Fondali di Brucoli – Agnone

The seabeds of the Bay of Brucoli consist mainly of sand, which is occasionally muddy. The area is significant for the presence of a wide, dense and well-structured meadow of Posidonia oceanica: this meadow builds a reef barrier which borders a lagoon area with Cymodocea. This spatial succession of marine phanerogams is rare along the Sicilian coast. In the surrounding areas, the Posidonia meadow becomes discontinuous: on small rocky outcrops, there is an algal coverage which is composed of species such as the Cystoseira and Peacock’s tail. In this zone, there is also the sea grapes, which is a non-native species that develops in proximity to Posidonia without significant interactions between the two species. The outer area of the bay shows relatively insignificant benthic population coverages. The Bay of Brucoli represents an environmentally significant area due to the presence of the Posidonia meadow and the succession of marine phanerogams, which are rare in Sicilian waters.