cellini, Fabrizio Mauri, Antonietta Rosso, Rossana Sanfilippo, and Adriano Guido
Ocean Sci., 21, 1967–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1967-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1967-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows a new method for mapping coralligenous bioconstructions using high-resolution acoustic data. The protocol integrates bathymetry, backscatter, and geomorphological indices, providing detailed information on the spatial and volumetric distribution of benthic habitats. This approach offers valuable insights for monitoring and conserving Mediterranean ecosystems, with potential applications in understanding habitat structure and guiding future conservation actions.
Giuseppe Maruca, Mara Cipriani, Rocco Dominici, Gianpietro Imbrogno, Giovanni Vespasiano, Carmine Apollaro, Francesco Perri, Fabio Bruno, Antonio Lagudi, Umberto Severino, Valentina A. Bracchi, Daniela Basso, Emilio Cellini, Fabrizio Mauri, Antonietta Rosso, Rossana Sanfilippo, and Adriano Guido
Ocean Sci., 21, 1967–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1967-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1967-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows a new method for mapping coralligenous bioconstructions using high-resolution acoustic data. The protocol integrates bathymetry, backscatter, and geomorphological indices, providing detailed information on the spatial and volumetric distribution of benthic habitats. This approach offers valuable insights for monitoring and conserving Mediterranean ecosystems, with potential applications in understanding habitat structure and guiding future conservation actions.
Santina Fortuna, Antonio Lagudi, Luigi Scarfone, Barbara Davidde, Fabio Bruno, and Loris Barbieri
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-2-W10-2025, 63–69, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-63-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-63-2025, 2025
Chiara Santinelli, Silvia Valsecchi, Simona Retelletti Brogi, Giancarlo Bachi, Giovanni Checcucci, Mirco Guerrazzi, Elisa Camatti, Stefano Caserini, Arianna Azzellino, and Daniela Basso
Biogeosciences, 21, 5131–5141, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5131-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5131-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ocean liming is a technique proposed to mitigate ocean acidification. Every action we take has an impact on the environment and the effects on the invisible world are often overlooked. With this study, we show that lime addition impacts the dynamics of dissolved organic matter, one of the largest reservoirs of carbon on Earth, representing the main source of energy for marine microbes. Further studies to assess the impacts on marine ecosystems are therefore crucial before taking any action.
Li-Qing Jiang, Adam V. Subhas, Daniela Basso, Katja Fennel, and Jean-Pierre Gattuso
State Planet, 2-oae2023, 13, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-13-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-13-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides comprehensive guidelines for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) researchers on archiving their metadata and data. It includes data standards for various OAE studies and a universal metadata template. Controlled vocabularies for terms like alkalinization methods are included. These guidelines also apply to ocean acidification data.
Ulf Riebesell, Daniela Basso, Sonja Geilert, Andrew W. Dale, and Matthias Kreuzburg
State Planet, 2-oae2023, 6, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-6-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-6-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Mesocosm experiments represent a highly valuable tool in determining the safe operating space of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) applications. By combining realism and biological complexity with controllability and replication, they provide an ideal OAE test bed and a critical stepping stone towards field applications. Mesocosm approaches can also be helpful in testing the efficacy, efficiency and permanence of OAE applications.
Valentina Beccari, Ahuva Almogi-Labin, Daniela Basso, Giuliana Panieri, Yizhaq Makovsky, Irka Hajdas, and Silvia Spezzaferri
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 13–29, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-13-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-13-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Planktonic gastropods (pteropods and heteropods) have been investigated in cores collected in the eastern Mediterranean along the Israeli coast in coral, pockmark, and channel areas. The sediment spans the last 5300 years. Our study reveals that neglecting the smaller fraction (> 63 µm) may result in a misinterpretation of the palaeoceanography. The presence of tropical and subtropical species reveals that the eastern Mediterranean acted as a refugium for these organisms.
Robin Fentimen, Eline Feenstra, Andres Rüggeberg, Efraim Hall, Valentin Rime, Torsten Vennemann, Irka Hajdas, Antonietta Rosso, David Van Rooij, Thierry Adatte, Hendrik Vogel, Norbert Frank, and Anneleen Foubert
Clim. Past, 18, 1915–1945, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1915-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1915-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The investigation of a 9 m long sediment core recovered at ca. 300 m water depth demonstrates that cold-water coral mound build-up within the East Melilla Coral Province (southeastern Alboran Sea) took place during both interglacial and glacial periods. Based on the combination of different analytical methods (e.g. radiometric dating, micropaleontology), we propose that corals never thrived but rather developed under stressful environmental conditions.
Giulia Piazza, Valentina A. Bracchi, Antonio Langone, Agostino N. Meroni, and Daniela Basso
Biogeosciences, 19, 1047–1065, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1047-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1047-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The coralline alga Lithothamnion corallioides is widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea and NE Atlantic Ocean, where it constitutes rhodolith beds, which are diversity-rich ecosystems on the seabed. The boron incorporated in the calcified thallus of coralline algae (B/Ca) can be used to trace past changes in seawater carbonate and pH. This paper suggests a non-negligible effect of algal growth rate on B/Ca, recommending caution in adopting this proxy for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
Valentina Alice Bracchi, Giulia Piazza, and Daniela Basso
Biogeosciences, 18, 6061–6076, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6061-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6061-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ultrastructures of Lithothamnion corallioides, a crustose coralline alga collected from the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea at different depths, show high-Mg-calcite cell walls formed by crystals with a specific shape and orientation that are unaffected by different environmental conditions of the living sites. This suggests that the biomineralization process is biologically controlled in coralline algae and can have interesting applications in paleontology.
