scholarly journals Spatiotemporal and ecological distribution of megabenthic crustaceans on the shelf-shelf break of Antalya Gulf, the eastern Mediterranean Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
ANNALISA PATANIA ◽  
ERHAN MUTLU
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Fine Fraction ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Shelf Break ◽  
Otter Trawl ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Levantine Sea

The spatiotemporal distribution and ecology of the suprabenthic and benthic mega-crustaceans were studied in the shelf-shelf break of Turkish waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Antalya Gulf). Sampling was conducted seasonally in May 2014, August, October, and February 2015 using an otter trawl at depths of 10, 25, 75, 125 and 200 m along three transects. A total of 59 species were identified comprising 53 decapods (Eumalacostraca: Eucarida), 3 isopods (Eumalacostraca: Peracarida), and 3 stomatopods (Hoplocarida). Eighteen of the total identifiable species were invasive, and some of them significantly influenced the crustacean community structure. Parapenaeus longirostris, Pagurus prideaux, Charybdis (Goniohellenus) longicollis and Medorippe lanata were the most common species. Parasquilla ferussaci was reported for the first time in Turkish water of the Levantine Sea. Community structure showed seasonal patterns and differed along the depth gradient of habitat heterogeneity. The megabenthic crustacean assemblage was driven mainly by seafloor depth and was related to the fishing disturbance in the area (fishing/no-fishing zones). Environmental parameters were measured for each sample and tested in relationship to crustacean abundance by multivariate analysis CCA (canonical correspondence analysis). The results revealed significant differences in community structure related to substrate and the fine fraction of the bioseston.

scholarly journals Echinoderes antalyaensis sp. nov. (Cyclorhagida: Kinorhyncha) from Antalya, Turkey, Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Yamasaki ◽  
Furkan Durucan
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Levantine Sea

scholarly journals Spring distribution of shelled pteropods across the Mediterranean Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Johnson ◽  
Clara Manno ◽  
Patrizia Ziveri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Natural Laboratory

Abstract. Shelled pteropods represent an excellent sentinel for indicating exposure to ocean acidification (OA). Here, for the first time, we characterise spring pteropod distribution throughout the Mediterranean Sea, a region that has been identified as a climate change hot-spot. The presence of a west–east natural biogeochemical gradient makes this region a natural laboratory to investigate how the variability in environmental parameters may affect pteropod distribution. Results show that pteropod abundance is significantly higher in the eastern Mediterranean Sea where there is a higher aragonite saturation state (Ωar), showing that distribution is positively correlated with Ωar. We also observed a resilience of pteropods to higher temperatures and low nutrient conditions, including phosphorous limitation. The higher abundance of pteropods in ultra-oligotrophic conditions (eastern Mediterranean Sea) suggests that this organism can play an important role as the prime calcifying zooplankton within specific oligotrophic regions.

scholarly journals Two-way bioinvasion: tracking the neritic non-native cyclopoid copepods Dioithona oculata and Oithona davisae (Oithonidae) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 586
Author(s):  
XIMENA VELASQUEZ ◽  
ARSENIY R. MOROV ◽  
TUBA TERBIYIK KURT ◽  
DALIT MERON ◽  
TAMAR GUY-HAIM
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Levantine Sea ◽  
Oithona Davisae ◽  
Introduced Range ◽  
Almost All

Accelerated anthropogenic changes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) have facilitated the introduction, spread and establishment of invasive copepod species in this region. Here, we report the introduction of two non-native cyclopoid copepods Dioithona oculata and Oithona davisae for the first time in the Israeli coastal waters and describe their temporal variability. The species were identified by morphological characteristics, DNA barcoding and phylogenetic inference. Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis supported the taxonomical identification, nevertheless, showed cryptic speciation within D. oculata, separating the Western Pacific and EMS clades. In the Israeli coastal waters, D. oculata presented a temporally restricted occurrence, appearing from September 2019 to December 2019 (30.0±0.7 – 21.0±1.1 °C) and October 2020 (28.0±0.7 °C). The highest abundances of D. oculata occurred in the autumn (October 2019 and 2020), when the water temperature reached 28.0 °C (7 and 10 ind. m-3, respectively). The lowest abundance occurred in December 2019 (0.35 ind. m-3), when the water temperature decreased to 21.0 °C, indicating that the thermal affinity of D. oculata for warm-temperate conditions, for reproduction and the maintenance of viable populations, has persisted in the introduced range. In contrast, O. davisae appeared almost all year around (17.0±0.5 – 28.0±0.7 °C). This species demonstrated peaks in abundance both in October 2019 and October 2020, when the water temperature reached 28.0 °C (406 and 92 ind. m-3), as well as when the temperature decreased to 17.0 °C (31 ind. m-3, February 2020), confirming its wide eurythermal tolerance. Based on our findings and previous observations, we suggest that D. oculata may have invaded the EMS through the Suez Canal and is now at the onset of its spread in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas O. davisae has been introduced via shipping, likely from the Northeast Atlantic, widely spreading and successfully establishing viable populations across the entire Mediterranean Sea, until the coastal Levantine Sea.

