2023 data paper establishes soft-bottom macrobenthos baseline for Chrysi and Mikronisi

A data paper documenting a baseline inventory of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities around Chrysi and Mikronisi, two uninhabited islands southeast of Crete, Greece, reports that sediments collected from 11 sublittoral stations were dominated by coarse to medium sand, fine sand and very fine sand. The sampling took place from 23 April to 1 May 2023 at depths of approximately 10–30 metres within the Natura 2000 site designated as GR4320003. The dataset records the taxonomic composition, diversity, distribution and abundance of organisms in the sampled soft-bottom habitats, providing a reference for the ecological conditions documented during the sampling period.

The study used a grid of 11 soft-bottom stations around the islands, which lie approximately 15 kilometres south of Ierapetra in Lasithi Prefecture. Investigators collected each sediment sample with a Smith–McIntyre grab covering 0.1 square metres. The sampled material ranged from coarse and medium sand to fine and very fine sand, a composition the authors report as consistent with the strong hydrodynamic conditions prevailing in the northern and southern parts of the islands. The wider shallow sublittoral environment, extending approximately 0–30 metres, contains a mosaic of habitats, including subtidal rocky reefs associated with macroalgal communities at depths below 20 metres and sandy bottoms covered by the seagrass Posidonia oceanica at depths greater than 10 metres. The latter is a protected Mediterranean habitat under the European Union Habitats Directive.

Beyond the sampled sediment, the source reports that coarse sand accounts for approximately 60% to at least 90% of sediment in the shallow sublittoral zone. It attributes this pattern mainly to intense hydrodynamic conditions north and south-southeast of Chrysi and Mikronisi. The pink-red foraminifer Miniacina miniacea also characterizes the sublittoral zone and contributes to the pink colour of the coastal sediment. These observations describe the physical and biological setting in which the macrobenthic baseline was developed; they do not by themselves establish a trend through time or an effect of human activity.

The paper is presented as a data paper rather than an experiment, statistical comparison or longitudinal analysis. Its stated purpose is to document the structure and spatial variability of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities around the two islands and to provide an ecological baseline for monitoring, impact assessment and adaptive management of the protected coastal area. It forms part of the broader environmental baseline project “Implementation of the Action Plan Measures for Chrysi Island,” funded by the Region of Crete and its sub-regional unit of Lasithi. The supplied study description does not provide the full taxon list, station-level abundance estimates, statistical comparisons or temporal trends, so the documented contribution here is the baseline dataset and its sampling design rather than a broad assessment of change across the marine area. The authors also note that baseline information is particularly important in the eastern Mediterranean, where climate-driven shifts in native marine biodiversity and limited historical data can complicate ecological assessment and long-term monitoring.

Subject of Research: Baseline inventory of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities around Chrysi and Mikronisi, Greece

Article Title: Soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of the coastal marine ecosystem of Chrysi Island (southeast coast of Crete, Greece)

Article References: Maidanou, M., Chatzigeorgiou, G., & Koulouri, P. (2026). Soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of the coastal marine ecosystem of Chrysi Island (southeast coast of Crete, Greece). Biodiversity Data Journal, 14, Article e202544. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.14.e202544

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.14.e202544

Keywords: Chrysi Island, Mikronisi, soft-bottom habitats, macrobenthos, biodiversity baseline, Mediterranean Sea, Natura 2000, sediment sampling, Posidonia oceanica, Soft-bottom, macrobenthic, communities