La cova des Coll

[cat] La Cova des Coll (Felanitx) presenta a l’actualitat un recorregut de 7.020 m totals, dels quals 5.529 m són subaquàtics. Compta amb dues entrades naturals i dos pous artificials que connecten amb la cova. Una de les entrades comunica amb la mar i l’altra es localitza a l’interior. Un sector de la cavitat està situat sota el nucli urbà de Portocolom. La principal característica que destaca de la morfologia de la cavitat és l’absència quasi total d’espeleotemes, a causa dels efectes de la corrosió de les aigües i la gran abundància de morfologies de corrosió, de les quals presentam un catàleg de formes. Sembla que la destrucció de les formacions litoquímiques ha seguit un gradient de transició de la mar cap a l’interior i de dalt a baix. Els sediments de la cova des Coll presenten dues clares unitats diferenciades tant per la seva coloració com pel seu contingut mineralògic. Una superior, de composició principalment carbonatada on la calcita és dominant i amb coloracions clares, i una inferior, on la presència dels components silícics es la característica principal juntament amb la seva tonalitat vermellosa. Encara que hi ha importants diferències al llarg de la cavitat, especialment entre els sectors propers a la mar, a on falta la capa superior, i els més interiors. Estan formats per llims més o menys arenosos i amb elevades quantitats d’argiles. A part d’aquestes acumulacions que podem considerar subactuals, a molts indrets de la cavitat s’han observat acumulacions argiloses adossades a les parets, amb senyals d’erosió, que representarien etapes anteriors de rebliment en condicions ambientals diferents de les actuals. Els perfils de salinitat i temperatura de les columnes d’aigua mostren 4 franges ben diferenciades. La comunicació directa amb la mar determina corrents que distorsionen el perfil típic, exceptuant les cotes de major profunditat, poc afectades per les masses d’aigua superiors en moviment quan penetren o surten del sistema càrstic per diferències baromètriques amb la mar. S’ha observat sota les aigües, un important flux d’aigua que ascendeix per la paret d’una sala interior per diferència de densitats cap a la superfície de la columna hídrica. La distribució faunística ha estat estudiada als distints sectors de la cavitat i per preferències de salinitat. S’han censat 15 espècies d’invertebrats no artròpodes, amb la distribució condicionada especialment per la distància a la mar. S’han classificat 7 esponges, de les quals cal destacar 3 cites noves per al litoral espanyol, que són les següents espècies: Plakina dilopha, Suberites carnosus (Johnston) var. flavus Topsent, 1900 i Amorphinopsis pallescens, si no es tracta d’una espècie nova, aquesta és la segona cita de l’espècie en el Mediterrani. Les esponges presenten les espícules robustes, el que indica una disponibilitat de sílice important. Els estudis efectuats evidencien que la font d’obtenció són els sediments. Dels dos poliquets determinats Bispira viola constitueix la primera cita a la Península Ibèrica i a les Balears. S’han citat 29 espècies de crustacis, 6 d’elles, corresponen a copèpodes harpacticoides i a un ostràcode, no s’han determinat. La resta pertanyen a grups tan diversos com leptòstracis, decàpodes, amfípodes, isòpodes, misidacis, termosbenacis i copèpodes calanoids, misofrioids i ciclopoids. Un 61% de les espècies són estigobionts, és a dir, habitants exclusius del medi aquàtic subterrani; la resta són espècies marines litorals, típiques d’hàbitats creviculars o suprabèntics, i que per tant es troben preadaptades a la vida en les cavernes, o són pròpies del plàncton marí de badies i ports. Quatre de les espècies trobades són noves per a la Ciència, i es troben en curs de descripció formal; dues d’elles, no es coneixen fins ara enlloc més del món que a la cova des Coll. Nou de les espècies són endèmiques de les Balears. De l’estudi aprofundit en el coneixement d’aquesta cavitat se’n desprèn que són necessàries i urgents establir mesures efectives de protecció que permetin conservar aquest patrimoni natural i cultural vulnerable.[eng] The Cova des Coll (Felanitx) has a current survey length of 7,020 m, of which 5,529 m are subaquatic. The cave has two natural entrances and two artificial wells also connect with it. One of the natural entrances connects with the bay of Portocolom and the other is inland. Part of the cave lies below an urbanised area of Portocolom. The principal characteristic which highlights the geomorphology of the cave is the almost complete absence of speleothems due to the corrosive effects of the water and the large abundance of corrosion morphologies, which we have catalogued by form. It appears that the level of destruction of speleothems decreases moving inland and moving downward. The sediments of the Cova des Coll have two clearly definable units identifiable both by colour and by mineral content: an upper layer whose composition is mainly carbonate where calcite dominates and its colour is lighter and a lower one where silicic components are its principal characteristic along with its reddish tone. There are important differences moving through the cave, especially between the sections closer to the sea, which lack the upper layer, and those more inland, which are formed by more or less sandy mud with high levels of clays. In addition to these accumulations which can be considered as being earlier, red muddy accumulations have been seen on the walls in many places, which show signs of erosion and which represent earlier stages of in-filling during different environmental conditions to those now. The water-column profiles of salinity and temperature have four well-defined bands. The directness of communication with the bay determines the currents which distort the typical profile, except at greater depths. These depths are less effected by mass movements of water into and out of the cave as the bay level changes with barometric changes. An important flow of water in the interior chambers has been observed, where the water rises up the chamber walls owing to the different densities toward the surface of the water column. The faunal distribution, including salinity preferences, has been studied in the different sections of the cave. 15 species of non-arthropod invertebrates have been catalogued and their distribution is closely related to their distance inland from the sea. 7 sponges have been classified, three of which are not worthy for their first sighting along the Spanish coast. Amorphinopsis pallescens, if not a new species, is the second sighting of this species in the Mediterranean. The sponges have robust spicules, which indicate a high level of available silica. The studies carried out show evidence that the source of this is the sediment. Of the two polychaeta Found Bispira viola constitutes the first sighting of the species for the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Twenty-nine species of crustaceans are reported from the cave, 5 of them corresponing to harpacticoid copepods and 1 to an ostracod. The rest belong to diverse groups such as leptostracans, decapods, amphipods, isopods, mysids, thermosbaenaceans, and calanoid, misophrioid and cyclopoid copepods. 61% of the species are stygobionts (i.e., obligate groundwater dwellers); the rest correspond to littoral marine species characteristic of suprabenthic or crevicular marine habitats, preadapted in some way to live in caves, or are neritic species characteristic of the plankton of bays and harbours. Four of the stygobiont species are new to Science. 9 of the species found in the cave are Balearic endemics. Following the detailed study of this cave it has become apparent the urgent need to establish effective protective measures which will permit the conservation of this natural and culturally valuable patrimony

