Sensors (May 2019)

Towards Non-Invasive Methods to Assess Population Structure and Biomass in Vulnerable Sea Pen Fields

  • Giovanni Chimienti,
  • Attilio Di Nisio,
  • Anna M.L. Lanzolla,
  • Gregorio Andria,
  • Angelo Tursi,
  • Francesco Mastrototaro

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s19102255
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 10
p. 2255

Abstract

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Colonies of the endangered red sea pen Pennatula rubra (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) sampled by trawling in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea were analyzed. Biometric parameters, such as total length, peduncle length, number of polyp leaves, fresh weight, and dry weight, were measured and related to each other by means of regression analysis. Ad hoc models for future inferencing of colonies size and biomass through visual techniques were individuated in order to allow a non-invasive study of the population structure and dynamics of P. rubra.

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