Wrecks as artificial reefs: benthic biota associated with scuttled wrecks in Malta and implications for conservation

Francisca Isadora Abuter Grebe

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the conservation potential of shipwrecks scuttled as diving attractions to serve as artificial reefs in the coastal area of Malta. For this, the diversity of sessile biota and fish, as well as coverage of sessile biota was compared between artificial reefs (ARs) and natural reefs (NRs) in the Ċirkewwa Ma-rine Park. The study found that NRs had higher diversity than ARs, likely due to the higher habitat heterogeneity in NRs. However, both NRs and ARs shared a high degree of similarity in terms of taxonomic composition, potentially due to similar environmental conditions. The overall cover of sessile biota in cm² per plot did not differ significantly between ARs and NRs, but the vertical plots on ARs showed a higher sum of cover in cm² than horizontal plots on ARs, and horizontal plots on NRs showed a higher sum of cover in cm² than vertical plots on NRs. However, the reasons for these differences in cover are not fully understood. Further research is needed to identify the reasons for this pattern. The study of fish found the same richness in ARs and NRs, which indicates that ARs provide a suitable habitat for fish. Further, two fish species on the NRs are currently classified as vulnerable, whereas all recorded fish species on the ARs are classified as least concern, highlighting the importance of the conservation of NRs. This study supports the idea, that wrecks as ARs have the potential to provide additional habitat for sessile biota and fish.

Keywords

marine conservation, artificial reefs, marine biology, wreck ecology, reefs

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 23. 4. 2023

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: prof. RNDr. Pavla Hejcmanová, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Miloslav Petrtýl, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Magisterský studijní program / specializace:
Wildlife and Livestock Production, Management and Conservation / Wildlife Management and Conservation