Biología reproductiva y desarrollo embrionario de Squalus blainvillei en el este del mar Mediterráneo

A total number of 526 Squalus blainvillei was sampled from the bottom trawl and bottom longline catches in the eastern Mediterranean Sea from December 2004 to December 2009. Females outnumbered males and the overall sex ratio was 1.26:1. Females ranged from 182 to 779 mm in total length and males from 180 to 799 mm. Both females and males showed allometric growth (b > 3) and we found statistically significant differences in the relationship between length and weight. Out of the specimens examined, 36% of females and 63% of males were sexually mature. Males reached sexual maturity at smaller sizes than females. The smallest sexually mature female was 523 mm in total length, while the smallest sexually mature male was 425 mm in total length. Mean length at 50% maturity was estimated at 564.4 mm for females and 457.7 mm for males. Sexually mature specimens of both sexes with mature gonads and high GSI were present in high proportions in every season of the year, which indicates a continuous reproductive cycle. Ovarian oocytes continued to develop throughout gestation. Females carrying near-term embryos had large, equally developed ovarian oocytes, which suggests that they ovulate soon after parturition. Ovarian fecundity ranged from 1 to 7 and uterine fecundity ranged from 1 to 6. Embryo length and yolk sac weight were negatively correlated.Un total de 526 Squalus blainvillei procedentes de pescas de arrastre de fondo y palangres de fondo se muestrearon en el este del Mar Mediterráneo, desde diciembre de 2004 hasta diciembre de 2009. Las hembras excedieron en número a los machos y el cociente de sexos fue 1.26:1. Las hembras midieron entre 182 y 779 mm de longitud total y los machos de 180 a 799 mm. Tanto machos como hembras mostraron un crecimiento alométrico (b > 3), pero se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la relación talla y peso. De los especímenes examinados, el 36% de las hembras y el 63% de los machos eran sexualmente maduros. Los machos alcanzaron la madurez sexual a tamaños más pequeños que las hem- bras. La hembra sexualmente madura de menor talla tenía una longitud total de 523 mm, mientras que el macho sexualmente maduro más pequeño tenía una longitud total de 425 mm. La talla media al 50% de madurez, se estimó en 564.4 mm para las hembras y en 457.7 mm para los machos. Los especímenes de ambos sexos sexualmente maduros, con gónadas maduras y alto GSI estuvieron presentes en elevadas proporciones en todas las estaciones del año, indicando un ciclo reproductivo continuo. Los oocitos ováricos continuaron desarrollándose durante la gestación. Las hembras que llevaban embriones desarrollados tenían grandes oocitos ováricos igualmente desarrollados, lo que hace pensar que ovulan pronto después del parto. La fecundidad ovárica varió de 1 a 7 y la fecundidad uterina de 1 a 6. La longitud de los embriones y el peso del saco vitelino estuvieron correlacionados negativamente

Φονική δασική πυρκαγιά στο Μάτι,2018 : Τραγικά Πρόσωπα και Γεγονότα

Οι πυρκαγιές είναι φαινόμενο που απασχολεί ιδιαίτερα τη χώρα μας κυρίως τους καλοκαιρινούς μήνες. Τον Ιούλιο του 2018 η Ελλάδα έμελλε να πληγεί από τη φονικότερη πυρκαγιά στην ιστορία της. 104 άνθρωποι άφησαν την τελευταία τους πνοή είτε εγκλωβισμένοι σε δρόμους και αυτοκίνητα είτε στη θάλασσα είτε αργότερα στα νοσοκομεία. Στόχος αυτής της εργασίας είναι να μπορέσουμε να αποκωδικοποιήσουμε τη στάση αυτών των ανθρώπων και να εξηγήσουμε τις κινήσεις τους . Αρχικά , θα κάνουμε μια εισαγωγή στο φαινόμενο των πυρκαγιών και θα εξιστορήσουμε τα γεγονότα εκείνης της μέρας . Στη συνέχεια , θα καταγράψουμε τα στοιχεία και τις κινήσεις των θυμάτων σ’ ένα πρωτόκολλο και αφού τα κατηγοριοποιήσουμε θα προταθούν κάποιες ενέργειες για αποφυγή μιας τέτοιας τραγωδίας ξανά.Fires are a phenomenon that particularly concerns our country, especially during the summer months. In July 2018, Greece was to be hit by the deadliest fire in its history. 104 people died either trapped in roads and cars or at sea or later in hospitals. The aim of this work is to be able to decode the attitude of these people and explain their movements. First, we will make an introduction to the phenomenon of fires and narrate the events of that day. Next, we will record the details and movements of the victims in a protocol and after categorizing them, some actions will be proposed to avoid such a tragedy again

In-depth assessment of the Member States reporting for the Marine Strategy’s biodiversity monitoring

This work aims to develop recommendations and propose emerging reporting requirements for the update of the monitoring programmes pursuant to MSFD Article 17. Such recommendations will enhance the consistency, comparability and coherence in the monitoring and assessment of marine biodiversity. The results are tailored according to the requirements of the new Commission Decision (2017/848/EU) for criteria and methodological standards to determine Good Environmental Status. The application of the risk-based approach in the European marine waters is amongst the emerging reporting requirements, being less tackled in the first MSFD cycle. The analysis goes deeper than the MSFD Art.12 evaluation performed by the European Commission (COM/2017/3; SWD/2017/1) after the Member States reporting. Its scope goes beyond the evaluation of the individual Member States performance and compliance, being focused on the technical assessment and evaluation of the reports at regional/subregional scales. The perspective of this analysis is to improve the current approach of the MSFD biodiversity Descriptors’ monitoring reports, but the conclusions are relevant to all MSFD Descriptors.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

First evidence of population genetic structure of the deep-water blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810

Genetic connectivity at large spatial scales. Given the lack of species-specific nuclear markers, a total of 129 microsatellite loci (Simple Sequence Repeats, SSRs) were cross-amplified on blackmouth catshark specimens collected in eight geographically distant areas in the Mediterranean Sea and North-eastern Atlantic Ocean. A total of 13 SSRs were finally selected for genotyping, based on which the species exhibited signs of weak, but tangible genetic structure. The clearcut evidence of genetic differentiation of G. melastomus from Scottish waters from the rest of the population samples was defined, indicating that the species is genetically structured in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Southern North-eastern Atlantic. Both individual and frequency-based analyses identified a genetic unit formed by the individuals collected in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily, distinguished from the rest of the Mediterranean and Portuguese samples. In addition, Bayesian analyses resolved a certain degree of separation of the easternmost Aegean sample and the admixed nature of the other Mediterranean and the Portuguese samples. Here, our results supported the hypothesis that the interaction between the ecology and biology of the species and abiotic drivers such as water circulations, temperature and bathymetry may affect the dispersion of G. melastomus, adding new information to the current knowledge of the connectivity of this deep-water species and providing powerful tools for estimating its response to anthropogenic impacts

Working group on cephalopod fisheries and life history (Wgceph; outputs from 2022 meeting)

Rapports Scientifiques du CIEM. Volume 5, nº 1WGCEPH worked on six Terms of Reference. These involved reporting on the status of stocks; reviewing advances in stock identification, assessment for fisheries management and for the Ma- rine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), including some exploratory stock assessments; re- viewing impacts of human activities on cephalopods; developing identification guides and rec- ommendations for fishery data collection; describing the value chain and evaluating market driv- ers; and reviewing advances in research on environmental tolerance of cephalopods. ToR A is supported by an annual data call for fishery and survey data. During 2019–2021, com- pared to 1990–2020, cuttlefish remained the most important cephalopod group in terms of weight landed along the European North Atlantic coast, while loliginid squid overtook octopus as the second most important group. Short-finned squid remained the least important group in land- ings although their relative importance was almost double in 2019–2022 compared to 1992–2020. Total cephalopod landings have been fairly stable since 1992. Cuttlefish landings are towards the low end of the recent range, part of a general downward trend since 2004. Loliginid squid landings in 2019 were close to the maximum seen during the last 20 years but totals for 2020 and 2021 were lower. Annual ommastrephid squid landings are more variable than those of the other two groups and close to the maximum seen during 1992– 2021. Octopod landings have generally declined since 2002 but the amount landed in 2021 was higher than in the previous four years. Under ToR B we illustrate that the combination of genetic analysis and statolith shape analysis is a promising method to provide some stock structure information for L. forbsii. With the sum- mary of cephalopod assessments, we could illustrate that many cephalopod species could al- ready be included into the MSFD. We further provide material from two reviews in preparation, covering stock assessment methods and challenges faced for cephalopod fisheries management. Finally, we summarise trends in abundance indices, noting evidence of recent declines in cuttle- fish and some octopuses of the genus Eledone. Under ToR C, we describe progress on the reviews of (i) anthropogenic impacts on cephalopods and (ii) life history and ecology. In relation to life history, new information on Eledone cirrhosa from Portugal is included. Under ToR D we provide an update on identification guides, discuss best practice in fishery data collection in relation to maturity determination and sampling intensity for fishery monitoring. Among others, we recommend i) to include the sampling of cephalopods in any fishery that (a) targets cephalopods, (b) targets both cephalopods and demersal fishes or (c) takes cephalopods as an important bycatch, ii) Size-distribution sampling, iii) the use of standardized sampling pro- tocols, iv) an increased sampling effort in cephalopod. Work under ToR E on value chains and market drivers, in conjunction with the Cephs & Chefs INTERREG project, has resulted in two papers being submitted. Abstracts of these are in the report. Finally, progress under ToR F on environmental tolerance limits of cephalopods and climate en- velope models is discussed, noting the need to continue this work during the next cycle.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (October 2020)

