scholarly journals Lessepsian invaders reshape soft substrate assemblages on the Israeli Mediterranean shelf

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Steger ◽  
Bella S. Galil ◽  
Martin Zuschin ◽  
Paolo G. Albano
Keyword(s):  
Rank Order ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Surficial Sediments ◽  
Trophic Guild ◽  
Soft Substrate ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Ecosystem Shift ◽  
Guild Composition ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean

The ‘Lessepsian invasion’ – the massive influx of Indo-Pacific biota into the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal – is the largest marine biological invasion. The lack of data on pre-invasion community composition, however, severely impairs our understanding to which degree the taxonomic and functional composition of shallow-water assemblages has been modified by the invasion. Shelly death assemblages (DAs) encountered in surficial sediments represent a unique archive of past community states that enable overcoming this impediment. This is because they change more slowly (10-10,000 years) than the corresponding living assemblages (LAs; yearly scales of turnover). Strong and rapid directional changes such as those due to human activities are therefore not immediately captured by DAs, leading to a greater live-dead (LD) mismatch than under natural processes alone. We compared molluscan LAs and DAs collected along a depth transect down to 40 m on the Mediterranean shelf of Israel. High dissimilarity in taxonomic composition (Jaccard-Chao index), rank-order agreement of species relative abundances (Spearman’s rho), and differences in trophic guild composition suggest a major ecosystem shift in recent times. Our findings reveal that Lessepsian species have not only replaced native taxa, but also altered the functional properties of local molluscan assemblages.

scholarly journals Lessepsian invaders reshape soft substrate assemblages on the Israeli Mediterranean shelf

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Steger ◽  
Bella S. Galil ◽  
Martin Zuschin ◽  
Paolo G. Albano
Keyword(s):  
Rank Order ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Surficial Sediments ◽  
Trophic Guild ◽  
Soft Substrate ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Ecosystem Shift ◽  
Guild Composition ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean

The ‘Lessepsian invasion’ – the massive influx of Indo-Pacific biota into the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal – is the largest marine biological invasion. The lack of data on pre-invasion community composition, however, severely impairs our understanding to which degree the taxonomic and functional composition of shallow-water assemblages has been modified by the invasion. Shelly death assemblages (DAs) encountered in surficial sediments represent a unique archive of past community states that enable overcoming this impediment. This is because they change more slowly (10-10,000 years) than the corresponding living assemblages (LAs; yearly scales of turnover). Strong and rapid directional changes such as those due to human activities are therefore not immediately captured by DAs, leading to a greater live-dead (LD) mismatch than under natural processes alone. We compared molluscan LAs and DAs collected along a depth transect down to 40 m on the Mediterranean shelf of Israel. High dissimilarity in taxonomic composition (Jaccard-Chao index), rank-order agreement of species relative abundances (Spearman’s rho), and differences in trophic guild composition suggest a major ecosystem shift in recent times. Our findings reveal that Lessepsian species have not only replaced native taxa, but also altered the functional properties of local molluscan assemblages.

scholarly journals Quantitative fidelity of recent freshwater mollusk assemblages from the Touro Passo River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alcemar R. Martello ◽  
Carla B. Kotzian ◽  
Marcello G. Simões
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Species ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Main River ◽  
Main River Channel ◽  
Structure Of Communities ◽  
Uruguay River

This study represents one of the first contributions to the knowledge on the quantitative fidelity of the recent freshwater molluscan assemblages in subtropical rivers. Thanatocoenoses and biocoenoses were studied in straight and meandering to braided sectors, in the middle course of the Touro Passo River, a fourth-order tributary of the Uruguay River, located in the westernmost part of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Samplings were carried out through quadrats of 5 m², five in each sector. A total area of 50 m² was sampled. Samplings were also made in a lentic environment (abandoned meander), with intermittent communication with the Touro Passo River, aiming to record out-of-habitat shell transportation from the lentic communities to the main river channel. The results show that, despite the frequent oscillation of the water level, the biocoenosis of the Touro Passo River shows high ecological fidelity and undergoes little influence from the lentic vicinal environments. The taxonomic composition and some features of the structure of communities, especially the dominant species, also reflect some ecological differences between the two main sectors sampled, such as the complexity of habitats in the meandering-sector. Regarding the quantitative fidelity, 60% of the species found alive were also found dead and 47.3% of the species found dead were also found alive, at river-scale. However, 72% of the dead individuals belong to species also found alive. This value might be related with the good rank order correlation obtained for live/dead assemblages. Consequently, the dominant species of the thanatocoenoses could be used to infer the ecological attributes of the biocoenoses. The values of all the indexes analyzed were very variable in small-scale samplings (quadrat), but were more similar to others registered in previous studies, when they were analyzed in a station and river scale.