Cited articles
Achlatis, M., Van der Zande R. M., Schönberg, C. H. L., Fang, J. K. H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., and Sophie Dove, S.: Sponge bioerosion on changing reefs: ocean warming poses physiological constraints to the success of a photosymbiotic excavating sponge, Sci. Rep., 7, 10705, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-10947-1, 2017.
Aguirre, J., Perfectti, F., and Braga, J. C.: Integrating phylogeny, molecular clocks, and the fossil record in the evolution of coralline algae (Corallinales and Sporolithales, Rhodophyta), Paleobiology, 34, 519–533, 2010.
Altermann, W., Böhmer, C., Gitter, F., Heimann, F., Heller, I., Läuchli, B., and Putz, C.: “Defining biominerals and organominerals: direct and indirect indicators of life, Perry et al., Sediment. Geol., 201, 157–179”, Sediment. Geol., Response, 213, 150–151, 2009.
Anbu, P., Kang, C. H., Shin, Y. J., and So, J. S.: Formations of calcium carbonate minerals by bacteria and its multiple applications, Springer Plus, 5, 250, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-1869-2, 2016.
Ballesteros, E.: Mediterranean Coralligenous Assemblages, in Oceanography and Marine Biology, Ann. Rev., 44, 123–195, 2006.
Basso, D., Nalin, R., and Massari, F.: Genesis and composition of the Pleistocene Coralligene de plateau of the Cutro Terrace (Calabria, southern Italy), Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh., 244, 173–182, 2007.
Basso, D., Nalin, R., and Nelson, C. S.: Shallow-water Sporolithon Rhodoliths from North Island (New Zealand), Palaios, 24, 92–103, 2009.
Basso, D., Bracchi, V. A., Bazzicalupo, P., Martini, M., Maspero, F., and Bavestrello, G.: Living coralligenous as geo-historical structure built by coralline algae, Front. Earth Sci., 10, 961632, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.961632, 2022.
Bazylinski, D. A. and Frankel, R. B.: Magnetosome formation in prokaryotes, Nat. Rev. Microbiol., 2, 217–230, 2004.
Blakemore, R.: Magnetotactic Bacteria, Science, 190, 377–379, 1975.
Bellan-Santini, D., Lacaze, J. C., and Poizat, C.: Les biocénoses marines et littorales de Méditerranée, Synthèse, menaces et perspectives, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sécretariat de la Flore et de la Faune, Paris, 246 pp., 1994.
Belmonte, G., Ingrosso, G., Poto, M., Quarta, G., D'elia, M., Onorato, O. and Calcagnile, L.: Biogenic stalactites in submarine caves at the Cape of Otranto (SE Italy): dating and hypothesis on their formation, Mar. Ecol., 30, 376–382, 2009.
Belmonte, G., Guido, A., Mastandrea, A., Onorato, R., Rosso, A., and Sanfilippo, R.: Animal Forests in Submarine Caves, in: Perspectives on the Marine Animal Forests of the World, edited by: Rossi, S. and Bramanti, L., 129–145, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020.
Benzerara, K., Miot, J., Morin, G., Ona-Nguema, G., Skouri-Panet, F., and Ferard, C.: Significance, mechanisms and environmental implications of microbial biomineralization, Cr. Geosci., 343, 160–167, 2011.
Bertolino, M., Calcinai, B., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Cerrano, C., Lafratta, A., Pansini, M., Pica, D., and Bavestrello, G.: Stability of the sponge assemblage of Mediterranean coralligenous concretions along a millennial time span, Mar. Ecol., 35, 149–158, 2013.
Bertolino, M., Calcinai, B., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Cerrano, C., Lafratta, A., Pansini, M., Pica, D., and Bavestrello, G.: Stability of the sponge assemblage of Mediterranean coralligenous concretions along a millennial time span, Ecology, 35, https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12063, 2014.
Bertolino, M., Costa, G., Carella, M., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Cerrano, C., Pansini, M., Quarta, G., Calcagnile, L., and Bavestrello, G.: The dynamics of a Mediterranean coralligenous sponge assemblage at decennial and millennial temporal scales, PLoS ONE, 12, e0177945, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177945, 2017a.
Bertolino, M., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Costa, G., Pansini, M., Fraschetti, S., and Bavestrello, G.: Have Climate Changes Driven the Diversity of a Mediterranean Coralligenous Sponge Assemblage on a Millennial Time scale?, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 487, 355–363, 2017b.
Bertolino, M., Costa, G., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Pansini, M., Quarta, G., Calcagnile, L., and Bavestrello, G.: Ancient and recent sponge assemblages from the Tyrrhenian coralligenous over millennia (Mediterranean Sea), Facies, 65, 1–12, 2019.
