New Mediterranean biodiversity records (March 2016)

In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries mainly throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five Phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: Callinectes sapidus and Chelidonura fulvipunctata; Monaco: Aplysia dactylomela; Italy: Charybdis (Charybdis) feriata, Carcharodon carcharias, Seriola fasciata, and Siganus rivulatus; Malta: Pomacanthus asfur; Croatia: Lagocephalus sceleratus and Pomadasys incisus; Montenegro: Lagocephalus sceleratus; Greece: Amathia (Zoobotryon) verticillata, Atys macandrewii, Cerithium scabridum, Chama pacifica, Dendostrea cf. folium, Ergalatax junionae, Septifer cumingii, Syphonota geographica, Syrnola fasciata, Oxyu- richthys petersi, Scarus ghobban, Scorpaena maderensis, Solea aegyptiaca and Upeneus pori; Turkey: Lobotes surinamensis, Ruvettus pretiosus and Ophiocten abyssicolum. In the current article, the presence of Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann, 1887) is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean from Italy. The great contribution of citizen scientists in monitoring biodiversity records is reflected herein, as 10% of the authors are citizen scientists, and contributed 37.5% of the new findings.peer-reviewe

New distributional record of Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758) from the island of Gokceada, northern Aegean Sea, Turkey

A total of 420 specimens of Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758) were found on two dead loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) washed ashore on the island of Gokceada (northern Aegean Sea). The species is reported for the first time from the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea and is the second record since 1982 for the Turkish Seas

Length-Weight Relationships of 16 Fish Species from Deep Water of Northern Aegean Sea (500-900 m)

In this study was conducted between 500 and 900 at Northern Aegean Sea using by deep longline. Length-weight relationships (LWR) were presented for 16 deep species. Length and weight of each individual were measured, of which 10 species also r(2) and SE (b) were calcuated. Values of b was statiscivaly significantly differ than "3" for all species except Helicolenus dactylopterus. The results show that the general bigger deeper phenomenon for both Merluccius merluccius and Phycis blennoides. The present study reports the first knowledge on the LWR for deep fishes that caught greater than 500 m depth. The aim of this study to obtain the missing biological data on the LWR of deep sea fish species of northern Aegean deep waters and to be as a reference for future studies conducted in deeper areas

Bathymetric distribution of macroinvertebrates in the Northeastern Levantine Sea and the Northeastern Aegean Sea based on bottom-trawl surveys

The objective of this study was to compare the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrate species between the Northeastern Levantine Sea and the Northeastern Aegean Sea. A total of 157 hauls were carried out by commercial trawlers at depths ranging from 30 to 410 m in both areas. The result of SIMPER analysis shows clear differences between the two surveyed areas except for the 300-410 m depth range. Ninety five species were found in the Northeastern Aegean Sea and 100 species in the Northeastern Levantine Sea. Of these species, Pyrosoma atlanticum is newly reported for the Turkish coast. Forty three species were common to both areas

New records of pelagic fauna from the Turkish waters

In this work, three pelagic species have been recorded in the Northern Aegean Sea. The species were collected from depths between 500 and 800 m from 5 stations in summer 2016. While Euphausia krohnii is first recorded from the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea, Allosergestes sargassi and Flaccisagitta hexaptera are reported for the first time from the Turkish seas. The results of the current study will contribute to the knowledge on the deep-water pelagic fauna of the Northern Aegean Sea

DIVERSITY AND BATHYMETRIC DISTRIBUTION OF DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS ATTRACTED TO BAITED TRAPS FROM THE MIDDLE SLOPE OF THE NORTHERN AEGEAN SEA

We sampled the decapod crustaceans inhabiting the depth zone between 500 and 1500 m off Gokceada Island (northern Aegean Sea) from May 2010 to November 2011. The deep-slope decapod fauna of the northern Aegean Sea was sampled with baited traps. A total of 23 species of decapods have been identified at 32 stations. The results were analysed in terms of composition and distribution of benthic and benthopelagic bait-attracted species between regions. In addition, they were compared between stations in relation to the depth gradient. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies carried out in the eastern and western Mediterranean. Also, the use of traps is commented for different regions and the effects of the sampler on benthic species are discussed. The most common species was the penaeid shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris in samples taken between 500 and 600 m. It is followed by Polycheles typhlops and the pandalid shrimp Plesionika martia martia. These species constitute more than 50% of all decapods. Differences among the strata at 500-1500 m depth were tentatively explained using the Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H'). The highest H' value was found for the 800-1000 m depth strata. The lowest number of species was observed between 1000 and 1500 m, which lowered the diversity index values (H'). The results of similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) showed a change in the decapod fauna below 1000 m depth. The present results are preliminary; further data collection and analysis will be required to evaluate the role of palaeoecolgical conditions and trophic factors, and how these could be supposed to interact

The first Indo-West Pacific rock shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Sicyoniidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

Sicyonia lancifer (Olivier, 1811), a widely distributed Indo-West Pacific rock shrimp, was recently collected off the Mediterranean coasts of Turkey and Israel. This is the first record of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. The species is illustrated, and differentiated from its native Mediterranean congener, S. carinata (Brunnich, 1768)

Wanted dead or alive: Corallium rubrum (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) on the coasts of Turkey

WOS: 000438698700007The present paper deals with the occurrence of the red coral Corallium rubrum along the coasts of Turkey. Dead colonies of the species were found in the northern Aegean (one location in Gokceada) and Levantine Seas (three locations) between 45 and 110 m depths, and living colonies were only observed in the northern Aegean Sea (one location in Gokceada) at 50 m depth. The maximum height and basal diameter of dead skeletons of the specimens from Gokceada were measured as 9.6 cm and 8.4 mm, respectively. The present paper extended the distributional range of C. rubrum within the Mediterranean Sea to Anamur, the eastern point in its distribution