Turritella Communis: an Adriatic Ecosystem Engineer

Common tower shell, Turritella communis Risso, 1826 is the most abundant gastropod in the Adriatic Sea. This species is considered an "Ecosystem engineer" as it constitutes a substratum for numerous epibionts and its empty shell provides refuge from predation, lowering the levels of physical or physiological stress for organisms living inside. The aim of this study was to understand the T. communis role in the benthos community restoration after gas platform installation, generally causing an initial species richness "breakdown", and investigate the multi-symbiotic relationships found inside its shells. These shells seem to play a role in the species enrichment process of the benthic community associated to a gas platform.