Morphological Anomalies Observed on Vertebralina striata dOrbigny, 1826 Test in the Northern Coast of Karaburun Peninsula (Izmir-Turkey)

Morphological abnormalities have been observed on the test of recent foraminifer samples and locally different ecological conditions, such as, hypersalinity, presence of heavy metals and thermal springs are suggested to be the cause of this phenomenon. Abnormal test development, as well as twins and triplets are commonly observed in natural and artificial saltpans which form hypersaline environments. Submarine freshwater springs can cause extreme seasonal salinity variations on the coastal regions which affects the benthic foraminifer species and results in the abnormal test development. Vertebralina striata d’Orbigny individuals with abnormal aperture morphology have been found in samples collected around the thermal springs in Çeşme-Ilıca Bay. More surprisingly, specimens with similar aperture abnormality have also been observed in samples collected from other two stations on the Karaburun Peninsula. Five of the abnormal specimens had two apertures the others had three. A specimen collected from Ilıca Bay had two apertures, one of which is the typical Vertebralina striata d’Orbigny aperture, but the other was distantly located and rounded. Vertebralina striata d’Orbigny is widely distributed in world's seas, however such aperture abnormalities has not been reported elsewhere. Observation of similar morphological abnormalities in three distinct locations suggests a common cause. The submarine spring found in Ilıca Bay supports the idea that spring waters affect the chemical composition of the seawater locally, leading to this aperture abnormality

New Mediterranean marine biodiversity records (December, 2013)

Based on recent biodiversity studies carried out in different parts of the Mediterranean, the following 19 species are included as new records on the floral or faunal lists of the relevant ecosystems: the green algae Penicillus capitatus (Maltese waters); the nemertean Am- phiporus allucens (Iberian Peninsula, Spain); the salp Salpa maxima (Syria); the opistobranchs Felimida britoi and Berghia coerulescens (Aegean Sea, Greece); the dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus (central-west Mediterranean and Ionian Sea, Italy); Randall’s threadfin bream Nemipterus randalli, the broadbanded cardinalfish Apogon fasciatus and the goby Gobius kolombatovici (Aegean Sea, Turkey); the reticulated leatherjack Stephanolepis diaspros and the halacarid Agaue chevreuxi (Sea of Marmara, Turkey); the slimy liagora Ganon- ema farinosum, the yellowstripe barracuda Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata and the Persian conch Conomurex persicus (south-eastern Kriti, Greece); the blenny Microlipophrys dalmatinus and the bastard grunt Pomadasys incisus (Ionian Sea, Italy); the brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey); the blue-crab Callinectes sapidus (Corfu, Ionian Sea, Greece). In addition, the findings of the following rare species improve currently available biogeographical knowledge: the oceanic pufferfish Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Malta); the yellow sea chub Kyphosus incisor (Almuñécar coast of Spain); the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus and the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey).peer-reviewe

Oscilla galilae, a new species of Pyramidellidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) from the Eastern Mediterranean

Volume: 30Start Page: 1End Page:

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (November 2018)

Baki Yokes, Mehmet ... et al.-- 17 pages, 21 figures, 3 tablesIn the present article, new records are given for 18 species (6 native, 9 alien and 3 cryptogenic), belonging to 5 Phyla (i.e. Chlorophyta, Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca and Chordata), from 8 Mediterranean countries: Spain: A large population of Polycerella emertoni reported from the Ebro Delta, the presence of Spinimuricea klavereni is confirmed for the first time in the Catalan coast; Italy: the new record of Cryptonome turcica extends its distribution to the western Mediterranean Sea, the findings of Mawia benovici constitute the southernmost record of this species in the Adriatic Sea; Slovenia: second record of the alien seaslug Cuthona perca in the Mediterranean Sea; Montenegro: Styela plicata communities were recorded in Boka Kotorska Bay; Albania: the native great torpedo ray Tetronarce nobiliana recorded for the first time in Albanian waters; Greece: first record of Lagocephalus sceleratus in the Greek side of the Adriatic, the records of Cassiopea andromeda and Pterois miles are first records of these species from the Ionian Sea, the colonial ascidians Aplidium coeruleum and Didemnum protectum are recorded for the first time in the Eastern Mediterranean, an extremely abundant population of Melibe viridis is found in Messolonghi lagoon, the record of Synchiropus sechellensis is the range expansion of this species in Greek Seas, Acetabularia caliculus is recorded for the first time from Greece; Cyprus: first records of Callionymus filamentosus and Haminoea cyanomarginata from the island; Turkey: the presence of Berthellina citrina in the Mediterranean is confirmedTheir work was performed under the MitiCap and ResCap projects, which are founded by the Fundación Biodiversidad from the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica, trough the Pleamar Program, co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. [...] The sampling has been funded by the Horizon 2020 project N. 634495 “Science, Technology, and Society Initiative to minimize Unwanted Catches in European Fisheries (MINOUW)”. [...] The sampling was funded by the EU-funded project: ‘Training Network for Monitoring Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas’ [MMMPA: FP7-PEOPLE2011-ITN, grant number 290056]Peer Reviewe

