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3 results on '"Fallati, L"'

1. Reef complexity influences distribution and habitat choice of the corallivorous seastar Culcita schmideliana in the Maldives

Author

Montalbetti, E, Fallati, L, Casartelli, M, Maggioni, D, Montano, S, Galli, P, Seveso, D, Montalbetti, Enrico, Fallati, Luca, Casartelli, Marco, Maggioni, Davide, Montano, Simone, Galli, Paolo, Seveso, Davide, Montalbetti, E, Fallati, L, Casartelli, M, Maggioni, D, Montano, S, Galli, P, Seveso, D, Montalbetti, Enrico, Fallati, Luca, Casartelli, Marco, Maggioni, Davide, Montano, Simone, Galli, Paolo, and Seveso, Davide

Abstract

The cushion seastar Culcita schmideliana has gained major attention in the last few years because of its selective predation on juvenile corals, as well as its ability to generate large demographic assemblages, causing delays in coral recovery after large mortality events in the Republic of Maldives. However, a lack of data regarding the factors affecting its distribution and habitat selection still persists in this area. Here, we adopted a novel approach in the study of corallivorous seastar habitat selection that combined ecological and digital photogrammetry data. In this regard, we tested 3 different parameters as factors influencing seastar habitat choice in the South-East region of Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives, namely prey abundance, Linear Rugosity Index (LRI), and Average Slope (AS). The analysis of selectivity coefficient (Ei) of seastars for different habitat types showed a preference for reefs characterized by medium AS values (Ei = 0.268), a LRI included between 2 and 2.5 (Ei = 0.180), and a juvenile coral density ranging between 10 and 20 colonies m−2 (Ei = 0.154). A multiple linear regression analysis showed that different AS and LRI values explained the 43.1% (R2 = 0.431, P = 0.007) and the 48.1% (R2 = 0.481, P = 0.024) of variance in seastars abundance, respectively, while juvenile coral densities did not significantly affect this (R2 = 0.132, P = 0.202). These results provide new information on the distribution and behaviour of an important corallivore of Maldivian reefs, such as C. schmideliana.

Published
2022

2. Reef complexity influences distribution and habitat choice of the corallivorous seastar Culcita schmideliana in the Maldives

Author

Enrico Montalbetti, Luca Fallati, Marco Casartelli, Davide Maggioni, Simone Montano, Paolo Galli, Davide Seveso, Montalbetti, E, Fallati, L, Casartelli, M, Maggioni, D, Montano, S, Galli, P, and Seveso, D

Subjects
Corallivory, Aquatic Science, Habitat selection, Structure from Motion, Cushion seastar
Abstract

The cushion seastar Culcita schmideliana has gained major attention in the last few years because of its selective predation on juvenile corals, as well as its ability to generate large demographic assemblages, causing delays in coral recovery after large mortality events in the Republic of Maldives. However, a lack of data regarding the factors affecting its distribution and habitat selection still persists in this area. Here, we adopted a novel approach in the study of corallivorous seastar habitat selection that combined ecological and digital photogrammetry data. In this regard, we tested 3 different parameters as factors influencing seastar habitat choice in the South-East region of Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives, namely prey abundance, Linear Rugosity Index (LRI), and Average Slope (AS). The analysis of selectivity coefficient (Ei) of seastars for different habitat types showed a preference for reefs characterized by medium AS values (Ei = 0.268), a LRI included between 2 and 2.5 (Ei = 0.180), and a juvenile coral density ranging between 10 and 20 colonies m−2 (Ei = 0.154). A multiple linear regression analysis showed that different AS and LRI values explained the 43.1% (R2 = 0.431, P = 0.007) and the 48.1% (R2 = 0.481, P = 0.024) of variance in seastars abundance, respectively, while juvenile coral densities did not significantly affect this (R2 = 0.132, P = 0.202). These results provide new information on the distribution and behaviour of an important corallivore of Maldivian reefs, such as C. schmideliana.

Published
2022

3. Land use and land cover (LULC) of the Republic of the Maldives: first national map and LULC change analysis using remote-sensing data.

Author

Fallati L, Savini A, Sterlacchini S, and Galli P

Subjects
Agriculture, Conservation of Natural Resources methods, Ecosystem, Forests, Indian Ocean Islands, Remote Sensing Technology, Satellite Imagery methods, Environmental Monitoring methods
Abstract

The Maldives islands in recent decades have experienced dramatic land-use change. Uninhabited islands were turned into new resort islands; evergreen tropical forests were cut, to be replaced by fields and new built-up areas. All these changes happened without a proper monitoring and urban planning strategy from the Maldivian government due to the lack of national land-use and land-cover (LULC) data. This study aimed to realize the first land-use map of the entire Maldives archipelago and to detect land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) using high-resolution satellite images and socioeconomic data. Due to the peculiar geographic and environmental features of the archipelago, the land-use map was obtained by visual interpretation and manual digitization of land-use patches. The images used, dated 2011, were obtained from Digital Globe's WorldView 1 and WorldView 2 satellites. Nine land-use classes and 18 subclasses were identified and mapped. During a field survey, ground control points were collected to test the geographic and thematic accuracy of the land-use map. The final product's overall accuracy was 85%. Once the accuracy of the map had been checked, LULCC maps were created using images from the early 2000s derived from Google Earth historical imagery. Post-classification comparison of the classified maps showed that growth of built-up and agricultural areas resulted in decreases in forest land and shrubland. The LULCC maps also revealed an increase in land reclamation inside lagoons near inhabited islands, resulting in environmental impacts on fragile reef habitat. The LULC map of the Republic of the Maldives produced in this study can be used by government authorities to make sustainable land-use planning decisions and to provide better management of land use and land cover.

Published
2017
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