THE PELAGOS SANCTUARY IN THE LIGURIAN SEA: OUR LONG TERM STUDIES ON DEEP FAUNA

The authors, on the basis of the research they have been carrying out since the seventies, summarise the main characteristics of the Pelagos Sanctuary in terms of its bathyal and mesopelagic communities as well as its pelagic food webs. At the macrofaunal level of these webs, Meganyctiphanes norvegica is the key species and a M. norvegica - Pasiphaea sivado system regards a sizeable vertical space. Two basic oceanographic processes that generate upwelling are at the basis of a high biodiversity, which includes large charismatic pelagic species such as fin whale and bluefin tuna.