Proposer:

Name: Ferdinando Boero, Simonetta Fraschetti, Antonio Terlizzi, Genuario Belmonte

e-mail address: sfrasca@ilenic.unile.it

Proposed Primary Site: The coast from Otranto (Lat. 40°08’29’’; Long. 18°30’30’’) to Santa Maria di Leuca (Lat. 39°50’13’’; Long. 18°23’04’’) (South Adriatic – Ionian Sea, Italy)

List potential sources of pollution that are likely to impinge on the site:-

Industrial pollution: absent

Agricultural pollution: absent

Mining: absent

Dumping: absent

Dredging: absent

150.000 inhabitants. The average population growth is not known at present.

To date, there are no sewage discharges along the coast, besides some illegal outfall of limit impacted. Most human waste is collected by special firms and discharged elsewhere. As a consequences it is impossible to give an estimate of the quantity and quality of the output.

Trawling on soft bottoms three miles away from the coast. Artisanal fishing by trammel-net, long-lines and lobster traps.

Date mussel fisheries are widespread in the upper sublittoral. This illegal fishery has devastating impact on benthic communities and has been thoroughly studied in the last ten years. The core of biodiversity, though, is also hosted in marine caves, and these are unaffected by any kind of fishery.

537.439 Italian tourists plus 100.103 foreign tourists estimated during the 2000, especially concentrated in the summer period (June-September).

The coast has been studied during a two-years EU funded INTERREG project aimed at identifying pristine areas for the institution of Marine Protected Areas in the Salento Peninsula and its high environmental quality results from that research.

All chemical, physical and biological data are contained in the final INTERREG report to the funding agency. The report is going to be completed by the end of November. It will be available immediately after

List the range of habitats present at the site:-

Littoral

Rock: rocky cliffs with flourishing Cystoseira fringe spp.

Sand: limited to a few coves

Mud: muddy littorals are very rare in the Mediterranean and host a much lower biodiversity than rocky shores

Sublittoral

Rock: almost all shore is rocky from the intertidal to 30-40 meter depth

Sand:

Mud:

Seagrass beds:

The region is also characterized by coastal ponds and lagoons and by sandy beaches. These, however, are much impacted by human activities and are inhabited by much less original biota than the proposed coast.

Amphiroa sp.

A CD-ROM on the benthic species collected in that area is available. It was created for helping the underwater visual census with pictures and description of about 250 species

In order to achieve a permanent protection the area has been proposed for the institution of a Marine Protected Area

Is it limited seasonally (e.g. not accessible in winter)? It is accessible in every season.

Is it accessible by car or by boat (indicate means of transport and distance from laboratory facilities in km)? It is accessible both by car and by boat. The distance is about 40 km from the University of Lecce. The Zoology Laboratory has also a NISSAN Pick up, available for getting these sampling places.

What is the status of local facilities:

Laboratory: The Laboratory of Zoology of the Lecce University offers all kinds of facilities, from computers (both PC and MacIntosh) to binoculars and microscops.

Boats: Mako 162, 5.8 m, outboard Mercury 150

Are these facilities available for guest researchers? All kinds of facilities: diving, analysis of samples, computer and library use.

What facilities are there for SCUBA diving? The Zoology Lab. has a diving center inside the University, with a compressor too.

What housing is available? Dorms are available for visiting people.

AFRODITE, funded by the italian Ministero Ambiente, 62000 EU

INTERREG Italy Greece, EU funded project, 10300 EU

Ferdinando Boero (full professor, 4 months)

Simonetta Fraschetti (researcher, 6 months)

Antonio Terlizzi (researcher, 6 months)

Genuario Belmonte (associate professor, 4 months)

Adriana Giangrande (associate professor, 4 months)

Paolo Guidetti (Ph.D., 6 months)

Simona Bussotti (Ph.D., 6 months)

The site is made of about 60 km of steep rocky shores with long stretches of completely pristine coast. The few villages are small and traditional, with almost no sign of the illegal buildings that characterise many Italian coasts. There are no rivers, but the underground water is abundant. The rocks are soft, and this has led to an unparalleled system of caves, some on land (with prehistoric paintings) but most underwater. The currents of the strait of Otranto warrant a rich nutrient input, so that the hard bottom benthos is particularly flourishing, with formations that have no comparison in temperate areas. Coralligenous formations are particularly rich in the caves, with downgrowths similar to stalactites, formed mainly by calcified organisms such as bryozoans. Every cave is a world of its own, many have been discovered and mapped, but many are still to be discovered and explored. The rate of newly recorded caves is very high. In a study on the variability of cave benthos we looked for three linear caves about 60 m long. Only one was already known, the other two were found in three days of surveying. In one of these caves the hydroid Codonorchis octaedrus has been found recently and linked to a medusa described by Haeckel two centuries ago and never found again since then. The coast is listed in a law that identifies locations for the institution of Marine Protected Areas. Unfortunately, the MPA has not been instituted yet, but a Consortium of coastal towns is asking for it, the public being aware of the potential of the area in terms of ecotourism. The main towns, however, are inland and they have not much impact on the coast. Tourism might be directed inland for residential purposes and driven towards the sea just for daily recreation. The Salento Peninsula is very rich in splendid Baroque towns and has a distinguished cuisine, so that ecotourism can be accompanied to cultural tourism.