Abstract Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from marine sediments of some selected areas off the Linosa Island (central Mediterranean) were investigated with the aim to examine their relationships with seafloor topography. Sediments were collected during different geophysical and biological surveys carried out in 2016 and 2017 around the Pelagie Islands. An integrative partial least squares approach (2B-PLS) attempted an interpretation of co-variance between seafloor morphology and benthic foraminiferal communities. We examined benthic foraminiferal assemblage characteristics (diversity and composition) in relation to seafloor topography and acoustic response (depth, backscatter, roughness, slope, aspect, topographic position index). Statistical analyses highlighted two principal groups of samples mainly distinguished by: different sampling devices (i.e. grab and box corer), depth, and sediment texture. 2B-PLS analysis suggested that roughness, slope, backscatter and depth were the main factors discriminating changes in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage beside differences in substratum type.

中文翻译：

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利诺萨岛（西西里海峡，地中海南部）附近的海底特征和底栖有孔虫

摘要 研究了来自利诺萨岛（地中海中部）一些选定区域的海洋沉积物的底栖有孔虫组合，目的是检查它们与海底地形的关系。沉积物是在 2016 年和 2017 年在佩拉吉群岛周围进行的不同地球物理和生物调查期间收集的。综合偏最小二乘法 (2B-PLS) 试图解释海底形态和底栖有孔虫群落之间的协方差。我们检查了与海底地形和声学响应（深度、反向散射、粗糙度、坡度、坡向、地形位置指数）相关的底栖有孔虫组合特征（多样性和组成）。统计分析突出了两个主要样本组，其主要区别在于：不同的采样设备（即抓斗和盒式取芯器）、深度和沉积物质地。2B-PLS分析表明，除基质类型差异外，粗糙度、坡度、后向散射和深度是区分底栖有孔虫组合变化的主要因素。