Seasonality of Edmundsella pedata (Montagu, 1816) (Nudibranchia Flabellinidae) along the Ionian coasts of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

This work explores the seasonality of Edmundsella pedata (Montagu, 1816) (Nudibranchia Flabellinidae) in three sites located along the central-eastern coast of Sicily (Italy). Since most of aeolidacean nudibranchs are subannual, it has been hypothesized that E. pedata is also a subannual species with several generations per year. Therefore, E. pedata’s trend was studied in the three study areas throughout three years (from 2017 to 2019). Through data collection, it was observed that this nudibranch is an opportunistic and subannual species, which in natural habitats, has an increase in autumn, a peak in winter and a decrease during spring and summer. Instead, in anthropized sites, it was not possible to define a real seasonality of E. pedata. In conclusion, throughout the three years, a strong increase in the number of E. pedata specimens in all study areas has been seen