New Mediterranean biodiversity records (October, 2014)

The Collective Article 'New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records' of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of alien and native species respectively. The new records of alien species include: the red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis (Crete and Lakonikos Gulf, Greece); the red alga Grateloupia turuturu (along the Israeli Mediterranean shore); the mantis shrimp Clorida albolitura (Gulf of Antalya, Turkey); the mud crab Dyspanopeus sayi (Mar Piccolo of Taranto, Ionian Sea); the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Chios Island, Greece); the isopod Paracerceis sculpta (northern Aegean Sea, Greece); the sea urchin Diadema setosum (Gökova Bay, Turkey); the molluscs Smaragdia souverbiana, Murex forskoehlii, Fusinus verrucosus, Circenita callipyga, and Aplysia dactylomela (Syria); the cephalaspidean mollusc Haminoea cyanomarginata (Baia di Puolo, Massa Lubrense, Campania, southern Italy); the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Civitavecchia, Tyrrhenian Sea); the fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatina (Plemmirio marine reserve, Sicily); the silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Saros Bay, Turkey; and Ibiza channel, Spain); the Indo-Pacific ascidian Herdmania momus in Kastelorizo Island (Greece); and the foraminiferal Clavulina multicamerata (Saronikos Gulf, Greece). The record of L. sceleratus in Spain consists the deepest (350-400m depth) record of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. The new records of native species include: first record of the ctenophore Cestum veneris in Turkish marine waters; the presence of Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii in the Bay of Igoumenitsa (Greece); the first recorded sighting of the bull ray Pteromylaeus bovinus in Maltese waters; and a new record of the fish Lobotes surinamensis from Maliakos Gulf.peer-reviewe

Observations on the Life Cycle of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifer \u3cem\u3eAmphistegina Lobifera\u3c/em\u3e Larsen, an Invasive Species in Coastal Ecosystems of the Aegean Sea (Greece, E. Mediterranean)

Members of the family Amphisteginidae have been nearly ubiquitous contributors to shelf carbonate facies through most of the Cenozoic. The most prolific carbonate producer of modern representatives is Amphistegina lobifera Larsen, which is the largest and shallowest dwelling of the Indo-Pacific taxa. This epiphytic, symbiont-bearing foraminifer is also a remarkably successful invasive species in coastal ecosystems of the eastern Mediterranean, where its shell production is altering the composition of shoreline sediment. This paper reports a temporal study of an A. lobifera population collected monthly between June 2008–May 2009 in the Vravron/Attica coastal ecosystem of the south Evoikos Gulf (Aegean Sea), where winter temperatures can drop below previously reported minima for the species. Monthly variations in size, frequency distribution, and abundance indicate that this population reproduced primarily during the summer (July–September), when both asexual and sexual reproduction occurred simultaneously, suggesting a predominantly coeval, one-year life span for each generation. However, a modest increase in juveniles in January indicates some winter reproduction. Comparison of these findings with previous studies shows that a) tolerance of low winter temperatures, b) adaptation of the life cycle to strong seasonality, and c) the mixotrophic feeding strategy have allowed A. lobifera to proliferate in the exceptionally clear, low nutrient, coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea. These attributes elucidate how previous Cenozoic populations of Amphistegina were able to rapidly expand their latitudinal ranges and invade shallow epeiric seas during episodes of climatic warming

Living Benthic Foraminifera as an Environmental Proxy in Coastal Ecosystems: A Case Study from the Aegean Sea (Greece, NE Mediterranean)

The species composition of the epiphytic benthic foraminiferal fauna was compared at two coastal locations in the Aegean Sea. Samples were collected during August 2001 and July 2003 along the southeastern coast of Andros Island at Korthi Gulf, where there are minimal anthropogenic activities, and at Kastro Gulf, with substantial anthropogenic influence. This study represents the first application of the FORAM Index (FI), which is a single-metric index for water quality originally developed for western Atlantic reef foraminiferal assemblages, to Mediterranean assemblages. Multivariate analyses distinguished three clusters of sample sites representing three foraminiferal assemblages. Samples dominated by the mixotrophic species, A. lobifera, were collected primarily from sites along the northern coasts of both gulfs. Characteristics of this assemblage, including relatively high dominance (D = 0.27–0.51), lower Shannon–Wiener diversity (H′ = 1.3–2.1) and high FI (6.6–8.2), all reflect oligotrophic environmental conditions typical of pristine waters of the Aegean Sea. A. lobifera was typically the most common species in the second assemblage, though relative abundances of heterotrophic taxa were higher, resulting in somewhat higher diversity (H′ = 1.6–2.4) and lower dominance (D = 0.14–0.36). These indices, as well as the FI range of 3.5–7.0 indicated somewhat more prevalent organic carbon resources but still relatively high water quality. This assemblage was found along the southern coast of Korthi Gulf and at more interior sites in northern Kastro Gulf. The third assemblage was dominated by smaller heterotrophic species, including notable proportions of the stress-tolerant taxa Ammonia spp. and Elphidium spp., and had few or no A. lobifera. Diversity (H′ = 1.4–2.0) and dominance (D = 0.22–0.47) indices were similar to those for the first assemblage, but FI values were much lower (2.0–3.4). Samples characterized by this assemblage were collected only from the southern Kastro Gulf, in the vicinity of the primary sewage outfall. The results of this study document the sensitivity of benthic foraminiferal assemblages, and particularly A. lobifera populations, to sewage pollution in the Aegean Sea. These observations are consistent with studies from other biogeographic regions where the FORAM Index, which is based upon this genus and associated mixotrophic taxa, has been used as a water-quality indicator. This observation is particularly noteworthy because A. lobifera is an invasive species in the Mediterranean

