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Venice – “The flora and fauna of the lagoon
they have not changed during blocking. What has changed is our opportunity to see
“says zoologist Andrea Mangoni, immersing his camera in that of Venice
normally cloudy waters to observe life.
A crab tries to grab the intrusive lens, jellyfish
propelling close to the surface, schools of fish swim calmly,
shellfish cling to the city’s famous piers and seaweed of all colors
Gently floats in the stream.
The coronavirus has emptied Venice of millions of
tourists since early March and its waters are no longer agitated by
the thousands of boats, taxis, vaporetti and gondolas that generally cross it.
For Mangoni, this is an opportunity to rediscover
The very diverse ecosystem that populates the Venice lagoon. His movie a
jellyfish swim slowly even though the water in the translucent channel has gone viral
social networks.
“Now we can see 50 or 60 centimeters, and
sometimes even a meter from the surface. As a result, we can see animals that
they were literally hidden in the murky waters. “
Mangoni says he has never seen such clear waters in
The 20 years he has worked in Venice.
LOOK: Biologist Andrea Mangoni filmed a fascinating video of a jellyfish gliding through the canals of Venice, Italy on Easter Sunday. He believes that recent low tide and low traffic have increased the transparency of the water and made it possible to observe marine life in the city. pic.twitter.com/YuRr9qXAjh
– CBS News (@CBSNews) April 26, 2020
“The only difference is that some animals that
before they were relegated to larger or wider channels in the lagoon, now it can go as
far as in the city center from the traffic of gondolas, motorboats and small
the boats have stopped, “he said.
Urban jellyfish
Marco Sigovini, researcher at the Institute of
Venice Marine Sciences (ISMAR-CNR) says it has seen marine species in the
center of the old city been for the first time.
“The fauna and flora of the Venice lagoon are much
more diversified and interesting than one might think, “he said.
“What decreased in the city is not only
traffic with pollution caused by boats, but also noise, which is another
type of pollution and disturbs many organisms in the lagoon. “
However, it doesn’t surprise you how many
Jellyfish are being observed.
“In the last 20-30 years jellyfish have
increased in numbers overall. They enter the lagoon more and more
frequently, particularly at certain times of the year, perhaps carried by
current, “he said.
“Normally, there is a lot of traffic, so it’s
probably many of them are often killed. “
An April 2020 video shot by Italian zoologist Andrea Mangoni shows a crab in the Venice lagoon, during the country’s closure on April 26, 2020.
Mangoni takes photos and videos on his way to
works and says life in Venice these days is “like being on a coral
reef”.
“The number of colors and forms of life is
extraordinary, which makes the lagoon unique, “he said.
But Sigovini does not think it will change much.
long-term for Venetian fauna.
“Most likely, these few months of confinement
it won’t be enough to really change the quality of our ecosystem, “he said.
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