San Adrian: un nuevo yacimiento de la Edad del Bronce en el Norte de la Peninsula Iberica

Bronze Age studies carried out in the Cantabrian Region have traditionally focused on prestige goods and funerary contexts. As a result of this, the lack of information about daily activities, subsistence strategies, and human settlement on a regional scale is evident in the state of art. However, current research has achieved new discoveries in recent years, allowing a reconstruction of some aspects of the economic structure, settlements, material culture and the palaeoenvironment during the Bronze Age. Indeed, besides the funerary practices discovered in 1983 in San Adrian (Parztuergo Nagusia, Gipuzkoa), research has now revealed the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This paper presents a first characterization of the retrieved evidence and a preliminary evaluation of the archaeological site and its environment. San Adrian is a tunnel-shaped cave located at 1,000 meters a.s.l. in the Aizkorri mountain range, opening a passage beneath the Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed in northern Iberia. The strategic character of this mountain site is demonstrated by the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations, and by the construction of a road passing through it and the fortification of both its entrances in the Middle Ages. The aim of the archaeological survey started in 2008 was to identify, describe and evaluate the heritage potential of the cave, because previous fieldwork had only managed to make surface finds in the side galleries, including a medieval hoard and Bronze Age human remains. The work carried out by our research group at San Adrian includes a series of test pits and the excavation of an area nine square metres in size following stratigraphic criteria. In the current state, we identified at least two contexts corresponding to Late Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations in the cave. Fieldwork included the sieving and flotation of sediment and the collection of samples for different types of analysis: palynology, carpology, sedimentology, and radiocarbon dating. The evidence is being studied by a multidisciplinary team according to expertise requirements for each topic: palaeobotany and environment, archaeozoology, sedimentology, geology, physical anthropology, prehistoric industries (lithics, pottery and bone) and archaeological and historical documentation. Because of its recent discovery, Upper Palaeolithic evidence remains still under study, but first results on Bronze Age layers can be presented. The ongoing archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies reveal the exploitation of domestic plants and fauna complemented by hunting and foraging of wild species. At the same time, the archaeological artefacts and their production sequences show the exploitation of nearby resources on both sides of the mountain range, while prestige goods are absent. This evidence is also used to estimate the regularity of cave occupations and to propose a model of seasonal exploitation of the mountain environment. The results obtained reveal the exploitation of resources from both the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins, and contribute towards an understanding of the daily activities of Bronze Age societies. In addition, the evidence shows the exchange and circulation of quotidian products between the Cantabrian region and inland Iberia in other networks than those of prestige goods

Es Dolç (Colònia de Sant Jordi, ses Salines, Mallorca). Cavitat litoral amb influències hipogèniques

