Epistomaroides punctatus (Said, 1949) - a new alien foraminifera found at Akhziv - Rosh HaNikra, northern Israel, eastern Mediterranean Sea

The alien benthic foraminifera Epistomaroides punctatus (Said) is reported for the first time from the northern part of theIsraeli coast. Three living specimens were collected in April 2005, at the vermetid reefs of Akhziv - Rosh HaNikra. Epistomaroidespunctatus has so far only been reported from the Indo-Pacific realm; thus, it is suggested to be a Lessepsian invader

A novel marine bioinvasion vector: Ichthyochory, live passage through fish

Many species of Indo-Pacific holobenthic foraminifera have been introduced and successfully established sustainable populations in the Mediterranean Sea over the past few decades. However, known natural and anthropogenic vectors do not explain how these species were introduced long distances from their origin. We present evidence for a novel marine bioinvasion vector explaining this long-distance transport and introduction using both contemporary field and historical analyses. In 2015–2016, we found living specimens of 29 foraminiferal species in the fecal pellets of two Red Sea herbivorous rabbitfish—Siganus rivulatus and Siganus luridus in the Mediterranean. In our historical analysis, we found 34 foraminiferal species in preserved Red Sea rabbitfish specimens, dating between 1967 and 1975. In addition, we found congruent propagation patterns of the non-indigenous rabbitfish and foraminifera, lagging 4–11 yrs between discoveries, respectively. Predation of marine benthos by non-indigenous fish, followed by incomplete digestion and defecation of viable individuals, comprise the main introduction vector of these organisms into novel environments

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

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.The research leading to these results was partly supported by funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme ([FP7/2007-2013]) under grant agreement n° 287600 - PERSEUS project (Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research for the Southern European Seas). MAMIAS has been developed for the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas of the UNEP/ Mediterranean Action Plan under contracts No 67, 68, 69, 70 and 71 /2011/RAC/RPA

The effect of long-term brine discharge from desalination plants on benthic foraminifera.

Desalination plants along the Mediterranean Israeli coastline currently provide ~587 million m3 drinking water/year, and their production is planned to increase gradually. Production of drinking water is accompanied by a nearly equivalent volume of brine discharge with a salinity of ~80 that is twice the normal, which can potentially impact marine ecosystems. The goal of this study was to examine whether benthic foraminifera, a known sensitive marine bio-indicator, are affected by this brine-discharge. For that, we investigated the seasonal and cumulative effect of brine discharges of three operating desalination facilities along the Israeli coast. Those facilities are located in Ashkelon, Hadera, and Sorek. The brine-discharge in the first two desalination plants is associated with thermal pollution, while the Sorek facility entails increased salinity but no thermal pollution. In four seasonal cruises during one year, we collected surface sediment samples in triplicates by grabs from the outfall (near the discharge site), and from a non-impacted control station adjacent to each study site. Our results highlight that the most robust responses were observed at two out of three desalination shallow sites (Ashkelon and Hadera), where the brine was discharged directly from a coastal outfall and was accompanied with thermal pollution from the nearby power plants. The total foraminiferal abundance and diversity were, generally, lower near the outfalls, and increased towards the control stations. Moreover, changes in the relative abundances of selected species indicate their sensitivity to the brine discharge. The most noticeable response to exclusively elevated salinity was detected at Sorek discharge site, where we observed a sharp decline in organic-cemented agglutinated benthic foraminifera, suggesting that these are particularly sensitive to elevated salinity. The herein study contribute new insights into the effect of brine discharge from desalination plants, on benthic foraminifera, and propose a scientifically-based ecological monitoring tool that can help stakeholders

Influences of Temperature and Secondary Environmental Parameters on Planktonic Foraminiferal Mg/Ca: A New Core-Top Calibration

The accuracy of the Mg/Ca paleothermometer is contested over the influences of secondary environmental parameters such as salinity and pH. Recent calibrations based on compiled sediment trap and laboratory culture data suggest moderate influences from salinity and pH. Core tops are the best analogues to downcore samples used for paleoceanographic reconstruction with well‐constrained environmental parameters and thus can be used to validate sediment trap and laboratory culture calibrations. Here, we calibrate new core‐top Mg/Ca data in Globigerinoides ruber (white) and Trilobatus sacculifer (without final sac‐like chamber) with sea surface temperature, salinity, and pH. Part of these coretops were previously used to argue for a large salinity effect on G. ruber (w) Mg/Ca (Arbuszewski et al., 2010, http://10.0.3.248/j.epsl.2010.10.035). Our new G. ruber (w) Mg/Ca data are on average 12% lower than the previous results. Our calibrations yield Mg/Ca‐temperature sensitivities of 8.1 ± 0.7%/°C for G. ruber (w) and 6.6 ± 0.8%/°C for T. sacculifer (w/o sac), and Mg/Ca salinity effects of 4.7 ± 2.4%/‰ for G. ruber (w) and 5.5 ± 2.3%/‰ for T. sacculifer (w/o sac). These results agree well with culture experiments but discount the large salinity effects reported in previous core‐top studies. Our data reveal insignificant pH effects on Mg/Ca in both species. Overall, our core‐top calibrations for G. ruber (w) and T. sacculifer (w/o sac) lend strong support to previous calibrations, strengthening our confidence in the use of planktonic Mg/Ca as a reliable proxy for sea surface temperature reconstructions.This research is supported by ARC Future Fellowship (FT140100993), Discovery Projects (DP140101393 and DP190100894), and NSFC (41676026) to J. Y. New data generated in this study are archived on Pangaea (https://doi.pangaea.de/ 10.1594/PANGAEA.905128)

Influences of Temperature and Secondary Environmental Parameters on Planktonic Foraminiferal Mg/Ca : A New Core-Top Calibration

The accuracy of the Mg/Ca paleothermometer is contested over the influences of secondary environmental parameters such as salinity and pH. Recent calibrations based on compiled sediment trap and laboratory culture data suggest moderate influences from salinity and pH. Core tops are the best analogues to downcore samples used for paleoceanographic reconstruction with well-constrained environmental parameters and thus can be used to validate sediment trap and laboratory culture calibrations. Here, we calibrate new core-top Mg/Ca data in Globigerinoides ruber (white) and Trilobatus sacculifer (without final sac-like chamber) with sea surface temperature, salinity, and pH. Part of these coretops were previously used to argue for a large salinity effect on G. ruber (w) Mg/Ca (Arbuszewski et al., 2010, http://10.0.3.248/j.epsl.2010.10.035). Our new G. ruber (w) Mg/Ca data are on average 12% lower than the previous results. Our calibrations yield Mg/Ca-temperature sensitivities of 8.1 ± 0.7%/°C for G. ruber (w) and 6.6 ± 0.8%/°C for T. sacculifer (w/o sac), and Mg/Ca salinity effects of 4.7 ± 2.4%/‰ for G. ruber (w) and 5.5 ± 2.3%/‰ for T. sacculifer (w/o sac). These results agree well with culture experiments but discount the large salinity effects reported in previous core-top studies. Our data reveal insignificant pH effects on Mg/Ca in both species. Overall, our core-top calibrations for G. ruber (w) and T. sacculifer (w/o sac) lend strong support to previous calibrations, strengthening our confidence in the use of planktonic Mg/Ca as a reliable proxy for sea surface temperature reconstructions