Borch, T., Kretzschmar, R., Kappler, A., Van Cappellen, P., Ginder-Vogel, M., Voegelin, A., and Campbell, K.: Biogeochemical redox processes and their impact on contaminant dynamics, Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 15–23, 2010.
Bosence, D. W. J. and Pedley, H. M.: Sedimentology and Palaeoecology of a Miocene Coralline Algal Biostrome from the Maltese Islands, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 38, 9–43, 1982.
Bracchi, V. A., Nalin, R., and Basso, D.: Paleoecology and Dynamics of Coralline Dominated Facies during a Pleistocene Transgressive-Regressive Cycle (Capo Colonna Marine Terrace, Southern Italy), Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 414, 296–309, 2014.
Bracchi, V., Savini, A., Marchese, F., Palamara, S., Basso, D., and Corselli, C.: Coralligenous Habitat in the Mediterranean Sea: a Geomorphological Description from Remote Data, Ital. J. Geosci., 134, 32–40, 2015.
Bracchi, V. A., Nalin, R., and Basso, D.: Morpho-structural Heterogeneity of Shallow-Water Coralligenous in a Pleistocene Marine Terrace (Le Castella, Italy), Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 454, 101–112, 2016.
Bracchi, V. A., Basso, D., Marchese, F., Corselli C., and Savini A.: Coralligenous morphotypes on subhorizontal substrate: A new categorization, Cont. Shelf Res., 144, 10–20, 2017.
Bracchi, V. A., Basso, D., Savini, A. E., and Corselli, C.: Algal Reefs (Coralligenous) from Glacial Stages: Origin and Nature of a Submerged Tabular Relief (Hyblean Plateau, Italy), Mar. Geol., 411, 119–132, 2019.
Bracchi V. A., Bazzicalupo P., Fallati L., Varzi A. G., Savini A., Negri M. P., Rosso A., Sanfilippo R., Guido A., Bertolino M., Costa, G., De Ponti, E., Leonardi, R., Muzzupappa, M., and Basso, D.: The main builders of Mediterranean coralligenous: 2D and 3D quantitative approaches for its identification, Front. Earth Sci., 10, 910522, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.910522, 2022.
Braga, J. C., Martìn, J. M., and Riding, R.: Controls on microbial dome development along a carbonate-siliciclastic shelf-basin transect, Miocene, S.E. Spain, Palaios, 10, 347–361, 1995.
Bressan, G., Babbini, L., Ghirardelli, L., and Basso, D.: Bio-costruzione e bio-distruzione di corallinales nel mar mediterraneo, Biol. Mar. Mediterr., 8, 131–174, 2001.
Buczynski, C. and Chafetz, H. S.: Habit of bacterially induced precipitates of calcium carbonate and the influence of medium viscosity on mineralogy, J. Sediment. Petrol., 61, 226–233, 1991.
Calcinai, B., Bavestrello, G., Cuttone, G., and Cerrano, C.: Excavating sponges from the Adriatic Sea: description of Cliona adriatica sp. nov. (Demospongiae: Clionaidae) and estimation of its boring activity, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK, 91, 339–346, 2011.
Calcinai, B., Bertolino, M., Bavestrello, G., Montori, S., Mori, M., Pica, D., Valisano, L., and Cerrano, C.: Comparison between the sponge fauna living outside and inside the coralligenous bioconstruction: a quantitative approach, Mediterr. Mar. Sci., 16, 413–418, 2015.
Calcinai, B., Sacco Perasso, C., Davide Petriaggi, B., and Ricci, S.: Endolithic and epilithic sponges of archaeological marble statues recovered in the Blue Grotto, Capri (Italy) and in the Antikythera shipwreck (Greece), Facies, 65, 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-019-0562-7, 2019.
Carannante, G. and Simone, L.: Rhodolith Facies in the Central-southern Apennines Mountains, Italy, in: Models for Carbonate Stratigraphy from Miocene Reef Complexes of Mediterranean Regions, Italy, edited by: Franseen, E. K., Esteban, M., Ward, W. C., and Rouchy, J. M., 261–275, SEPM Concepts Sedimentol. Paleontol., 1996.
Cerrano, C., Bastari, A., Calcinai, B., Di Camillo, C., Pica, D., Puce, S., Valisano, L., and Torsani, F.: Temperate mesophotic ecosystems: gaps and perspectives of an emerging conservation challenge for the Mediterranean Sea, The Eur. Zool. J., 8, 370–388, 2019.
Cerrano, C., Bavestrello, G., Bianchi, C. N., Calcinai, B., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Morri, C., and Sarà, M.: The Role of Sponge Bioerosion in Mediterranean Coralligenous Accretion, in: Mediterranean Ecosystems: Structures and Processes, edited by: Faranda, F. M., Guglielmo, L., and Spezie, G., 235–240, Springer Milan, 2001.
Chafetz, H. S.: Marine peloids: a product of bacterially induced precipitation of calcite, J. Sediment. Petrol., 56, 812–817, 1986.
