Monitoraggio dell’ambiente costiero (MAC): ll contributo dei subacquei sportivi.

Climatic changes recorded in the last years strongly affected both terrestrial and marine environments. In this last case, there is no possibility to conduce long term monitoring programs. This limit impairs an appropriate comprehension of the phenomena, that are realized only when related to wide, dramatic or unexpected effects. For this reason, it’s helpful the contribution of scuba divers, suitably prepared, as like as what is already done in Anglo-saxon countries, in order to evaluate the dynamics, i) of distribution areas of some target species ii) of community structures in fixed stations and iii) of temperature along vertical coastal profile. In this work, we show some examples of the results obtained after roughly two years of activities, in order to evidence the potential of the project, that if adequately supported, could represent a valid instrument of monitoring and an operative medium to alert people to the problems related to marine environment.