Benthic habitat mapping and classification from acoustic and ROV data processing - Pontine Islands case study

Accurate and comprehensive mapping of marine environments is crucial for understanding ecological dynamics, biodiversity distribution and facilitating effective conservation strategies (Hughes et al., 2021). This study presents a comprehensive approach to benthic habitat mapping and classification, leveraging the integration of acoustic data and ROV observations. It contributes to data acquisition at a specific area, located at the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Adds to the ongoing worldwide mapping efforts, with the goal of obtaining detailed information on the substrate types and benthic habitats. It focuses also on the identification of possible rhodolith beds, present in the area, through the characterization of the seafloor and by analyzing ground truthing samples. Detailed morphological information, high-quality terrain attributes, data on substrate types and habitat extensions were obtained. A high-resolution substrate map was derived, showing the extension of 5 different substrate types, classified by CoDeMap scheme, with a predictive accuracy of 59.58%. During the analysis, 398 organisms were found and successfully identified, from 37 distinct taxa, while dense aggregations of rhodoliths, were present in 67.95% of the samples. Validated benthic habitat maps were constructed with estimated locations and extensions of rhodolith beds, adding to the available datasets, helping to build more reliable, large-scale species distribution and habitat maps as well. Knowing the locations of these vulnerable habitats and determining their current state is important, both for monitoring and preserving the marine ecosystems. Enhancing the precision and reliability of new findings can contribute greatly to national conservation and effective management strategies.