Cipriani, M., Basso, D., Bazzicalupo, P., Bertolino, M., Bracchi, V. A., Bruno, F., Costa, G., Dominici, R., Gallo, A., Muzzupappa, M., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Sciuto, F., and Guido, A.: The role of non-skeletal carbonate component in Mediterranean Coralligenous: new insight from the CRESCIBLUREEF project, Rend, Online Soc. Geol. It., 59, 75–79, 2023.
Corriero, G., Scalera Liaci, L., Ruggiero, D., and Pansini, M.: The sponge community of a semi-submerged Mediterranean cave, Mar. Ecol., 21, 85–96, 2000.
Costa, G., Bavestrello, G., Micaroni, V., Pansini, M., Strano, F., and Bertolino, M.: Sponge Community Variation along the Apulian Coasts (Otranto Strait) over a Pluri-Decennial Time Span. Does Water Warming Drive a Sponge Diversity Increasing in the Mediterranean Sea?, J. Mar. Biol. Ass., 99, 1519–1534, 2019.
Deias, C., Guido, A., Sanfilippo, R., Apollaro, C., Dominici, R., Cipriani, M., Barca, D., and Vespasiano, G.: Elemental Fractionation in Sabellariidae (Polychaeta) Biocement and Comparison with Seawater Pattern: A New Environmental Proxy in a High-Biodiversity Ecosystem?, Water, 15, 1549, https://doi.org/10.3390/w15081549, 2023.
Delecat, S. and Reitner, J.: Sponge communities from the Lower Liassic of Adnet (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria), Facies, 51, 385–404, 2005.
Delecat, S., Peckman, J., and Reitner, J.: Non-rigid cryptic sponges in oyster patch reefs (Lower Kimmeridgian, Langenberg/Oker, Germany), Facies, 45, 231–254, 2001.
Di Geronimo, I., Di Geronimo, R., Improta, S., Rosso, A., andSanfilippo, R.: Preliminary Observations on a Columnar Coralline Build-Up from off SE Sicily, Biol. Mar. Mediterr., 8, 1–10, 2001.
Di Geronimo, I., Di Geronimo, R., Rosso, A., and Sanfilippo, R.: Structural and Taphonomic Analysis of a Columnar Coralline Algal Build-Up from SE Sicily, Geobios, 35, 86–95, 2002.
Donato, G., Sanfilippo, R., Sciuto, F., D’Alpa, F., Serio, D., Bracchi,V. A., Bazzicalupo, P., Negri, P., Guido, A., Bertolino, M., Costa, G., and Basso, D.: Biodiversity of a Coralligenous Build-up off Marzamemi (SE Sicily, Ionian Sea), in UNEP SPA/RAC, Proceedings of the 4th Mediterranean Symposium on the Conservation of the Coralligenous and Other Calcareous Bio-Concretions, Genova, Italy, 151–152, 2022.
Dupraz, C. and Strasser, A.: Microbialites and micro-encrusters in shallow coral bioherms (Middle-Late Oxfordian, Swiss Jura Mountains), Facies, 40,101–130, 1999.
Dupraz, C., Reid, P. R., Braissant, O., Decho, A. W., Norman, R. S., and Visscher, P. T.: Processes of carbonate precipitation in modern microbial mats, Earth Sci. Rev., 96, 141–162, 2009.
Evcen, A. and Çinar, M. E.: Bioeroding sponge species (Porifera) in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean), J. Black Sea/Medit. Environ., 21, 285–306, 2015.
Fichez, R.: Absence of redox potential discontinuity in dark submarine cave sediments as evidence of oligotrophic conditions, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 31, 875–881, 1990.
Fichez, R.: Suspended particulate organic matter in a Mediterranean submarine cave, Mar. Biol., 108, 167–174, 1991.
Folk, R. L. and Chafetz, H. S.: Bacterially induced microscale and nanoscale carbonate precipitates, in: Microbial Sediments, edited by: Riding, R. E. and Awramik, S. M., 40–49, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2000.
Garrabou, J. and Ballesteros, E.: Growth of Mesophyllum alternans and Lithophyllum frondosum (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the northwestern Mediterranean, Eur. J. Phycol., 35, 1–10, 2000.
Gennaro, P., Piazzi, L., Cecchi, E., Montefalcone, M., Morri, C., and Bianchi, C. N.: Monitoring and assessment of the ecological status of coralligenous habitat, The coralligenous cliff, ISPRA, Manuali e Linee Guida, 191bis, 2020.
Gischler, E., Heindel, K., Birgel, D., Brunner, B., Reitner, J., and Peckmann, J.: Cryptic biostalactites in a submerged karst cave of the Belize Barrier Reef revisited: Pendant bioconstructions cemented by microbial micrite, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 278, 34–51, 2017a.
Gischler, E., Birgel, D., Brunner, B., Eisenhauer, A., Meyer, G., Buhre, S., and Peckmann, J.: A giant underwater stalactite from the Blue Hole, Belize, revisited: a complex history of massive carbonate accretion under changing meteoric and marine conditions, J. Sediment. Res., 87, 1260–1284, 2017b.
Glynn, P. W. and Manzello, D. P.: Bioerosion and coral reef growth: a dynamic balance, in: Coral Reefs in the Anthropocene, edited by: Birkeland, C., 67–97, Dordrecht, Springer, 2015.
