Assessment of Marine Biodiversity in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, Ionian Island, Greece

Abstract

The National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ) was the first established National Marine Park in Greece. The aim of this National Park is to protect the nesting sites of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, located mainly in the core zone of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of the NMPZ. The aim of this study was to develop - for the first time - a comprehensive database of all the marine biodiversity of this MPA. Species occurrence records were retrieved from the scientific and grey literature, along with relevant spatio-temporal meta-data. QGIS maps were created to visualise distribution patterns of the marine biota per area of the MPA. Multidimensional scaling and CLUSTER analyses were performed to investigate ressemblance patterns using Jaccard index. Two biodiversity indices, ∆+ and Λ+, were used to investigate the taxonomic distinctness (and variation) of marine biodiversity for specific habitats/zones. It appears that P. oceanica meadows and rocky reefs are the richest habitats, while marine caves harbour unique and diverse fauna. Zone Iɑ was found to host the highest species richness and phylogenetic diversity. Introduced species increase over time and further studies are needed to monitor alien and protected species in the NMPZ.