Testing of different materials for artificial reefs (Western Adriatic Sea)

Four different materials have been employed since 1970s for artificial reef construction in the Adriatic Sea: concrete, traditional cement, sea-friendly cement, and coal-ash. Colonization time and species composition of the benthic communities settled on the different materials were investigated for three years after deployment. Concrete and coal-ash resulted the most suitable materials for benthic colonization in terms of density, species richness and community diversity, although the benthic communities settled on them showed some differences in species composition. In contrast, the benthic assemblages settled on traditional cement and sea-friendly cement were characterised by low densities and species richness. Moreover, the structures made of sea-friendly cement showed a delay of around one year in benthic colonization in respect to the other materials.