Grotzinger, J. P. and Knoll, A. H.: Stromatolites in Precambrian carbonates: evolutionary mileposts or environmental dipsticks?, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 27, 313–358, 1999.
Guido, A., Mastandrea, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., and Russo, F.: Micrite precipitation induced by sulphate reducing bacteria in serpulid bioconstructions from submarine caves (Syracuse, Sicily), Rend. Online Soc. Geol. Ital., 21, 933–934, 2012.
Guido, A., Heindel, K., Birgel, D., Rosso, A., Mastandrea, A., Sanfilippo, R., Russo, F., and Peckmann, J.: Pendant bioconstructions cemented by microbial carbonate in submerged marine caves (Holocene, SE Sicily), Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 388, 166–180, 2013.
Guido, A., Mastandrea, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Tosti, F., Riding, R., and Russo, F.: Commensal symbiosis between agglutinated polychaetes and sulfate reducing bacteria, Geobiology, 12, 265–275, 2014.
Guido, A., Mastandrea, A., Stefani, M., and Russo, F.: Role of autochthonous versus detrital micrite in depositional geometries of Middle Triassic carbonate platform systems, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 128, 989–999, 2016.
Guido, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Russo, F., and Mastandrea, A.: Microbial biomineralization in biotic crusts from a Pleistocene Marine Cave (NW Sicily, Italy), Geomicrobiol J., 34, 864–872, 2017a.
Guido, A., Jimenez, C., Achilleos, K., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Hadjioannou, L., Petrou, A., Russo, F., and Mastandrea, A.: Cryptic serpulid microbialite bioconstructions in the Kakoskali submarine cave (Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean), Facies, 63, 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-017-0502-3, 2017b.
Guido, A., Gerovasileiou, V., Russo, F. Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Voultsiadou, E., and Mastandrea, A.: Composition and biostratinomy of sponge-rich biogenic crusts in submarine caves (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterrenean), Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 534, 109338, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109338, 2019a.
Guido, A., Gerovasileios, V., Russo, F., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Voultsiadou, E., and Mastandrea, A.: Dataset of biogenic crusts from submarine caves of the Aegean Sea: An example of sponges vs microbialites competition in cryptic environments, Data in Brief, 27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2019.104745, 2019b.
Guido, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Miriello, D., and Belmonte, G.: Skeletal vs microbialite geobiological role in bioconstructions of confined marine environments, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 593, 110920, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.110920, 2022.
Harmelin, J. G.: Organisation spatiale des communautés sessiles des grottes sousmarines de Méditerranée, in Rapports et Procés-Verbaux de la Commission International pour l'exploitation de la Mer Méditerranée, Monaco, 5, 149–153, 1985.
Hong, J. S.: Contribution a l'étude des Peuplements d'un Fond de Concrétionnement Corllaigène dans la Région Marsaillaise en Méditerranéee Nord-Occidentale, Bull. Korea Oc. Res. Develop. Inst., 4, 27–51, 1982.
Ingrosso, G., Abbiati, M., Badalamenti, F., Bavestrello, G., Belmonte, G., Cannas, R., Benedetti Cecchi, L., Bertolino, M., Bevilacqua, S., Bianchi, C. N., Bo, M., Boscari, E., Cardone, F., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Cau, A., Cerrano, C., Chemello, R., Chimienti, G., Congiu, L., Corriero, G., Costantini, F., De Leo, F., Donnarumma, L., Falace, A., Fraschetti, S., Giangrande, A., Gravina, M. F., Guarnieri, G., Mastrototaro, F., Milazzo, M., Morri, C., Musco, L., Pezzolesi, L., Piraino, S., Prada, F., Ponti, M., Rindi, F., Russo, G. F., Sandulli, R., Villamor, A., Zane, L., and Boero, F.: Mediterranean Bioconstructions along the Italian Coast, Adv. Mar. Biol., 79, 61–136, 2018.
Jimenez, C., Achilleos, K., Petrou, A., Hadjioannou, L., Guido, A., Rosso, A., Gerovasileiou, V., Albano, P. G., Di Franco, D., Andreou, V., and Abu Alhaija, R.: A dream within a dream: Kakoskali Cave, a unique marine ecosystem in Cyprus (Levantine Sea), in: Marine Caves of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Biodiversity, Threats and Conservation, edited by: Oztürk, B., Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), Istanbul, Turkey, Publication, 53, 91–110, 2019.
Kazanidis, G., Guido, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Roberts, J. M., and Gerovasileiou, V.: One on Top of the Other: Exploring the Habitat Cascades Phenomenon in Iconic Biogenic Marine Habitats, Diversity, 14, 290, https://doi.org/10.3390/d14040290, 2022.
Kazmierczak, J., Coleman, M. L., Gruszczynski, M., and Kempe, S.: Cyanobacterial key to the genesis of micritic and peloidal limestones in ancient seas, Acta Palaeontol. Pol., 41, 319–338, 1996.
Kennard, J. M. and James, N. P.: Thrombolites and stromatolites: two distinct types of microbial structures, Palaios, 1, 492–503, 1986.
Komeili, A.: Molecular mechanisms of magnetosome formation, Annu. Rev. Biochem., 76, 351–366, 2007.