Urbanization impacts on the trophic guild composition of bird communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (39-40) ◽  
pp. 2385-2404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximiliano A. Cristaldi ◽  
Alejandro R. Giraudo ◽  
Vanesa Arzamendia ◽  
Gisela P. Bellini ◽  
Juan Claus
Keyword(s):  
Bird Communities ◽  
Trophic Guild ◽  
Guild Composition

scholarly journals Stratigraphy of the Pliocene deposits of the Black Sea (Ukraine) according to evidence from ostracods (Arthropoda, Crustacea)

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-261
Author(s):  
N. І. Dykan
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Stratigraphic Position ◽  
Characteristic Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Pore Canals ◽  
Internal Pore ◽  
Brackish Water Species

This article presents a detailed analysis of the taxonomic composition of the Pliocene (Kimmerian, Kujalnikian) and Eopleistocene (Gurian) ostracods in the northern part of the Black Sea. It presents the patterns of the stratigraphic position of the fossil ostracods in the Miocene - Quaternary and their geographic distribution in Western and Eastern Europe (the Pannonian Basin, the Dacian Basin, the Euxinian basin of the Paratethys) and the Mediterranean region.Wedetermined the characteristic species for the Kimmerian, Kujalnikian and Gurian in the northern part of the Black Sea. We established a change in the taxonomic composition of ostracods at the Pliocene (Kujalnikian)/Eopleistocene (Gurian) boundary, namely the disappearance of a large number of Pliocene species and the appearance of new species. Ten species disappeared in the Kujalnikian Cyprideis pontica, Euxinocythere (M.) crebra, Amnicythere mironovi, Camptocypria lobata, Loxoconcha subcrassula, Loxoconcha verticalitercostata, Xestoleberis (X.) cellulocus, Xestoleberis (P.) communis, Candona (C.) expressa, Ilyocypris caspiensis; one species Amnicythere postbissinuata appeared in the Gurian. The brackish water species Cyprideis pontica is the Kujalnikian index species. The stratigraphic position of Cyprideis pontica in the Mediterranean Basin, Pannonian Basin, Dacian Basin, Euxinian Basin (Black Sea) in the Miocene-Quaternary is analyzed. The time of the disappearance of Cyprideis pontica in the Mediterranean, Pannonian and Dacian basins (Messinian, Pontian/Zanclean, Dacian, Kimmerian boundary) and in the Black Sea (Kujalnikian/Gurian boundary) is established. The diagnostic morphological features of the shell Cyprideis pontica (morphology of the surface pore canals) are established and described, which allows us to place this species in the Neogene deposits. Surface pore canals are different shape, sievetyped, deepened in relation to the surface of the valve. Sieve-shaped lamella contains 110-270 internal pores. The internal pores have a staggered shape, the diameter of the osculum of the internal pore is 302-994 nm; diameter of the central pore is 977 nm-1.8 μm). The evolution of Cyprideis pontica, which was separated from the parent species Cyprideis torosa in the Late Miocene, was reconstructed. In the occupation of a new ecological niche with a reduced oxygen content in deeper water biotopes, in the process of adapting to the conditions of hypoxia and necessity of increasing the volume of water filtration, there was a restructuring of the morphology of the surface pore canals of the shell Cyprideis torosa. This involved an increase in the size of the sieve-shaped lamella, the number of internal pores in the sieve-shaped lamella and the size of the osculum of the inner pore. A new morphotype Cyprideis pontica was thus formed within the existing Parathetys-Mediterranean basins. It had a mosaic, ecologically isolated range that coincided geographically or overlapped with the range of the species Cyprideis torosa (sympatric evolutionary speciation). The range of Cyprideis pontica and the dynamics of its populations in the Euxinian Basin during the Sarmatian-Kujalnikian have been reconstructed.

scholarly journals First Record of the Lessepsian Migrant Smith's Cardinalfish Jaydia smithi Kotthaus, 1970 (Pisces: Apogonidae) from Syrian Marine Waters

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Firas A. Al-Shawy ◽  
Murhaf M. Lahlah ◽  
Chirine S. Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
First Record ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Environment Changes ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time

Five individuals of Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi were collected from Ibn-Hani area, Lattakia, Syria on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Their morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported. There are several factors which assisted this specimen to reach this area of the Mediterranean; some of these factors might be the marine environment changes and the ballast water. This study reports that Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi, a member of Lessepsian species was found in Syrian marine waters for the first time.

scholarly journals Zmiinyi Island Coastal Zone Macrozoobenthos State in 2016-2017

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Biomass Estimation ◽  
Soft Substrate ◽  
Rocky Substrate ◽  
Red Data Book ◽  
Data Book

