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Diversity
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Deep-Sea Echinoderms of the European Seas
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Deep-Sea Echinoderms of the European Seas

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 3113

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Enrichetti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. DISTAV, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’Ambiente e della Vita Università degli Studi di Genova, corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy
2. CONISMA, Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Piazzale Flaminio, 9, 00196 Roma, Italy
3. NBFC (National Biodiversity Future Center), Palermo, Italia
Interests: marine zoology; diversity; conservation; deep-sea
Dr. Margherita Toma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), via Vitaliano Brancati 48, 00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: marine zoology; diversity; conservation; deep-sea; ROV-imaging

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The phylum Echinodermata consists of five extant classes: Crinoidea, Asteroidea, Ophiuroidea, Echinoidea and Holothuroidea. They are almost exclusive marine benthic organisms, with an incredible variety of colours, sizes and body forms. Echinoderms display different feeding habits and have an important ecological role since they are primary consumers in the food chain cycle, acting as top predators and benthic grazers. Finally, in some countries they offer important benefits to human beings, being an important nutritional and medicinal source.

At present, about 7600 living species are known worldwide, from shallow-water habitats to mesophotic and bathyal depths. However, the majority of the remote and deepest areas of the oceans remain largely unexplored, hinting at the potential for new discoveries. Moreover, although some of the most charismatic and represented echinoderms taxa are found in deep waters, the information on their ecology is still highly fragmentary. The advancement of underwater equipment in the 21st century has made access to these environments easier and more cost-effective, sparking a growing interest in deep-sea creatures, including echinoderms.

This Special Issue aims to collect any interesting contributions useful to advancing knowledge regarding the diversity, distribution, and ecology of echinoderms inhabiting the deepest parts of the European Sea. Both original manuscripts and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Francesco Enrichetti
Dr. Margherita Toma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Echinodermata
  • marine benthic organisms
  • deep-sea creature

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 6246 KiB  
Article
Mesophotic and Bathyal Echinoderms of the Italian Seas
by Margherita Toma, Giorgio Bavestrello, Francesco Enrichetti, Andrea Costa, Michela Angiolillo, Alessandro Cau, Franco Andaloro, Simonepietro Canese, Silvestro Greco and Marzia Bo
Diversity 2024, 16(12), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16120753 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 701
Abstract
Echinoderms are among the most charismatic megabenthic taxa in mesophotic and deep waters. However, they generally have a scattered distribution and are difficult to collect, especially on hardgrounds, so defining their abundance, distribution and ecological preferences is challenging. The largest available Italian remotely [...] Read more.
Echinoderms are among the most charismatic megabenthic taxa in mesophotic and deep waters. However, they generally have a scattered distribution and are difficult to collect, especially on hardgrounds, so defining their abundance, distribution and ecological preferences is challenging. The largest available Italian remotely operated vehicle dataset, including 624 dives carried out between 2006 and 2022 in coastal and offshore areas in the depth range of 40–1825 m, was used to assess echinoderm diversity and large-scale geographic and bathymetric distributions. Thirty-nine taxa were identified, including three rarely reported from the Mediterranean basin. The maximum diversity and occurrence of the deep-sea echinoderm fauna were reported from the northern areas, and generally, they decreased with depth and distance from the coast. Species, mostly of Atlantic origin, were mainly distributed according to their thermic preferences. The recorded species occurred in a large variety of habitats, including some in which, differently from what was reported in the literature, they formed dense aggregations. The high densities of individuals were hypothesised to be related, in some cases, to reproductive, feeding or stress situations. Environmental predictors were considered in order to both investigate patterns in community composition and the response of the studied community to them. This work enhances the knowledge of deep-sea Mediterranean echinoderms, fundamental to implementing more effective monitoring and conservation strategies for the habitats in which they thrive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep-Sea Echinoderms of the European Seas)
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7 pages, 6370 KiB  
Communication
Recruitment of the Basket Star Astrospartus mediterraneus (Risso, 1826) (Ophiuroidea, Gorgonocephalidae)
by Martina Canessa, Egidio Trainito and Giorgio Bavestrello
Diversity 2024, 16(9), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16090528 - 1 Sep 2024
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Abstract
The occurrence and abundance of Astrospartus mediterraneus (Risso, 1826) have significantly increased in the last three decades in several areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Tavolara–Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area (NE Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea), 60 specimens were observed mainly [...] Read more.
The occurrence and abundance of Astrospartus mediterraneus (Risso, 1826) have significantly increased in the last three decades in several areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Tavolara–Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area (NE Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea), 60 specimens were observed mainly on the granitic shoals of the Tavolara Channel, an area characterized by very intense currents and high sedimentation. The basket stars were mainly found living as epibionts of gorgonians (Eunicella verrucosa, Paramuricea clavata and Leptogorgia sarmentosa) and massive sponges (Spongia officinalis, S. lamella, Sarcotragus foetidus). We also documented 21 small specimens (3–20 mm in diameter of the oral disc) observed in June 2024 between 27 and 52 m depth on E. verrucosa and P. clavata colonies. The bimodal size-frequency distribution of these specimens suggested that, probably, specimens belong to two different reproductive events occurring in spring 2023 and 2024. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep-Sea Echinoderms of the European Seas)
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21 pages, 5790 KiB  
Article
Deep-Sea Ophiuroids (Echinodermata; Ophiuroidea) from the Avilés Canyon System: Seven New Records for the Spanish North Atlantic Marine Subdivision
by Aurora Macías-Ramírez, Laura M. García-Guillén and M. Eugenia Manjón-Cabeza
Diversity 2024, 16(7), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070407 - 14 Jul 2024
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Abstract
The Avilés Canyon System (ACS) is located in the southern Bay of Biscay (northern Spain, Cantabrian Sea). It has been declared a Site of Community Importance (SCI: C ESZZ12003) within the Natura 2000 Network and recognized as a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME). This [...] Read more.
The Avilés Canyon System (ACS) is located in the southern Bay of Biscay (northern Spain, Cantabrian Sea). It has been declared a Site of Community Importance (SCI: C ESZZ12003) within the Natura 2000 Network and recognized as a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME). This area is included in the North Atlantic Marine Subdivision (NAMD). The present study reviews ophiuroid fauna collected during the INDEMARES–ACS project and compares the new findings with previous studies using the Official Spanish Checklist (“Inventario Español de Especies Marinas”) to update our knowledge on the diversity and distribution of these species. During the surveys carried out within the LIFE + INDEMARES–Avilés Canyon System project (2010–2012), a total of 7413 specimens belonging to 45 ophiuroid species were collected from 50 stations in a depth range between 266 and 2291 m. The most frequent species was Ophiactis abyssicola (M. Sars, 1861). Comparing the identified species with public datasets, seven species should be considered as new records for NAMD: Ophiocten centobi Paterson, Tyler & Gage, 1982, Amphiura borealis (G.O. Sars, 1872), Amphiura fragilis Verrill, 1885, Ophiochondrus armatus (Koehler, 1907), Ophiosabine parcita (Koehler, 1906), Ophiophrixus spinosus (Storm, 1881), Ophiotreta valenciennesi (Lyman, 1879). Furthermore, one species has expanded its bathymetric range: Ophiosabine parcita (Koehler, 1906). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep-Sea Echinoderms of the European Seas)
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