[cat] S’han fet exploracions i estudis per part del Grup Nord de Mallorca al llarg dels anys 2011, 2012 i 2013 que han suposat 90 dies d’immersions. La cavitat, de direcció general SW-NE, compta amb tres esfondraments naturals que permeten accedir al sistema, que posseeix un recorregut de 4.100 m, amb un desnivell que supera els 36 m i una fondària màxima de 27 m. La distància lineal, si se segueix la cova, entre l’entrada més propera a la mar i la part interior més allunyada és de 1.444 m. Pràcticament tota la cova, llevat les entrades, és subaquàtica. La troballa i documentació de la cavitat suposa donar a conèixer l’existència d’una important formació endocàrstica als materials del Quaternari i del Pliocè. La cova es pot considerar, com una megaforma constituïda per un sistema de cavitats de planta ramiforme, és a dir, una planta divagant a on els plans d’estratificació i les sales d’esfondrament han assolit un paper important en el desenvolupament d’algunes zones de la cavitat. La formació de la cova ha estat una combinació dels factors genètics hipogènics, freàtics litorals i amb fortes influències del drenatge de les aigües subterrànies cap a la mar. La cavitat consta de dos nivells molt diferenciats: per una part, galeries hipogèniques ascendents que constitueixen les zones més fondes de la cavitat, i que s’inicien dins dels materials del Pliocè i, per altra banda, les galeries horitzontals i d’aspecte freàtic, excavades a les eolianites del Quaternari. Els estudis morfomètrics denoten una disposició consistent en un conjunt de galeries de dimensions relativament amples (>4 m), desenvolupades a unes fondàries bastant constants entre -6 i -12 m. Els passatges de major profunditat estan prou ben representats (gairebé un 25% de la cova discorre entre -14 i -26 m) en relació amb l’existència de conductes ascendents lligats a l’alimentació profunda del sistema de drenatge. L’absència de morfologies secundàries o de precipitació és, llevat de poques excepcions, un dels trets més distintius de la cavitat, ja que són molt pocs els indrets on hi són presents. Els materials propis de la dinàmica sedimentària de la cavitat consisteixen en nivells arenosos fins, amb grans carbonatats probablement procedents de la desagregació i rentat mecànic de les eolianites de les parets. Els nivells molt llimosos de color vermellós que, a part de minerals de les argiles, incorporen elevades quantitats de quars, correspondrien a elements procedents de la infiltració superficial. Destaquen dipòsits obscurs amb presència d’importants quantitats de ferro i especialment manganès que pot arribar a valors del 40%. Els centenars de metres més propers a la mar són freqüentats per espècies marines de vertebrats i invertebrats que presenten elevada tolerància a les aigües més dolces. El descobriment més sorprenent i interessant a nivell faunístic ha estat la troballa de nombrosos espècimens del crustaci misidaci Burrimysis palmeri que només es coneixia fins ara de la cova des Burrí, cavitat de l’illa de Cabrera. S’ha recuperat dins la cavitat una àmfora del tipus MGS V, també denominada grecoitàlica arcaica de la variant LWa. La cronologia d’aquest tipus de produccions oscil•laria entre finals del segle IV i inicis del III aC. L’abocament de les aigües residuals, provinents de la depuradora de la Colònia de Sant Jordi, suposa la contaminació de les aigües subterrànies i alhora la destrucció progressiva d’una cavitat excepcional, que drena cap a la mar, amb uns valors patrimonials naturals geològics i biològics de primer ordre.[eng] Exploration and scientific research have been done by Grup Nord de Mallorca during the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 representing a total of 90 days of dives. The cave, with a general SW-NE trend, shows three collapse structures that give way to the entrance of the system. With a total length of 4100 m, and 36 m of maximum difference in height, attain a maximum depth of 27 m bsl. The maximum distance measured, along the cave course, between the entrance nearest the sea to the farthest inner part of the cave is 1444 m. Practically all the cave, apart from the entrances, develops underwater. The finding of this cave and the subsequent documentation of its characteristics disclose the existence of a very important endokarst system carved in Pliocene and Quaternary deposits. The cave can be considered as a megaform constituted by a ramiform system of passages, with a mixed hypogenic and littoral phreatic genesis highly influenced by the groundwater drainage to the sea. The cave system show two clearly differentiated tiers: ascending hypogenic passages that constitute the deepest areas of the cave starting in the Pliocene materials, and the horizontal phreatic galleries formed within the Pleistocene aeolianites. Morphometric data indicate that passages show relatively wide dimensions (>4 m) being developed at rather constant depths comprised between -6 and -12 m bsl. The deepest passages are quantitatively well represented (near 25% of the cave is located between -14 and -26 m) owing to the existence of the ascending galleries linked to the basal recharge of the system. An almost absence of speleothems is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the cavity; they have only a scattered presence. The materials related to the sedimentary dynamics in the cave are represented by thin sandy levels composed by carbonate grains probably detached from the aeolianite walls. Silty reddish levels, formed by abundant quartz grains, apart from clay minerals, reveal a clear process of infiltration from the soil. It is especially important the presence of abundant dark Fe and Mn-rich sediments attaining values near 40%. The passages that are closer to the sea are colonized by vertebrate and invertebrate marine species showing a high degree of tolerance to freshwaters. The more surprising fact has been the discovery of a great number of Burrimysis palmeri a misidacean crustacean only known till now from Cova del Burri, a coastal cave from the island of Cabrera. An archaic Greco italic variant LWa amphora (MGS V) has been recovered into the cavity. Its chronology must be placed between the end of the IV century to the early III century b.C. Wastewater discharge from the Colònia de Sant Jordi treatment plant implies the groundwater contamination as well as the progressive destruction of an exceptional cave, that can be considered as a first order phenomenon by their biologic and geologic natural heritage values

