A unified assessment of marine Mediterranean assemblages: a lesson from benthic hydroids

Hydroids are important components of the communities of rocky bottom shallow coastal areas. The hydrozoan fauna of the Mediterranean Sea is probably one of most investigated in the world, with lots of faunistic and biogeographical studies. However, quantitative studies using the same sampling methodology and controlled sampling effort have been restricted to areas in the Western and Central Mediterranean. We compared hydroid assemblages in four areas of the Mediterranean Sea, from the Gulf of Cádiz to the South Adriatic Sea, following the same sampling and quantification methodology. Our analysis showed the dominant Atlantic character of the assemblages of the Gulf of Cádiz and the South Alboran Sea because of the influence of the inflowing Atlantic waters. Conversely, the hydroid assemblages of the North Alboran Sea were more similar to the assemblages in the Ligurian and in the South Adriatic, and with a number of species ranking between the observed in these two Mediterranean zones. Fourteen species were identified as making the most significant contributions to characterizing the Mediterranean hydroid species pool from a quantitative point of view. These taxa include species previously named as typical components of the Mediterranean hydroid fauna as well as those only recently recorded in the region (Eudendrium moulouyensis) and invaders such as Clytia hummelincki.