This Collective Article presents information about 21 taxa belonging to seven Phyla (one Ochrophyta, one Porifera, three Cnidaria, two Arthropoda, three Mollusca, one Echinodermata, and ten Chordata) and extending from the western Mediterranean Sea to the Levantine Sea. The new records were reported from nine countries as follows: Spain: first records of three deep-sea species from the Blanes Canyon along the Catalan margin, namely the gorgonian Placogorgia coronata, the bivalve Acesta excavata, and the Azores rockling Gaidropsarus granti; Italy: first record of the mesopsammic nudibranch Embletonia pulchra from Ligurian shallow-waters; first record of the deep-sea carnivorous sponge Lycopodina hypogea from the north-central Tyrrhenian Sea, living in dense clusters over dead black corals; new records of the Portuguese man o’ war Physalia physalis from Sardinian and Sicilian waters; first Italian record of the large asteroid Coronaster briareus from the Ionian Sea; first record of the white grouper Epinephelus aeneus in the northernmost point of the Adriatic Sea; Croatia: first record of the gastropod Haliotis mykonosensis for the Adriatic Sea; Malta: new sightings of Physalia physalis from Maltese waters; Libya: first record of the sand crab Albunea carabus from two localities along the Libyan coast; Greece: first records of the deep-sea black coral Parantipathes larix from the eastern Mediterranean Sea; first verified record of the agujon needlefish Tylosurus imperialis in the Hellenic Ionian Sea; first confirmed record of the brown algae Treptacantha squarrosa in the eastern Mediterranean Sea; new records of three deep-sea fish species from the Aegean Sea, namely the bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus, the Atlantic pomfret Brama brama, and the rudderfish Centrolophus niger; new record of the tripletail Lobotes surinamensis from Lesvos Island; new record of the shrimp Brachycarpus biunguiculatus from the gut content of the non-indigenous lionfish Pterois miles; Turkey: new record of the imperi- al blackfish Schedophilus ovalis from Turkish waters; Lebanon: first record of the slender sunfish Ranzania laevis, stranded along the Lebanese coast; Israel: new record, after about 60 years from the last catch, of the spotted dragonet Callionymus maculatus.peer-reviewe

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

Aging and life history traits of the longnose spiny dogfish in the Mediterranean Sea: New insights into conservation and management needs

Aging chondrichthyans has been characterized as a slow and difficult process, but at the same time it is considered of fundamental importance for the holistic management and conservation of their populations. This study aims to assess the age and growth of the longnose spurdog S. blainville, to correlate the results to the species’ biological features and to compare them with those reported in previous studies that used different aging methods. By counting the growth bands on the enamel surface of the dorsal fin spines, age was estimated in 569 out of 810 individuals that were taken as by-catch from commercial fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea during an 8-year period. Spine morphometrics revealed sexual dimorphism as far as spine length, spine base width and spine weight are concerned. The between-sex differences were also reflected in the length-weight relationships, in the gonadosomatic (GSI) and hepatosomatic (HSI) indices, and in the condition factor (K). All three somatic indices differed significantly among maturity stages, seasons or age classes. The reproducibility of the age readings was considered high based on the estimated CV and APE precision indices. Age bias plots also indicated no significant intra- and small inter-reader variation. The estimated VBGF parameters were: L∞ = 1097.3 mm, k = 0.03 yr−1 and t0 = −5.58 yrs for females, and L∞ = 665.5 mm, k = 0.08 yr−1 and t0 = −3.35 yrs for males. Likelihood ratio tests showed that all growth parameters were statistically significantly different between sexes ( 2 = 38.26, df = 3, P < 0.001). Females reached higher longevity (28 yrs) than males (22 yrs) and attained maturity at higher age and larger size (T50 = 17 yrs and L50 = 568.1 mm) than males did (T50 = 11.3 yrs and L50 = 460.6 mm). S. blainville seems to be a long-lived shark of slow growth and late maturity, a combination of traits indicating a species of great vulnerability to fishing pressure that can only sustain a low harvest rate