New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (April, 2019)

The Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article presents new biodiversity data information on 18 taxa (14 alien, 3 native and 1 cryptogenic species) belonging to 5 Phyla that are reported for 11 different countries listed according to their geographic position from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Algeria: the alien green alga Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla and the heterobranchs Aplysia dactylomeda and Aplysia punctata are first reported from the entire country. France: a new record of the alien hydroid Porpita porpita is reported from the Corsican Sea, representing the second record of the species in the western Mediterranean Sea. Tunisia: the alien fish Scatophagus argus is reported from the Gulf of Gabès, probably representing an aquarium release. Italy: the well-established Mediterranean alien bivalve Malleus regula is first reported from the entire country. Slovenia: the alien marine bivalve Xenostrobus securis is reported for the first time from the entire country. Croatia: the alien gastropod Biuve fulvipunctata is reported for the first time from the country but also from the entire Adriatic Sea. Montenegro: the alien bivalve Rapana venosa is reported for the first time from the Montenegrin waters. Albania: the well-established alien fish Lagocephalus sceleratus and the rare native shark Rhizoprionodon acutus are reported for the first from the entire country. Greece: the rare native ray Leucoraja circularis is reported for the first time from the Argolikos Gulf and for the first time for the entire country its identification is confirmed morphologically and molecularly; additional records of the alien nomad jellyfish Rhopilema nomadic document its expanding distribution, while the occurrence and the alien fishes Sillago suezensis and Pomadasys stridens are reported for the first time from Hellenic waters. Turkey: additional records of the Egyptian Prawn Metapenaeopsis aegyptia are reported with some biological information. Cyprus: the alien fish Variola louti is reported for the first time for the entire Mediterranean Sea, probably released from an aquarium, while the alien moon crab Matuta victor is reported for the first time from the entire country

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia)

Unpublished Mediterranean records of marine alien and cryptogenic species

Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend to remain unpublished, buried in scattered repositories or in the personal databases of experts. Through an initiative to collect, harmonize and make such unpublished data for marine alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea available, a large dataset comprising 5376 records was created. It includes records of 239 alien or cryptogenic taxa (192 Animalia, 24 Plantae, 23 Chromista) from 19 countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of records, the most reported Phyla in descending order were Chordata, Mollusca, Chlorophyta, Arthropoda, and Rhodophyta. The most recorded species was Caulerpa cylindracea, followed by Siganus luridus, Magallana sp. (cf. gigas or angulata) and Pterois miles. The dataset includes records from 1972 to 2020, with the highest number of records observed in 2018. Among the records of the dataset, Dictyota acutiloba is a first record for the Mediterranean Sea. Nine first country records are also included: the alga Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla, the cube boxfish Ostracion cubicus, and the cleaner shrimp Urocaridella pulchella from Israel; the sponge Paraleucilla magna from Libya and Slovenia; the lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus from Cyprus; the bryozoan Celleporaria vermiformis and the polychaetes Prionospio depauperata and Notomastus aberans from Malta

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia).peer-reviewe

Competitive, stress-tolerant and ruderal based classification of some plant species in an Alpine community of the Giresun Mountains in Turkey

WOS: 000407544700008Aim: The CSR strategy model classifies plant species based on established strategies in dealing with two groups of external environmental factors, namely stress and disturbance. The main objective of the present study was to analyze established strategies of some characteristic plant species in the alpine belt of the Giresun Mountains in Turkey and to determine any disturbance on plant species present in the study area. Methodology: Fifty sample plots and ninety plant species were selected from homogenous areas to determine predictor variables for Grime's CSR strategies. Canopy height (CH), dry matter content (LDMC), lateral spreading (LS), dry leaf weight (LDW), specific leaf area (SLA), flowering period (FP) and onset of flowering period (FS) were used to find Grime's strategies for the studied species. Results: Almost all species present in the study area were allocated into nine different secondary or transient Grime's strategies. Most of these secondary or transient strategies (SC, S/SC, and SC/CSR) have a large proportion stress tolerator strategy (S). On the other hand, high number of plant species exhibited CR, C/SC, RICR and C/CR strategies having strong competition and ruderalism extents. CR (competitor-ruderal) was the most common strategy in the study area. Interpretation: Findings suggested that plant species in the study area were exposed to more than one pressure factor. The presence of a large proportion of ruderalism demonstrates the increasing impact of disturbance (grazing and mowing) on the studied species.Research Council of the Giresun University [A-250414-79]This study was funded by the Research Council of the Giresun University (Project Number A-250414-79). Special thanks to Ahmet Ustun and Yagmur Kucuk for their support, administration and services

Preliminary results from the new multiwavelength aerosol lidar scanning system in Turkey

Aerosols affect the radiation budget of the Earth by scattering and absorbing the incoming solar radiation, and by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) to form clouds and/or change their properties. Because of their high spatio-temporal variability and remote nature, investigations of aerosols physical properties have been rather limited until the last few decades. Lately, multiwavelength Raman lidars became an important tool for the measurements of aerosol physical parameters. Such lidars allow to get three aerosol backscattering and two extinction coefficients (so called 3 beta+2 alpha) and from these optical data the particle microphysical parameters such as number, surface area and volume concentrations, effective radius, particle size distribution, particle and volume polarizations and complex refractive index can be retrieved through inversion with regularization, principle component analysis and linear estimation techniques

The possibility of using remote sensing technology of lidars for monitoring ecosystem health by detecting habitat condition

Since the emergence of laser and henceforth laser remote sensing in the 1960's, lidar (light detecting and ranging) technology has became a significant tool for the detection of various phenomena like wind direction and intensity, atmospheric temperature, urban and rural topography, forest fires, ocean planktonic development, and detection of various constituants such as tropospheric aerosols, stratospheric ozone, trace chemicals and etc

Foliar resorption of some macro- (N, P, S) & micronutrients (FE, ZN, CU, MN) in pterocarya fraxinifolia (poiret) spach forests in Turkey

Pterocarya fraxinifolia (Poiret) Spach has a rather restricted distribution in Turkey and occurs in swamp forests. Foliar resorption of some macro- (N, P and S) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) in northern and southern populations of P. fraxinifolia in Turkey was studied. In northern populations, comparatively to southern populations, nitrogen resorption efficiency (NRE) was higher, while phosphorus resorption efficieny (PRE) was lower. Both northern and southern populations were P-proficient, while only northern populations were N-proficient. Negative RE values were found with respect to Zn and MnRE in southern populations. SRE was found to be higher as compared to other deciduous species. It has been found that NRE/PRE ratios >1 in northern populations, while <1 in southern populations