DEFINITION OF A NEW FORMULA FOR THE CALCULATION OF THE TOTAL HEIGHT OF THE FAN SHELL PINNA NOBILIS IN THE MIRAMARE MARINE PROTECTED AREA (TRIESTE, ITALY)

Four years of monitoring of Pinna nobilis population in Miramare Marine Protected Area (Trieste, Italy) have led to the development of a new equation for indirect calculation of total shell height (Htot) for this bivalve,endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. As the formulas listed in the cited literature are not corroborated by in situ measured growth data, it was necessary to describe a specific formula for Miramare population. This exponential equation was called MirExp. A specific growth curve has also been created with this formula and the data collected every year from 2008 to 2011. This curve shows that in Miramare P. nobilis grows faster in its early years than what is reported in other studies carried out in Croatia and Spain. Population density is also the highest among those reported in consulted papers, which make reference to studies conducted in various Mediterranean protected and non-protected areas.