La Rivière, M., Michez, N., Delavenne, J., Andres, S., Fréjefond, C., Janson, A.-L., Abadie, A., Amouroux, J.-M., Bellan, G., Bellan-Santini, D., Chevaldonné, P., Cimiterra, N., Derolez, V., Fernez, T., Fourt, M., Frisoni, F., Grillas, P., Harmelin, J. G., Jordana, E., Klesczewski, M., Labrune, C., Mouronval, J. B., Ouisse, V., Palomba, L., Pasqualini, V, Pelaprat, C., Pérez, T., Pergent, G., Pergent-Martini, C., Sartoretto, S., Thibaut, T., Vacelet, J., and Verlaque, M.: Fiches descriptives des biocénoses benthiques de Méditerranée, Paris: UMS PatriNat (OFB-CNRS-MNHN), 660, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2020.03.064, 2021.
Laborel, J.: Le concrétionnement algal “Coralligene” et son importance géomorphologique en Méditerranée, Rec. Trav. Stn. Mar. d'Endoume, 37, 37–60, 1961.
Leinfelder, R. and Keupp, H.: Upper Jurassic mud mounds: Allochthonous sedimentation versus autochthonous carbonate production, in: Mud Mounds: A Polygenetic Spectrum of Fine-grained Carbonate, edited by: Reitner, J. and Neuweiler, F., 17–26, Facies, 1995.
Lowenstam, H. A. and Weiner, S.: On biomineralization, in: Biomineralization: Principles and Concepts in Bioinorganic Materials Chemistry, edited by: Mann, S., 216 pp., Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.
Mann, S.: Mineralization in biological systems, Struct. Bonding, 54, 125–174, 1983.
Mann, S.: Biomineralization: principles and concepts in bioinorganic materials chemistry, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001.
Marchese, F., Bracchi, V. A., Lisi, G., Basso, D., Corselli, C., and Savini, A.: Assessing Fine-Scale Distribution and Volume of Mediterranean Algal Reefs through Terrain Analysis of Multibeam Bathymetric Data, A Case Study in the Southern Adriatic Continental Shelf, Water, 12, 157, https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010157, 2020.
Marion, A. F.: Esquisse d'une topographie zoologique du Golfe de Marseille, Ann. Mus. Hist. Natur. Marseille, 1, 1–108, 1883.
Marlow, J., Schönberg, C. H. L., Davy, S. K., Haris, A., Jompa, J., and Bell, J. J.: Bioeroding sponge assemblages: the importance of substrate availability and sediment, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK, 99, 343–358, 2018.
Monty, C. L. V.: The origin and development of cryptalgal fabrics, in: Stromatolites, Development in Sedimentology, edited by: Walter, M. R., 198–249, Elsevier, New York, 1976.
Nalin, R., Basso, D., and Massari, F.: Pleistocene coralline algal build-ups (coralligène de plateau) and associated bioclastic deposits in the sedimentary cover of Cutro marine terrace (Calabria, southern Italy), Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ., 255, 11–22, 2006.
Nava, H. and Carballo, J. L.: Environmental factors shaping boring sponge assemblages at Mexican Pacific coral reefs, Mar. Ecol. Evol. Persp., 34, 269–279, 2013.
Neuweiler, F., Gautret, P., Thiel, V., Lange, R., Michaelis, W., and Reitner, J.: Petrology of Lower Cretaceous carbonate mud mounds (Albian, N. Spain): insights into organomineralic deposits of the geological record, Sedimentology, 46, 837–859, 1999.
Neuweiler, F., Rutsch, M., Geipel, G., Reimer, A., and Heise, K. H.: Soluble humic substances from in situ precipitated microcrystalline calcium carbonate, internal sediment, and spar cement in a Cretaceous carbonate mud-mound, Geology, 28, 851–854, 2000.
Neuweiler, F., D'orazio, V., Immenhauser, A., Geipel, G., Heise, K.-H., Cocozza, C., and Miano, T. M.: Fulvic-acid-like organic compounds control nucleation of marine calcite under suboxic conditions, Geology, 31, 681–684, 2003.
Neuweiler, F., Daoust, I., Bourque, P. A., and Burdige, D.: Degradative Calcification of a Modern Siliceous Sponge from the Great Bahama Bank, The Bahamas: A Guide for Interpretation of Ancient Sponge-Bearing Limestones, J. Sediment. Res., 77, 552–563, 2007.
Neuweiler, F., Kershaw, S., Boulvain, F., Matysik, M., Sendino, C., Mcmenamin, M., and Munnecke, A.: Keratose sponges in ancient carbonates – A problem of interpretation, Sedimentology, 70, 927–969, 2023.
Onorato, R., Forti, P., Belmonte, G., Costantini, A., and Poto, M.: La grotta sottomarina lu Lampiùne: novità esplorative e prime indagini ecologiche, Thalass, Salentina, 26, 55–64, 2003.
Onorato, R. and Belmonte, G.: Submarine caves of the Salento Peninsula: Faunal aspects, Thalass, Salentina, 39, 47–72, 2017.
Pérès, J. M.: Major Benthic Assemblages, in Marine Ecology, edited by: Kinne O., John-Wiley Publ. Lond., 5, 373–522, 1982.
