presents a diverse fauna assemblages that change towards the end of the cave
(https://litoraldegranada.ugr.es/).
Moreover, some vertebrates included in Annex II of the HD have also been
detected such as the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) (Fig. 25.3) or the
loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) as well as birds species such as the Mediterranean
gull (Larus melanocephalus), Audouin’s gull (Larus audouinii), the sandwich tern
(Sterna sandvicensis) (Fig. 25.3) and the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) during migration and winter; Cory’s and Scopoli’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis and
C. diomedea, respectively) during migration and summer; and the peregrine falcon
(Falco peregrinus) breeding in coastal cliffs, all included in Annex I of the Birds
Directive (2009/147/EC) (Mateo-Ramírez et al. 2021).
A wide variety of fish species occur in this MPA, such as the sunfish (Mola mola),
the ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo), the African striped grunt (Parapristipoma
octolineatum), the pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) or Opeatogenys gracilis, a
small cryptic fish that inhabits the seagrass meadows (Rueda and Marina 2009). In
the rocky reefs, it is still possible to spot some dusky grouper (Epinephelus
marginatus) and shoals of the grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), being the only
member of the Balistidae family in the Mediterranean Sea. The invertebrates in this
MPA are also of importance, with some of them included in different conventions,
the HD or the Listado de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial
(LESRPE) from the Spanish government, such as the hatpin urchin
(Centrostephanus longispinus), the chalice coral (Astroides calycularis), the
knobbed triton (Charonia lampas) and the vermetid Dendropoma lebeche (previously known as Dendropoma petraeum; Templado et al. 2016) classified as “Vulnerable” (Vulnerable) or the endangered ribbed Mediterranean limpet (Patella
ferruginea) as “En Peligro de Extinción” (In Extinction Risk) in the Catálogo
Español de Especies Amenazadas (CEEA) and the scarce and beautiful brown
cowry (Luria lurida) (Endangered Species in the BC) and the noble pen shell
(or fan mussel) (Pinna nobilis) (included in the Annex IV of the HD and in Annex
II of the SPA/BD Protocol) (Fig. 25.3). The noble pen shell has practically
disappeared since 2016 due to the cryptogenic parasite Haplosporidium pinnae
that caused an extensive mass mortality of this large and endemic bivalve in the
Mediterranean Sea (Catanese et al. 2018; Templado et al. 2021, Chap. 10 of this
book). In the underwater caves and hard bottoms, different gorgonians (Eunicella
verrucosa, Paramuricea clavata, Leptogorgia sarmentosa), some of them listed as
Vulnerable in the Libro Rojo de los Invertebrados de Andalucía, occur. Biological
communities of some seagrass beds of this MPA (e.g. Zostera marina, Posidonia
oceanica) have been studied and displayed a high diversity of fauna, but unfortunately, they have experienced a strong decline in the last years (Rueda et al.
2021, see Chap. 9 of this book).
Agriculture and fisheries (mainly artisanal purse seining, gillnetting and
longlining) have historically sustained human settlements around the MPA, but the
increasing tourism and recreational activity offered by its natural environment have
nowadays taken on enormous importance. Nevertheless, this represents one of the
main impacts on this MPA, especially during summer when tourist affluence
834
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.
(https://litoraldegranada.ugr.es/).
Moreover, some vertebrates included in Annex II of the HD have also been
detected such as the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) (Fig. 25.3) or the
loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) as well as birds species such as the Mediterranean
gull (Larus melanocephalus), Audouin’s gull (Larus audouinii), the sandwich tern
(Sterna sandvicensis) (Fig. 25.3) and the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) during migration and winter; Cory’s and Scopoli’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis and
C. diomedea, respectively) during migration and summer; and the peregrine falcon
(Falco peregrinus) breeding in coastal cliffs, all included in Annex I of the Birds
Directive (2009/147/EC) (Mateo-Ramírez et al. 2021).
A wide variety of fish species occur in this MPA, such as the sunfish (Mola mola),
the ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo), the African striped grunt (Parapristipoma
octolineatum), the pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) or Opeatogenys gracilis, a
small cryptic fish that inhabits the seagrass meadows (Rueda and Marina 2009). In
the rocky reefs, it is still possible to spot some dusky grouper (Epinephelus
marginatus) and shoals of the grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), being the only
member of the Balistidae family in the Mediterranean Sea. The invertebrates in this
MPA are also of importance, with some of them included in different conventions,
the HD or the Listado de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial
(LESRPE) from the Spanish government, such as the hatpin urchin
(Centrostephanus longispinus), the chalice coral (Astroides calycularis), the
knobbed triton (Charonia lampas) and the vermetid Dendropoma lebeche (previously known as Dendropoma petraeum; Templado et al. 2016) classified as “Vulnerable” (Vulnerable) or the endangered ribbed Mediterranean limpet (Patella
ferruginea) as “En Peligro de Extinción” (In Extinction Risk) in the Catálogo
Español de Especies Amenazadas (CEEA) and the scarce and beautiful brown
cowry (Luria lurida) (Endangered Species in the BC) and the noble pen shell
(or fan mussel) (Pinna nobilis) (included in the Annex IV of the HD and in Annex
II of the SPA/BD Protocol) (Fig. 25.3). The noble pen shell has practically
disappeared since 2016 due to the cryptogenic parasite Haplosporidium pinnae
that caused an extensive mass mortality of this large and endemic bivalve in the
Mediterranean Sea (Catanese et al. 2018; Templado et al. 2021, Chap. 10 of this
book). In the underwater caves and hard bottoms, different gorgonians (Eunicella
verrucosa, Paramuricea clavata, Leptogorgia sarmentosa), some of them listed as
Vulnerable in the Libro Rojo de los Invertebrados de Andalucía, occur. Biological
communities of some seagrass beds of this MPA (e.g. Zostera marina, Posidonia
oceanica) have been studied and displayed a high diversity of fauna, but unfortunately, they have experienced a strong decline in the last years (Rueda et al.
2021, see Chap. 9 of this book).
Agriculture and fisheries (mainly artisanal purse seining, gillnetting and
longlining) have historically sustained human settlements around the MPA, but the
increasing tourism and recreational activity offered by its natural environment have
nowadays taken on enormous importance. Nevertheless, this represents one of the
main impacts on this MPA, especially during summer when tourist affluence
834
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.