Pinna nobilis in the south Marmara Islands (Sea of Marmara); it still remains uninfected by the epidemic and acts as egg laying substratum for an alien invader

A total of 12 Pinna nobilis beds were found and studied at depths varying between 2 and 6 m in the south Marmara Islands (Sea of Marmara). Fan mussel individuals in the beds were healthy with a few old dead specimens, indicating that the epidemic, which has devastated P. nobilis populations in the Mediterranean Sea, has not reached the Sea of Marmara, making the region a refuge area for the species. The average density of P. nobilis in the area varied between 0.6 ind.10 m(-2) and 24 ind.10 m(-2). The P. nobilis shells overall provided substrata or refuge for 14 species (10 sessile and 4 motile organisms), from macroalgae to fish. Shells of juvenile and adult specimens had different species assemblages. Four distinct assemblages were detected on shells, primarily formed by the red alga Gracilaria bursa-postaris, egg cocoons of the invasive alien Rapana venosa, the gastropod Bittium reticulatum and the serpulid polychaete Spirobranchus polytrema.MarIAS Project (Invasive Alien Species Threats at Key Marine Biodiversity Areas Project); Global Environment Facility (GEF)This study was supported by the MarIAS Project (Invasive Alien Species Threats at Key Marine Biodiversity Areas Project), which is being implemented by Directorate General for Nature Conservation and National Parks under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and UNDP with the financial support of Global Environment Facility (GEF). We would like to thank the handling editor Dr. Stelios Katsanevakis and two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript, and Dr. Wagner Magalhaes (University of Hawaii, USA) for checking the English of the final version of the paper

Checklist of Cnidaria and Ctenophora from the coasts of Turkey

WOS: 000344879100002This paper presents the actual status of species diversity of the phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora along the Turkish coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, and the Levantine Sea. A total of 195 cnidarian species belonging to 5 classes (Hydrozoa, Cubozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa, and Anthozoa) have been determined in these regions. Eight anthozoan species (Arachnanthus oligopodus, Bunodactis rubripunctata, Bunodeopsis strumosa, Corynactis viridis, Halcampoides purpureus, Sagartiogeton lacerates, Sagartiogeton undatus, and Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) are reported for the first time as elements of the Turkish marine fauna in the present study. The highest number of cnidarian species (121 species) was reported from the Aegean Sea, while the lowest (17 species) was reported from the Black Sea. The hot spot areas for cnidarian diversity are the Prince Islands, Istanbul Strait, Izmir Bay, and Datca Peninsula, where relatively intensive scientific efforts have been carried out. Regarding ctenophores, 7 species are distributed along the Turkish coasts, 5 of which were reported from the Black Sea. A total of 16 alien cnidarian and 2 ctenophore species were determined in the regions. Two species (Sagartiogeton laceratus and Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) are new alien species for the Mediterranean Sea and could have been introduced to the northern part of the Sea of Marmara and Iskenderun Bay, areas from which these species are recorded, by ships from the North-East Atlantic.TUBITAK ProjectTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [111Y268]; Environmental Protection Agency for Special Protected Areas (Fethiye-Gocek Specially Protected Area)Some data in the present study were obtained from a TUBITAK Project (111Y268) and the project was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency for Special Protected Areas (Fethiye-Gocek Specially Protected Area)

A NEW RECORD FOR THE MARINE ALGAL FLORA OF TURKEY: TITANODERMA TROCHANTER (BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT) BENHISSOUNE, BOUDOURESQUE, PERRET-BOUDOURESQUE AND VERLAQUE, 2002 (RHODOPHYTA, CORALLINALES, CORALLINACEAE)

The coralline alga, Titanoderma trochanter, was recorded for the first time in Turkey. In 2009, thalli were observed in the wave-exposed lower eulittoral rock settings at depths of 0.1-0.5 m on the coasts of Fethiye Bay (south-eastern Aegean Sea) and Kas (Antalya, Levantine Sea). It often covered approximately 30-40% of rocky substrata where it was found in Fethiye Bay. The vegetative structure as well as habitat and the distribution of this species are described

First report of Caulerpa taxifolia (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) on the Levantine coast (Turkey, eastern Mediterranean)

Since its first accidental introduction into the Mediterranean Sea, Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh has spread to six Mediterranean countries and has become a major ecological problem. On the basis of morphological and molecular studies (nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS)), we report for the first time C. tax fblia on the Levantine coast (Gulf of Iskenderun, SE Turkey). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Iskenderun isolate differs from the invasive aquarium strain first observed in Monaco, and falls in another SW Pacific clade (NE Australia, New Caledonia). The introduction in Turkey by shipping (ballast waters or anchor gears of oil tankers) is possible because C. taxifolia was found in the Gulf of Iskenderun, which is a major Eastern Mediterranean petrochemical region. On the other hand, C. taxifolia strains are available in aquarium shops in Turkey, suggesting aquarium dumping as another possible cause. As far as the intense maritime traffic of the region is concerned, further dispersals of this exotic C. taxifolia strain in the Mediterranean Sea are to be expected. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved