Methyl mercury distributions in relation to the presence of nano- and picophytoplankton in an oceanic water column (Ligurian Sea, North-western Mediterranean)

Reproduction of newly established populations of the warm-water Atlantic Mediterranean wrasse Thalassoma pavo is here reported for the first time in the Ligurian Sea, and mating behaviour is described in detail. The reproductive season (May to October) may be divided in three stages: (1) pre-mating (mid-May to the end of June), during which terminal-phase (TP) males establish territories and start courting females; (2) mating (end of June to the end of August), with a mean frequency of up to one spawning event ind−1 h−1; and (3) post-mating (September to mid-October), when TP males remained inside territories but no spawning events were recorded. Mating followed two distinct modalities: pair spawning and group spawning, the latter replacing the former when population density exceeded 10 ind 100 m−2. Four phases have been distinguished in both modalities: (1) approach (pair) or gathering (group), to establish the contact between potential partners; (2) acceptance (pair) or priming (group), in which partners establish a common behavioural pattern; (3) ascent to near the sea surface; and (4) spawning. The saddled sea-bream Oblada melanura has been seen to predate intensively on the large cloud of sexual products released by groups.

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A catastrophic mass-mortality episode of gorgonians and other organisms in the Ligurian Sea (North-western Mediterranean), summer 1999

Ecology Letters ◽

10.1046/j.1461-0248.2000.00152.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 284-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 360

Author(s):

C. Cerrano ◽

G. Bavestrello ◽

C.N. Bianchi ◽

R. Cattaneo-vietti ◽

S. Bava ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Mediterranean ◽

Mass Mortality ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

North Western

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First record of the rare gobiid fish Gobius couchi in the Ligurian Sea (north-western Mediterranean)

Marine Biodiversity Records ◽

10.1017/s1755267209990534 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ha Trieu Hung Liu ◽

Harald Ahnelt ◽

Giovanni A.C. Balma ◽

Giovanni B. Delmastro

Keyword(s):

First Record ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

Gobiid Fish ◽

North Western

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Hydrological changes in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean, DYFAMED site) during 1995–2007 and biogeochemical consequences

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-7-1377-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 1377-1406 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. C. Marty ◽

J. Chiavérini

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Water Column ◽

Heat Content ◽

Subsequent Development ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Intermediate Water ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

Hydrological Changes ◽

Nw Mediterranean ◽

Nw Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Data obtained during the monthly cruises of the DYFAMED time-series study (northwestern Mediterranean Sea) in the period 1995–2007 were compiled to examine the hydrological changes and the linked evolution of some biogeochemical characteristics. A regular increase of temperature and salinity (0.005 °C y−1, 0.0022 psu y−1) was recorded in deep waters of the NW Mediterranean Sea (2000 m depth) during 1995–2005. In February 2006 an abrupt increase in T (+0.1 °C) and S (+0.03 psu) was measured as the result of successive intense winter mixing events during the 3 previous years. The February 2006 event led to the mixing of the whole water column (0 to > 2000 m) and increased salt and heat content of the Western Mediterranean Deep Water by mixing with saltier and warmer Levantine Intermediate Water. The deficit in fresh water inputs to the western Mediterranean basin in three successive years (2003–2005) was suspected to be the major cause of this event since an increase of salinity in surface waters was monitored during these years. The measured phytoplankton biomass was specifically high after the periods of intense mixing. Chlorophyll a integrated biomass reached 230 mg m−2 in 1999, 175 mg m−2 in 2003, and 206 mg m−2 in 2006. The high levels of biomass were related to the particularly high increases in nutrients content in surface layers following the intense water column mixing and the subsequent development of a diatom bloom (as seen by fucoxanthin content). The frequency of extreme events (high mixing, high nutrients, and high biomass) increased in recent years. Our results suggested that the NW Mediterranean Sea could have an increased productivity and was not deriving towards the decreased productivity predicted by models.

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Spring copepod vertical zonation pattern and diel migration in the open Ligurian Sea (north-western Mediterranean)

Progress In Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 183 ◽

pp. 102297

Author(s):

Giacomo Zagami ◽

Antonia Granata ◽

Cinzia Brugnano ◽

Roberta Minutoli ◽

Vincenzo Bonanzinga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Mediterranean ◽

Vertical Zonation ◽

Zonation Pattern ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

Diel Migration ◽

North Western

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New record of Alopias superciliosus Lowe, 1841 in the North-Western Mediterranean and annotated review of the Mediterranean records

Acta Adriatica ◽

10.32582/aa.58.2.10 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 313-323

Author(s):

Luca Lanteri ◽

Laura Castellano ◽

Fulvio Garibaldi

Keyword(s):

New Record ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Migratory Species ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

The North ◽

Thresher Shark ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

By Catch ◽

North Western

On 9th September 2015 the head of a shark belonging to the genus Alopias, was landed at Camogli harbour in the Ligurian Sea (North Western Mediterranean). The specimen has been caught 16 miles far from the coast (44° 06’ N, 008° 57’ E) as by-catch of the mesopelagic swordfish longline, but only the head was recovered, due to the predatory/scavenging activity by other shark specimens. The specimen was a female of big-eye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus a highly migratory species worldwide distributed in tropical and temperate waters but rarely caught in the Mediterranean Sea. The present record is the northenmost reported for this species in the Mediterranean area and the sixth in Italian waters.

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