scholarly journals Microbial communities in an ultra-oligotrophic sea are more affected by season than by distance from shore

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Haber ◽  
Dalit Roth Rosenberg ◽  
Maya Lalzar ◽  
Ilia Burgsdorf ◽  
Kumar Saurav ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Structure And Activity

AbstractMarine microbial communities vary seasonally and spatially, but these two factors are rarely addressed together. We studied temporal and spatial patterns of the microbial community structure and activity along a coast to offshore transect from the Israeli coast of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) over six cruises, in three seasons of two consecutive years. The ultra-oligotrophic status of the South Eastern Mediterranean Sea was reflected in the microbial community composition that was dominated by oligotrophic microbial groups such as SAR11 throughout the year, even at the most coastal station sampled. Seasons affected microbial communities much more than distance from shore explaining about half of the observed variability in the microbial community, compared to only about 6% that was explained by station. However, the most coastal site differed significantly in community structure and activity from the three further offshore stations in early winter and summer, but not in spring. Our data on the microbial community composition and its seasonality from a transect into the South Eastern Levantine basin support the notion that the EMS behaves similar to open gyres rather than an inland sea.

scholarly journals Planktonic foraminiferal ecozones: response of the pelagic environment to palaeoclimatic changes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. DRINIA ◽  
A. ANTONARAKOU ◽  
M. DERMITZAKIS
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic History ◽  
Cooling Trend ◽  
Physical And Chemical

A detailed study of the planktonic environment of the eastern Mediterranean Sea has permitted the reconstruction of the climatic history of this part of the basin during the time span from 9.7 to 6.6 Ma. The eastern Mediterranean Sea is confirmed as having a strong sensitivity to the climatic changes that occurred during that timespan. One of the very few complete hemipelagic successions of the Upper Miocene in Mediterranean is found in Gavdos island (SW Crete). Quantitative and qualitative modifications of the planktonic foraminiferal communities observed in Metochia section exhibit a sequence of biological events summarized in 11 successive main time intervals. The bioevents are defined by frequency peaks and/or local (re)-occurrences or (temporary) disappearances of some of the taxa, in association with more or less important fluctuations of the more common species. The planktonic foraminifera show a strong correlation with sea surface temperature variations and with changes in the physical and chemical properties of the upper water column caused by the climatic instability. Two prominent shifts in faunal parameters divide the period recorded in Metochia section into three major time slices that are discussed in chronological order: a cooling trend from 9,7 to 7,6 Ma, a warmer period from 7,6 to 7,2 Ma and then a cooling trend which finishes at the Messinian.

Mesozooplankton community structure in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 103401
Author(s):  
Maria Protopapa ◽  
Soultana Zervoudaki ◽  
Georgia Assimakopoulou ◽  
Dimitris Velaoras ◽  
Rolf Koppelmann
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mesozooplankton Community ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Feeding habits of three Batoids in the Levantine Sea (north-eastern Mediterranean Sea) based on stomach content and isotopic data

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Yemışken ◽  
Manuela G. Forero ◽  
Persefoni Megalofonou ◽  
Lütfıye Eryilmaz ◽  
Joan Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Stomach Content ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Marine Predators ◽  
Levantine Sea ◽  
North Eastern

Understanding the diet of marine predators is essential to defining their trophic role in an ecosystem. Elasmobranchs (sharks and batoids) are considered pivotal components of marine food webs, and are often included in the top predator or mesopredator groups. However, in comparison with other Mediterranean areas, research focusing on marine predators inhabiting the Levantine Sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea) is very limited. Here, we examined the feeding habits (diet, trophic width and trophic position) of three endangered batoids (Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758), Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809 and Raja clavata, Linnaeus, 1758) coexisting in Iskenderun Bay (north-eastern Levantine Sea, Mediterranean Basin) by combining stomach content and stable isotope analyses. The results revealed clear differences in the trophic habits between them. Stomach contents showed differences in the diet between species, showing a clear feeding preference for teleosts in the case of G. altavela and a diet composed of fish and crustaceans in the case of R. asterias and R. clavata. In line with stomach content results, interspecific differences in the isotopic values and trophic levels were found. In particular, G. altavela was isotopically segregated from R. asterias and R. clavata, showing lower isotopic trophic width and higher trophic level. The results of this study provide new insights into the ecological role of these three endangered batoid species in the Levantine Sea and are of crucial importance for management and conservation of these species.

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