Grandjean, T.J., Miliou, A., Tsimpidis, T. The impact of anthropogenic influences on the Posidonia oceanica patchiness. Mediterranean Symposia on Marine Key Habitats and Non-Indigenous Species 2019.

Abstract:

The endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile is the most important seagrass species in the Mediterranean Sea. They form structured habitats in shallow coastal waters up to 40 metres deep which provide many ecosystem services and environmental applications for marine organisms and humans. However, P. oceanica meadows are among the most threatened coastal ecosystems worldwide with anthropogenic influences often cited as the primary cause of reduction in the extent of seagrass meadows. The expanding human activities have created human-dominated landscapes, which result in intensifying habitat fragmentation and loss within terrestrial and marine ecosystems*. The aim of the present study was to: i) present a preliminary method to assess the fragmentation with remote sensing, il) to examine the effect of different levels of naturalness on the habitat fragmentation and cover.