Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Drifting of Surface Water Masses in the South Adriatic Suggests an Interpretation of Brachyura Dispersal Based on Pelagic Larvae

Version 1 : Received: 31 May 2023 / Approved: 1 June 2023 / Online: 1 June 2023 (04:48:32 CEST)

How to cite: Granata, A.; Bergamasco, A.; Bonanzinga, V.; Celentano, P.; Guglielmo, L.; Minutoli, R.; Vanucci, S.; Veneziano, F.; Zambianchi, E.; Belmonte, G. Drifting of Surface Water Masses in the South Adriatic Suggests an Interpretation of Brachyura Dispersal Based on Pelagic Larvae. Preprints 2023, 2023060028. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202306.0028.v1 Granata, A.; Bergamasco, A.; Bonanzinga, V.; Celentano, P.; Guglielmo, L.; Minutoli, R.; Vanucci, S.; Veneziano, F.; Zambianchi, E.; Belmonte, G. Drifting of Surface Water Masses in the South Adriatic Suggests an Interpretation of Brachyura Dispersal Based on Pelagic Larvae. Preprints 2023, 2023060028. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202306.0028.v1

Abstract

Among Crustacea, Decapoda Brachyura represent a good candidate for studies on the dispersal capability of coastal benthos by means of larvae. One oceanographic cruise allowed us to describe larvae dispersal routes in the South Adriatic Sea thanks to a multidisciplinary approach. In May 2013 a swarm of zoeae (11 Brachyura taxa, mostly at first instar, with Xantho granulicarpus at 87%) was recorded in the neuston of the Italian side of the basin. Complementary collections of zooplankton, in the same cruise, demonstrated that Decapoda larvae were not abundant below the neuston and concentrated in the first 20-30 m surface layer, with which probably they drift together. The availability of four satellite-tracked surface drifters in the same area and period of the larvae presence, represented a possibility to discuss the geographic dispersal of larvae on the basis of the surface circulation in successive days. During the studied period, only one drifter crossed the south Adriatic passing from the Italian to the Balkan neritic area, employing about 40 days. The daily vertical migration of larvae suggest that they can only employ more time to cross the basin, subtracting and re-entering the surface moving waters. The actual genetic homogeneity of populations of many Brachyura coastal species on the opposite sides of the Adriatic Sea suggests the existence of a genetic connection which, however, should not rely exclusively upon larvae circulation and needs to be fueled by additional strategies of biological communication.

Keywords

Ecological connectivity; brachyura larvae; diel vertical migration; Pelagic Life Duration; Adriatic Sea

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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