Diversity, structure and spatial distribution of megabenthic communities in Cap de Creus continental shelf and submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean)

The continental shelf and submarine canyon off Cap de Creus (NW Mediterranean) were declared a Site of Community Importance (SCI) within the Natura 2000 Network in 2014. Implementing an effective management plan to preserve its biological diversity and monitor its evolution through time requires a detailed characterization of its benthic ecosystem. Based on 60 underwater video transects performed between 2007 and 2013 (before the declaration of the SCI), we thoroughly describe the composition and structure of the main megabenthic communities dwelling from the shelf down to 400 m depth inside the submarine canyon. We then mapped the spatial distribution of the benthic communities using the Random Forest algorithm, which incorporated geomorphological and oceanographic layers as predictors, as well as the intensity of the bottom-trawling fishing fleet. Although the study area has historically been exposed to commercial fishing practices, it still holds a rich benthic ecosystem with over 165 different invertebrate (morpho)species of the megafauna identified in the video footage, which form up to 9 distinct megabenthic communities. The continental shelf is home to coral gardens of the sea fan Eunicella cavolini, sea pen and soft coral assemblages, dense beds of the crinoid Leptometra phalangium, diverse sponge grounds and massive aggregations of the brittle star Ophiothrix fragilis. The submarine canyon off Cap de Creus is characterized by a cold-water coral community dominated by the scleractinian coral Madrepora oculata, found in association with several invertebrate species including oysters, brachiopods and a variety of sponge species, as well as by a community dominated by cerianthids and sea urchins, mostly in sedimentary areas. The benthic communities identified in the area were then compared with habitats/biocenoses described in reference habitat classification systems that consider circalittoral and bathyal environments of the Mediterranean. The complex environmental setting characteristic of the marine area off Cap de Creus likely produces the optimal conditions for communities dominated by suspension- and filter-feeding species to develop. The uniqueness of this ecosystem and the anthropogenic pressures that it faces should prompt the development of effective management actions to ensure the long-term conservation of the benthic fauna representative of this marine area

All-cause mortality in the cohorts of the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS) compared with the general population: 1997Ł2010

Abstract Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has produced significant changes in mortality of HIVinfected persons. Our objective was to estimate mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios and excess mortality rates of cohorts of the AIDS Research Network (RIS) (CoRIS-MD and CoRIS) compared to the general population. Methods: We analysed data of CoRIS-MD and CoRIS cohorts from 1997 to 2010. We calculated: (i) all-cause mortality rates, (ii) standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and (iii) excess mortality rates for both cohort for 100 personyears (py) of follow-up, comparing all-cause mortality with that of the general population of similar age and gender. Results: Between 1997 and 2010, 8,214 HIV positive subjects were included, 2,453 (29.9%) in CoRIS-MD and 5,761 (70.1%) in CoRIS and 294 deaths were registered. All-cause mortality rate was 1.02 (95% CI 0.91-1.15) per 100 py, SMR was 6.8 (95% CI 5.9-7.9) and excess mortality rate was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) per 100 py. Mortality was higher in patients with AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, and those from CoRIS-MD cohort (1997. Conclusion: Mortality among HIV-positive persons remains higher than that of the general population of similar age and sex, with significant differences depending on the history of AIDS or HCV coinfection

Sponge Communities in Three Submarine Caves of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean): Adaptations; Faunistic Composition and Biogeographical Affinities

22nd European Marine Biology Symposium, 17-22 August 1987Peer reviewe

Sponge Communities in Three Submarine Caves of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean): Adaptations and Faunistic Composition

18 pagesThe sponge fauna of three neighbouring submarine caves of the Island of Majorca (Balcaric Islands) is studied along a light gradient; 45 species have been recorded and systematic data are given for those showing morphological, pigmentary, or spicule differences. Adaptation to darkness and precarious trophic conditions is also discussed. Copyright © 1989, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Les roques profundes de la plataforma continental

Peer reviewe