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Biodiversity and distribution of cephalopods caught by trawling along the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea

The teuthofauna assemblages of the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea were identified utilising a time series (1996-2004) of bottom trawl surveys performed in the scope of the MEDITS project. During 8 trawl surveys a total of 32 cephalopod species was caught, belonging to 8 families. All species are known in the Adriatic Sea but some species as. Neorossia caroli and Octopus defilippi were recorded for the first time in the area of investigation. The density index of cephalopods was greatest from 100 to 200 m and biomass index at depths between 10 and 50 m. Based on the density index data, the most important species were: Eledone moschata (10-50 m), Alloteuthis media, S. elegans and E. moschata (50-100 m), A. media and Illex coindetii (100–200 m), I. coindetii and Eledone cirrhosa (200–500 m). The results of multivariate analysis, based on Bray-Curtis similarity indices, showed significant difference between cephalopod assemblages in defined depth strata, with 10-50 m and 50-100 m strata being the most similar. In addition, based on the values of biomass indices and their commercial importance, five cephalopod species were chosen and their spatial distribution and recent trends were described.

Cephalopods; biodiversity; assemblages; distribution; Adriatic Sea

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