The Foram Stress Index: A New Tool for Environmental Assessment of Soft-Bottom Environments Using Benthic Foraminifera. A Case Study from the Saronikos Gulf, Greece, Eastern Mediterranean

Saronikos Gulf, including the industrial zone of Elefsis Bay and the Port of Piraeus, is one of the most anthropogenically impacted coastal regions of Greece. Distinct assemblages of benthic foraminifers in sediment samples, collected from this gulf in February 2012, defined three zones that reflect abiotic parameters of the sediments (e.g., organic carbon, metal content). A low-diversity assemblage, dominated by stress-tolerant Ammonia tepida and Bulimina spp., was characteristic of samples from Elefsis Bay. Samples from the western and central part of Saronikos Gulf were the most variable with respect to both abiotic parameters and the foraminiferal assemblage, characterized by a mix of stress-tolerant and more sensitive taxa, especially Bolivina spp. and Nonion fabum. Samples from the coast of Salamis and at the eastern sector of the gulf were characterized by a diverse assemblage that included Peneroplis pertusus, miliolids, and a variety of small, epiphytic rotaliid taxa. A new biotic index, the Foram Stress Index (FSI), is based on the relative percentages of two ecological groups of benthic foraminiferal species, grouped according to their tolerance/sensitivity to organic matter enrichment and weighted proportionately to obtain a formula to define five ecological-status classes. The FSI produced three rankings for these samples (Poor, Moderate and Good), that strongly correlate with the macroinvertebrate-classification tool known as the BENTIX Index. The FSI provides a new tool to assess sediment or substrata quality based upon the benthic foraminiferal assemblages, which are a significant component of living meiobenthic communities that are generally not considered in most biotic benthic indices

Total alkenone concentrations, alkenone SSTs vs. age (Ma)

Organic geochemical (alkenones) and micropaleontological (nannofossil) data from the Pissouri South section (PPS) in the island of Cyprus provided a detailed description of the paleoclimatic (sea surface temperature- SST) and paleoenvironmental conditions during the "warm Pliocene" (c. 4.1-3.25Ma) in the EasternMediterranean. We found that the suite of sapropel events recorded in the studied interval took place under conditions of increased SST, enhanced water column stratification and development of a productive deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), as witnessed by the dominance of Florisphaera profunda species. Such conditions are similar to those prevailing during Quaternary sapropel formation, triggered by freshwater discharges from the N. African margin due to insolation-driven intensification of the African monsoon. The absence of F. profunda in Pliocene sapropels fromcentralMediterranean records highlights the sensitive response of the eastern basin to freshwater perturbations. Comparisons between alkenone and calcareous nannofossil assemblage patterns infer Pseudoemiliania lacunosa as the main alkenone producer in sapropel layers; yet Reticulofenestra spp. contribution cannot be ruled out. The first Pliocene alkenone-SST record in the E. Mediterranean presented here documents the "warm Pliocene" period (~4.1-3.25 Ma) characterized by mean SST of c. 26 °C. Distinct SST minima at ~3.9 Ma, 3.58 Ma and between 3.34 and 3.31 Ma, correspond to the MIS Gi16, MIS MG12 and MIS M2 global cooling episodes, before the onset of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Our findings imply that the peak of the MIS M2 cooling in the Eastern Mediterranean may be up to ~40 kyrs older than the age attributed before to benthic stable oxygen isotopes records of this event

Climate variability at the North Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean Sea) during the last two millennia: coccolithophore evidence

International audienc

Sea surface temperatures and environmental conditions during the “warm Pliocene” interval (~ 4.1–3.2 Ma) in the Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus)

International audienc