Purpose. To study the state of macrozoobenthos in the Zmiinyi Island coastal zone in 2016-2017. Methods. Standard methods of macrozoobenthos sampling, determination, number and biomass estimation. Results. Results of analysis of biodiversity, structural characteristics and taxonomic composition of macrozoobenthos in the Zmiinyi Island coastal zone have been presented. Seasonal dynamics of its number and biomass has been studied. Assessment of marine environment quality has been performed based on the metrics of macrozoobenthos. Conclusions. Altogether, 132 taxa of benthic invertebrates belonging to 10 biggest taxonomic groups of macrozoobenthos have been identified in the Zmiinyi Island coastal zone in 2016-2017. Analysis of taxonomic composition identified 1 species of Porifera (0.8%), 7 taxa of Cnidaria (5.3%), 3 taxa of Platyhelminthes (2.3%), 1 taxon of Nemertea (0.8%), 3 taxa of Bryzoa (2.3%), 52 taxa of Annelida (39.4%), 25 taxa of Mollusca (18.9%), 35 taxa of Arthropoda (265%), 2 taxa of Echinodermata (1.4%) and 3 taxa of Chordata (2.3%). Out of 132 macrozoobenthos taxa 6 are enlisted in the Red Data Book of Ukraine and 8 – in the Black Sea Red Data Book. Macrozoobenthos number varied from 0.317х104 (27.11.2016) to 16.943х104 (19.08.2016) ind/m2 on soft substrate and from 2.683х104 (17.05.2016) to 30.725х104 (19.08.2016) ind/m2 on rocky substrate; biomass varied from 0.017 (17.05.2017) to 34.857 (19.08.2016) kg/m2 on soft substrate and from 1.531 (27.11.2016) to 46.147 (19.08.2016) kg/m2 on rocky substrate. Maximal development of benthos was registered in summer period. Quality of marine environment on the AMBI and M-AMBI indices was assessed as Good in 21 cases out of 23 and as Moderate in 2 cases 2 out of 23. Mean values of AMBI and M-AMBI indices for different seasons made respectively: May, 2016 – 2.56 and 0.59; August, 2016 – 1.86 and 0.69; November, 2016 – 1.70 and 0.71; June, 2017 – 1.87 and 0.75.

scholarly journals Climate change and body size shift in Mediterranean bivalve assemblages: unexpected role of biological invasions

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1860) ◽  
pp. 20170357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Nawrot ◽  
Paolo G. Albano ◽  
Devapriya Chattopadhyay ◽  
Martin Zuschin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
The Mediterranean

Body size is a synthetic functional trait determining many key ecosystem properties. Reduction in average body size has been suggested as one of the universal responses to global warming in aquatic ecosystems. Climate change, however, coincides with human-enhanced dispersal of alien species and can facilitate their establishment. We address effects of species introductions on the size structure of recipient communities using data on Red Sea bivalves entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. We show that the invasion leads to increase in median body size of the Mediterranean assemblage. Alien species are significantly larger than native Mediterranean bivalves, even though they represent a random subset of the Red Sea species with respect to body size. The observed patterns result primarily from the differences in the taxonomic composition and body-size distributions of the source and recipient species pools. In contrast to the expectations based on the general temperature–size relationships in marine ectotherms, continued warming of the Mediterranean Sea indirectly leads to an increase in the proportion of large-bodied species in bivalve assemblages by accelerating the entry and spread of tropical aliens. These results underscore complex interactions between changing climate and species invasions in driving functional shifts in marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part 2. Introduction trends and pathways

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Α. ZENETOS ◽  
S. GOFAS ◽  
C. MORRI ◽  
A. ROSSO ◽  
D. VIOLANTI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Oyster Farms

More than 60 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) have been removed from previous lists and 84 species have been added, bringing the total to 986 alien species in the Mediterranean [775 in the eastern Mediterranean (EMED), 249 in the central Mediterranean (CMED), 190 in the Adriatic Sea (ADRIA) and 308 in the western Mediterranean (WMED)]. There were 48 new entries since 2011 which can be interpreted as approximately one new entry every two weeks. The number of alien species continues to increase, by 2-3 species per year for macrophytes, molluscs and polychaetes, 3-4 species per year for crustaceans, and 6 species per year for fish. The dominant group among alien species is molluscs (with 215 species), followed by crustaceans (159) and polychaetes (132). Macrophytes are the leading group of NIS in the ADRIA and the WMED, reaching 26-30% of all aliens, whereas in the EMED they barely constitute 10% of the introductions. In the EMED, molluscs are the most species-rich group, followed by crustaceans, fish and polychaetes. More than half (54%) of the marine alien species in the Mediterranean were probably introduced by corridors (mainly Suez). Shipping is blamed directly for the introduction of only 12 species, whereas it is assumed to be the most likely pathway of introduction (via ballasts or fouling) of another 300 species. For approximately 100 species shipping is a probable pathway along with the Suez Canal and/or aquaculture. Approximately 20 species have been introduced with certainty via aquaculture, while >50 species (mostly macroalgae), occurring in the vicinity of oyster farms, are assumed to be introduced accidentally as contaminants of imported species. A total of 18 species are assumed to have been introduced by the aquarium trade. Lessepsian species decline westwards, while the reverse pattern is evident for ship-mediated species and for those introduced with aquaculture. There is an increasing trend in new introductions via the Suez Canal and via shipping.

