Biomineralogy: Interactions Between Benthic Organisms and Rocky Substrates
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 228
Special Issue Editors
Interests: marine zoobenthos; coralligenous reefs; petrography; mineral composition
Interests: marine zoology and biology; sponges; cnidarians
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The interaction between abiotic and biotic factors acts on the settlement, recruitment, and survival of sessile marine species at different spatial and temporal scales.
Among the main abiotic factors, that can favor or inhibit species settlement and development, the mineralogical features of the substrate have been only sporadically considered, sometimes with controversial results. It is known that the larval stages of some organisms are able to recognize and choose between different types of rock, to optimize the success of their settlement. Moreover, the structure of benthic communities is influenced by microbial biofilm, which in turn is conditioned by the lithology of the substrate. Consequently, the influence of mineral substratum can extend to different kinds of organisms, shaping the final structure of benthic communities. Understanding the reciprocal contribution of mineral composition rather than grain size in conditioning the settlement of organisms is challenging due to the multiple factors involved in the processes.
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue “Biomineralogy: Interactions between Benthic Organisms and Rocky Substrates”. Aims of the Special Issue is to revise and collect new findings on the multiple roles of rock features (mineral composition and structural arrangement, grain size, surface roughness, color, thermal capacity) in conditioning qualitative and quantitative differences between marine communities settled on different bedrocks.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: interaction between lithological and mineralogical properties of hard substrates and marine sessile organisms and/or associated vagile fauna; experimental early-stage substrate colonization; effect of specific minerals on biological system at different levels of complexity. We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Martina Canessa
Prof. Dr. Giorgio Bavestrello
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- benthic communities
- quartz
- mineral composition
- lithology
- calcite
- surface roughness
- thermal capacity
- hardness
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