The benthic assemblage of Conero Promontory: a model for the study of seasonal cycles in the North Adriatic Sea.

It is widely accepted that in the Mediterranean temperate waters several filter feeding organisms undergo a seasonal life cycle characterized by alternate active phases and starvation periods with production of resting stages. The warm season is considered as an adverse period for the majority of the filter-feeders due to the scarcity of plankton production resulting in a marked oligotrophy of the waters. The study of the seasonal cycle of several hard-bottom benthic species of the Conero Promontory (North Adriatic Sea) showed, on the contrary, that most of them are active during summer. This situation, probably representing a model for the entire North Adriatic hard-bottom communities, is due to extremely low winter temperatures, high plankton availability all around the year and exploitation, as food source, of meroplanktonic larvae mainly released during summer.