scholarly journals The biology and ecology of the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), with emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 145-175
Author(s):  
Aylin Ulman ◽  
Taner Yildiz ◽  
Nazli Demirel ◽  
Ozgur Canak ◽  
Emre Yemişken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lagocephalus Sceleratus

Invasive species pose threats to either human health or inflict ecological and/or economic damage. The silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), a Lessepsian species, is one of the most harmful species in the Mediterranean Sea, because of its potent neurotoxin, impacts on marine biodiversity, and the increased costs and labor they inflict on fishers. Since the catch and consumption of this pufferfish is prohibited by almost all countries bordering the Mediterranean, they have now expanded into the entire Mediterranean and Black Sea. We performed a comprehensive study of L. sceleratus covering ecological aspects, growth, reproduction, diet and trophic level based on samples from southwestern coasts of Turkey. The estimated growth parameters were L∞ = 88.7 cm, K = 0.27 year-1, C = 0.6 and WP = 0.1. Their sex-ratio was M/F = 1:0.69. Lagocephalus sceleratus appears to be a batch spawner with discontinuous oocyte recruitment and has different spawning seasons in the Eastern Mediterranean which seem to be based on temperature cues which get shorter in duration as one moves north from the Suez. We also report their first positive ecological trait, that they are controlling some other invasive species through their diets, such as lionfish, Red Sea goatfish, rabbitfish and longspine sea urchins, in addition to controlling themselves through cannibalism, which appears to be density-dependent. They are indeed a top predator in the region with a trophic level of 4.1. We suggest that targeted fishing using improved gear-types to reduce fishing gear damages are initiated, and that finding commercial markets for pufferfish could help to naturally fund ongoing control efforts.

scholarly journals New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (July 2016)

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 608 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. DAILIANIS ◽  
O. AKYOL ◽  
N. BABALI ◽  
M. BARICHE ◽  
F. CROCETTA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Gulf Of Naples ◽  
Pterois Miles ◽  
Lutjanus Argentimaculatus ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
New Distribution

This contribution forms part of a series of collective articles published regularly in Mediterranean Marine Science that report on new biodiversity records from the Mediterranean basin. The current article presents 51 geographically distinct records for 21 taxa belonging to 6 Phyla, extending from the western Mediterranean to the Levantine. The new records, per country, are as follows: Spain: the cryptogenic calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna is reported from a new location in the Alicante region. Algeria: the rare Atlanto-Mediterranean bivalve Cardium indicum is reported from Annaba. Tunisia: new distribution records for the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois miles from Zembra Island and Cape Bon. Italy: the ark clam Anadara transversa is reported from mussel cultures in the Gulf of Naples, while the amphipod Caprella scaura and the isopods Paracerceis sculpta and Paranthura japonica are reported as associated to the –also allochthonous–bryozoan Amathia verticillata in the Adriatic Sea; in the latter region, the cosmopolitan Atlantic tripletail Lobotes surinamensisis also reported, a rare finding for the Mediterranean. Slovenia: a new record of the non-indigenous nudibranch Polycera hedgpethi in the Adriatic. Greece: several new reports of the introduced scleractinian Oculina patagonica, the fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatina, the blunthead puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (all Atlantic), and the lionfish Pterois miles (Indo-Pacific) suggest their ongoing establishment in the Aegean Sea; the deepest bathymetric record of the invasive alga Caulerpa cylindracea in the Mediterranean Sea is also registered in the Kyklades, at depths exceeding 70 m. Turkey: new distribution records for two non indigenous crustaceans, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic origin) and the moon crab Matuta victor (Indo-Pacific origin) from the Bay of Izmir and Antalya, respectively; in the latter region, the Red Sea goatfish Parupeneus forsskali, is also reported. Lebanon: an array of records of 5 alien and one native Mediterranean species is reported by citizen-scientists; the Pacific jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata and the Indo-Pacific teleosteans Tylerius spinosissimus, Ostracion cubicus, and Lutjanus argentimaculatus are reported from the Lebanese coast, the latter notably being the second record for the species in the Mediterranean Sea since 1977; the native sand snake-eel Ophisurus serpens, rare in the eastern Mediterranean, is reported for the first time from Lebanon, this being its easternmost distribution range; finally, a substantial number of sightings of the lionfish Pterois miles further confirm the current establishment of this lessepsian species in the Levantine.

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