Alessandro Verga
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Alessandro Verga has a total of 43 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Alberta Mandich
Department of Biology, University of Genoa, Italy
1 shared publication - Alberto Castelli
Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
1 shared publication - Ana Maria Cañadas
Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School for the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
1 shared publication - Antonella Arcangeli
Department for Biodiversity Conservation and Monitoring The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) Rome Italy
1 shared publication - Arianna Azzellino
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
1 shared publication - Aurelie Moulins
CIMA Research Foundation Savona Italy
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea: Encounter Rate, Dominant Species, and Diversity Hotspots
We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained.
Open AccessCetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea: Encounter Rate, Dominant Species, and Diversity Hotspots
We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained.