Without environmental or anthropogenic pressures, the Mediterranean reefs are populated by Cystoseira forests. Its branches extend as far as the eye can see and sway with the current, giving life to habitat 1170.
Unfortunately, these lush forests are under severe strain: coastal urbanisation, pollution and the climate crisis have led to the decline of this macro-algae. The forests have given way to a desolate desert.
As a matter of fact, Cystoseira is a true ecosystem engineer. The algae in this group build safe havens from predators, protect from currents and offer sustenance to an extraordinary biodiversity. Without Cystoseira, several complex microhabitats and all the marine life that lives in them would disappear, threatening the balance and richness of coastal ecosystems.
There are two types of ecosystem engineers:
- allogenic engineers: they actively modify their surroundings. Woodpeckers, for example, leave holes in trees where other species can nest, or beavers collect material to build dams along rivers.
- autogenous engineers: they change the environment through their presence, as in the case of algae or plants. Stems, trunks, leaves create spaces for other living creatures.
Algae of the genus Cystoseira therefore play an essential role in biodiversity. If an area where they are found is deteriorated, their presence decreases more and more without human intervention.
Cystoseira reproduces sexually: the heavy fertilised eggs cannot be transported far from the current and fall very close to the parents. If the regression of a Cystoseira forest occurs over a large area, the species cannot recover the lost space on its own.
The good news? Thanks to our restoration techniques we are starting to see some successes! After removing the causes of disturbance, we have started sustainable restoration in several areas of the Mediterranean.
Thanks to the outplant of discs full of young Cystoseira the species is starting to populate degraded areas again!
Stay tuned for future updates as the season gets warmer! We will tell you about new interventions and monitoring directly from the Marine Protected Areas where we intervene!
