Vulnerable marine ecosystems and biological features of Gazul mud volcano (Gulf of Cádiz): A contribution towards a potential "Gulf of Cádiz" EBSA

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of socioeconomic and scientific importance for oceanographic, geological and biological processes. An interesting feature of the GoC is the presence of a large amount of mud volcanoes (MVs) and diapirs that display different seepage, seabed types, oceanographic settings and biological communities. Detailed exploration of some MVs is still needed for detecting Vulnerable Marine ecosystems (VMEs) that seem to be rare in other areas of the GoC, improving the current knowledge on its biodiversity and ecological attributes. During different expeditions (MEDWAVES-ATLAS, INDEMARES-CHICA 0610 & 0412 and ISUNEPCA 0616) carried out in different years, biological samples and videos were obtained in Gazul MV (Spanish Margin of the GoC). The study of those samples and videos has revealed the presence of several ecologically important VMEs (e.g. 3 species of reef framework-forming corals, coral gardens including solitary scleractinians, gorgonians and antipatharians, as well as deep-sea sponge aggregations and chemosynthesis-related structures) and a large number of species occurring in this MV, including new records for the European margin, threatened species and non-previously described species. The combination of different environmental and anthropogenic factors allowed the present-day persistence of these VMEs in the GoC. Some of Gazul MV biological and ecological attributes fit several criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity for EBSA description (e.g. 1,3,4,6) that, together with those of other areas of the GoC, may contribute to the future potential nomination of an EBSA in this area of the NE Atlantic

Study of doubly strange systems using stored antiprotons

Bound nuclear systems with two units of strangeness are still poorly known despite their importance for many strong interaction phenomena. Stored antiprotons beams in the GeV range represent an unparalleled factory for various hyperon-antihyperon pairs. Their outstanding large production probability in antiproton collisions will open the floodgates for a series of new studies of systems which contain two or even more units of strangeness at the P‾ANDA experiment at FAIR. For the first time, high resolution γ-spectroscopy of doubly strange ΛΛ-hypernuclei will be performed, thus complementing measurements of ground state decays of ΛΛ-hypernuclei at J-PARC or possible decays of particle unstable hypernuclei in heavy ion reactions. High resolution spectroscopy of multistrange Ξ−-atoms will be feasible and even the production of Ω−-atoms will be within reach. The latter might open the door to the |S|=3 world in strangeness nuclear physics, by the study of the hadronic Ω−-nucleus interaction. For the first time it will be possible to study the behavior of Ξ‾+ in nuclear systems under well controlled conditions

Three species of Reteporella (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) in a diapiric and mud volcano field of the Gulf of Cádiz, with the description of Reteporella victori n.sp.

Diapirs and mud volcanoes (MVs) are formed by the migration and extrusion of fluids and mud to the seafloor, respectively. In the Gulf of Cádiz there are ca. 60 MVs and several diapirs with different environmental conditions and seepage activity. Previous studies, mainly on MVs, have demonstrated that the invertebrate fauna associated with these seafloor structures can be very diverse, including chemosymbiotic species, mostly mollusks and frenulate polychaetes, as well as vulnerable suspension feeders, such as cold-water corals and sponges, among others. Previous studies of the bryozoan fauna in this area have recorded species belonging to 28 families. One of these families is Phidoloporidae, which comprises 27 genera worldwide, including the common Rhynchozoon, Reteporellina, and Reteporella. In the present study, two species belonging to Reteporella are redescribed, and a new species is described from diapirs and MVs on the shelf and slope of the Gulf of Cádiz. The samples were collected during several oceanographic expeditions carried out by the Instituto Español de Oceanografia. This genus is well represented in the NE Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and our study extends its occurrence on MVs and diapirs fields of the Gulf of Cádiz

Descubiertas cuatro nuevas especies de briozoos marinos

Los fondos marinos profundos del margen Ibérico albergan zonas que han sido poco exploradas hasta la fecha y que contienen montañas, cañones submarinos y volcanes de fango entre otros relieves marinos, así como diferentes hábitats, algunos conformados por singulares comunidades quimiosintéticas y otros por complejos corales centenarios que ofrecen refugio y alimento a diferentes especies. En los últimos años, el avance de nuevas tecnologías de estudio del fondo marino ha permitido localizar y cartografiar estas zonas, y por otro lado aumentar el conocimiento de su biodiversidad. Algunas de las especies ya eran conocidas para otras zonas similares del Mediterráneo o Atlántico, pero otras han resultado ser citas nuevas para las aguas españolas e incluso nuevas especies para la ciencia. En este trabajo mostramos algunas especies recientemente encontradas en aguas del golfo de Cádiz y del mar de Alborán. Se trata de especies del filo Bryozoa, las cuales han sido poco estudiados entre el norte de África y el sur de Europa, donde se encuentra una alta biodiversidad de especies provenientes del Atlántico boreal, Mediterráneo y zona subtropical africana.En prensa

New advances in the study of the biodiversity of the SCI “Volcanes de fango del golfo de Cádiz” (southwestern Spanish Margin)

The Gulf of Cádiz represents an important seepage area with ca. 70 mud volcanoes (MV), of which one third are located in European waters (Spain and Portugal). Previous projects and expeditions resulted on a large amount of information on different aspects of MV of the Moroccan margin, which seem to have a higher seepage activity than those of the Iberian margin. Those studies mainly focused on their geological characteristics, whereas others offered novel information on their associated biota, especially the endosymbiont-bearing invertebrates as well as non-previously described species (Vanreusel et al. 2009). In 2014, the MV of the Spanish margin of the Gulf of Cádiz were included in the Natura 2000 network (Site of Community Importance - SCI "Volcanes de fango del golfo de Cádiz" - ESZZ12002) under the framework of the Life + project INDEMARES. Nowadays, the LIFE IP PAF INTEMARES project represents an opportunity for improving the knowledge on the biodiversity of this SCI