Pérès, J. M. and Picard, J.: Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la Méditerranée, Rec. Trav. Stat. Mar. Endoume, 31, 137 pp., 1964.
Perry, R. S., Mcloughlin, N., Lynne, B. Y., Septhon, M. A., Oliver, J. D., Perry, C. C., Campbell, K., Engel, M. H., Farmer, J. D., Brasier, M. D., and Staley, J. T.: Defining biominerals and organominerals: direct and indirect indicators of life, Sediment. Geol., 201, 157–179, 2007.
Phillips, A. J., Gerlach, R., Lauchnor, E., Mitchell, A. C., Cunningham, A. B., and Spangler, L.: Engineered applications of ureolytic biomineralization: a review, Biofouling, 29, 715–733, 2013.
Pickard, N. A. H.: Evidence for microbial influence on the development of Lower Carboniferous buildups, in: Recent Advances in Lower Carboniferous Geology, edited by: Strogen, P., Somerville, I. D., and Jones, G. L., Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ., 107, 65–82, 1996.
Pratt, B. R.: Microbial contribution to reefal mud-mounds in ancient deep-water settings: Evidence from the Cambrian, in: Microbial Sediments, edited by: Riding, R. E. and Awramik, M., 282–288, Springer, Berlin, 2000.
Rasser, M. W.: Coralline Red Algal Limestones of the Late Eocene Alpine Foreland Basin in Upper Austria: Component Analysis, Facies and Palecology, Facies, 42, 59–92, 2000.
Reid, R. P., Visscher, P. T., Decho, A. W., Stolz, J. K., Bebout, B. M., Dupraz, C., Mactintyre, I. G., Paerl, H. W., Pinckney, J. L., Prufert-Bebout, L., Steppe, T. F., and DesMarais, D. J.: The role of microbes in accretion, lamination and early lithification of modern marine stromatolites, Nature, 406, 989–992, https://doi.org/10.1038/35023158, 2000.
Reitner, J.: Modern cryptic microbialite/metazoan facies from Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia): formation and concepts, Facies, 29, 3–40, 1993.
Reitner, J. and Neuweiler, F.: Mud Mounds: A polygenetic spectrum of fine-grained carbonate buildups, Facies, 32, 1–70, 1995.
Reitner, J., Gautret, P., Marin, F., and Neuweiler, F.: Automicrites in modern marine microbialite. Formation model via organic matrices (Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia), Bull. Inst. Océanogr. (Monaco), 14, 237–264, 1995.
Reolid, M.: Taphonomy of the Oxfordian-Lowermost Kimmeridgian Siliceous Sponges of the Prebetic Zone (Southern Iberia), J. Taphonomy, 5, 71–90, 2007.
Reolid, M.: Interactions between microbes and siliceous sponges from Upper Jurassic buildups of External Prebetic (SE Spain), Lect. Notes Earth Sci., 131, 319–330, 2010.
Riding, R.: Microbial carbonates: the geological record of calcified bacterial-algal mats and biofilms, Sedimentology, 47, 179–214, 2000.
Riding, R.: Structure and Composition of Organic Reefs and Carbonate Mud Mounds: Concepts and Categories, Earth-Sci. Rev., 58, 163–231, 2002.
Riding, R.: Microbialites, stromatolites, and thrombolites, in: Encyclopedia of Geobiology, Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series, edited by: Reitner, J. and Thiel, V., Springer, Heidelberg, 635–654, 2011.
Riding, R. and Liang, L.: Geobiology of microbial carbonates: metazoan and seawater saturation state influences on secular trends during the Phanerozoic, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 219, 101–115, 2005.
Riding, R. and Tomás, S.: Stromatolite reef crusts, Early Cretaceous, Spain: bacterial origin of in situ precipitated peloid microspar?, Sedimentology, 53, 23–34, 2006.
Riding, R. and Virgone, A.: Hybrid Carbonates: in situ abiotic, microbial and skeletal coprecipitates, Earth Sci. Rev., 208, 103300, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103300, 2020.
Riding, R., Liang, L., and Braga, J. C.: Millennial-scale ocean acidification and late Quaternary decline of cryptic bacterial crusts in tropical reefs, Geobiology, 12, 387–405, 2014.
Rosell, D. and Uriz, M. J.: Do associated zooxanthellae and the nature of the substratum affect survival, attachment and growth of Cliona viridis (Porifera: Hadromerida)? An experimental approach, Mar. Biol., 114, 503–507, 1992.
Rosso A. and Sanfilippo R.: The contribution of bryozoans and serpuloideans to coralligenous concretions from SE Sicily, in: UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, Proc. First Symposium on the Coralligenous and other calcareous bio-concretions of the Mediterranean Sea, Tabarka, 123–128, 2009.
Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Guido, A., Gerovasileiou, V., Taddei Ruggiero, E., and Belmonte, G.: Colonisers of the dark: biostalactite-associated metazoans from “lu Lampiùne” submarine cave (Apulia, Mediterranean Sea), Mar. Ecol. 42, e12634, https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12634, 2020.
Rosso, A., Altieri, C., Bazzicalupo, P., Bertolino, M., Bracchi, V.A., Bruno, F., Cipriani, M., Costa, G., D’alpa, F., Donato, G., Fallati, L., Gallo, A., Guido, A., Leonardi, R., Muzzupappa, M., Negri, M. P., Sanfilippo, R., Savini, A., Sciuto, F., Serio, D., Taddei Ruggiero, E., Varzi, A. G., Viola, A., and Basso D.: Bridging together research and technological innovation: first results and expected bearings of the project cresciblureef on mediterranean coralligenous. 4th Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of Coralligenous & other Calcareous Bio-Concretions, Genoa, 108–113, 2023.
Sanfilippo, R., Rosso, A., Guido, A, Mastandrea, A., Russo, F., Riding, R., and Taddei Ruggiero, E.: Metazoan/microbial biostalactites from present-day submarine caves in the Mediterranean Sea, Mar. Ecol., 36, 1277–1293, 2015.
Sanfilippo, R., Rosso, A., Guido A., and Gerovasileiou, V.: Serpulid communities from two marine caves in the Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK, 97, 1059–1068, 2017.
Sartoretto, S., Verlaque, M., and Labore, J.: Age of settlement and accumulation rate of submarine “coralligène” (−10 to −60 m) of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea; relation to Holocene rise in sea level, Mar. Geol., 130, 317–331, 1996.
Schönberg, C. H. L.: A history of sponge erosion: from past myths and hypotheses to recent approaches, in: Current Developments in Bioerosion, edited by: Wisshak, M. and Tapanila, L., 165–202, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 2008.
Sciuto, F., Altieri, C., Basso, D., D’Alpa, F., Donato, G., Bracchi,V. A., Cipriani, M., Guido, A., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Serio, D., and Viola, A.: Preliminary data on ostracods and foraminifers living on coralligenous bioconstructions Offshore Marzamemi (Ionian Sea, Se Sicily), Rev. Micropaléontol., 18, 100711, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2023.100711, 2023.
Scott, P. J. B., Moser, K. A., and Risk, M. J.: Bioerosion of concrete and limestone by marine organisms: a 13 year experiment from Jamaica, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 19, 219–222, 1988.
Shen, Y. and Neuweiler, F.: Questioning the microbial origin of automicrite in Ordovician, Calathid–Demosponge carbonate mounds, Sedimentology, 65, 303–333, 2018.
Stockman, K. W., Ginsburg, R. N., and Shinn, E. A.: The production of lime mud by algae in South Florida, J. Sediment. Petrol., 37, 633–648, 1967.
Titschack, J., Nelson, C. S., Beck, T., Freiwald, A., and Radtke, U.: Sedimentary Evolution of a Late Pleistocene Temperate Red Algal Reef (Coralligène) on Rhodes, Greece: Correlation with Global Sea-Level Fluctuations, Sedimentology, 55, 1747–1776, 2008.
Trichet, J. and Défarge, C.: Non biologically supported organomineralization, in: Proc. 7th Int. Symp. Biomineralization, edited by: Allemand, D. and Cuif, J. P., Bulletinde l'Institut Océanographique de Monaco, 14, 203–236, 1995.
Tucker, M. E. and Wright, V. P.: Carbonate Sedimentology, London, Blackwell Scientific Publications, 488 pp., 1990.
Turicchia, E., Abbiati, M., Bettuzzi, M., Calcinai, B., Morigi, M. P., Summers, A. P., and Ponti, M.: Bioconstruction and Bioerosion in the Northern Adriatic Coralligenous Reefs Quantified by X-Ray Computed Tomography, Front. Mar. Sci., 8, 790869, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.790869, 2022.
Van Driessche, A. E. S., Stawski, T. M., and Kellermeier, M.: Calcium sulfate precipitation pathways in natural and engineered environments, Chem. Geol., 530, 119274, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.119274, 2019.
Varzi, A. G., Fallati, L., Savini, A., Bracchi, V. A., Bazzicalupo, P., Rosso, A., Sanfilippo, R., Bertolino, M., Muzzupappa, M., and Basso, D.: Geomorphological mapping of Coralligenous reefs offshore southeastern Sicily (Ionian Sea), J. Maps, 19, 2161963, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2022.2161963, 2023.
Warnkle, K.: Calcification processes of siliceous sponges in Visean Limestones (Counties Sligo and Leitrim, northwestern Ireland), Facies, 33, 215–228, 1995.
Weiner, S. and Dove, P. M.: An overview of biomineralization processes and the problem of the vital effect, Biomineralization, 54, 1–29, 2003.
Wolf, K. H.: Gradational sedimentary products of calcareous algae, Sedimentology, 5, 1–37, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1965.tb01556.x, 1965.
Wood, R.: Are reefs and mounds really so different?, Sediment. Geol., 145, 161–171, 2001.
Short summary
Who constructs the build-ups of the Mediterranean Sea? What is the role of skeletal and soft-bodied organisms in these bioconstructions? Do bacteria play a role in their formation? In this research, for the first time, the coralligenous of the Mediterranean shelf is studied from a geobiological point of view with an interdisciplinary biological and geological approach, highlighting important biotic relationships that can be used in interpreting the fossil build-up systems.
Who constructs the build-ups of the Mediterranean Sea? What is the role of skeletal and...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint