Drilling-platform wrecks as artificial reefs: preliminary description of macrobenthic assemblages of the "Paguro" (northern Adriatic)

Abstract

This paper reports on invertebrate surveys made on the wreck of the “Paguro,” a drilling platform that sank in 1965. Between 8 and 13 m, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis dominated, while below that depth oysters Crassotrea gigas and Ostrea edulis were most abundant. Also common living among the oysters were sponges and encrusting corals. In addition a variety of other invertebrates, including hydroids, anemones, polychaetes, bivalves, barnacles and amphipods were also common.