Trophic features of benthic communities in the northern Adriatic Sea

A three-years study is being carried out in the Adriatic Sea in the framework of the project PRISMA 2. One of its purposes is to assess changes in the structures of benthic communities, linked to increase of anthropogenic impact which occurred in the last decades. Till now sampling activities were performed in the Northern Adriatic Sea along four transects perpendicular to the shore, located from Chioggia to Ravenna. Samples were collected by a Van-Veen grab and a box-corer. Sediment structure, in terms of grain distribution and carbon-nitrogen content, and benthic communities distribution, according to molluscs and echinoderms, were assessed. Benthic community distribution strongly linked to environmental features was observed underlined by multivariate analysis.