Sponge assemblages play a significant role in the functioning of the Mediterranean benthic ecosys... more Sponge assemblages play a significant role in the functioning of the Mediterranean benthic ecosystem. The main goal of this study was to investigate the diversity and distribution of poorly known sponge communities in the mesophotic and deep-sea substrates of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. More than 1500 sponge specimens belonging to 87 taxa were collected from 156 stations during experimental and commercial bottom trawling in the Aegean Sea and the eastern part of the Ionian ecoregion, at depths of between 10 and 800 m. A total of 79 sponge species were found in the Aegean and 40 species in the Ionian Sea. Eight of these species are included in lists of endangered and threatened species, two were newly recorded in the Aegean and six were first recorded in the east Ionian Sea. Both community structure and diversity differed between the two ecoregions. Species richness, biomass, abundance and diversity decreased with increasing depth, while different species dominated, in terms of bi...
ABSTRACT Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (... more ABSTRACT Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and Scleractinia (17) were collected in the North Aegean Sea. Three of these (Amphianthus dohrnii, Cladopsammia rolandi, and Monomyces pygmaea ) are new records for the Eastern Mediterranean and two ( Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) are new records for the Aegean Sea. It was estimated that 56 species belonging to these three orders have been found in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea and are presented here for the first time in a checklist. Zoogeographical consideration of the Eastern Mediterranean hexacoral fauna shows that the bulk of the species can be characterized as Atlanta-Mediterranean, fo llowed by the Mediterranean endemic and cosmopolitan species. In the Aegean, Atlanta-Mediterranean species dominate both in the order Acti niaria (78.5%) and in Scleractinia (70%). However, cosmopolitan species are more numerous among Scleractinia (25%) than among Actiniaria (3.6%); in the latter, endemic species appear with a greater percentage (14.3%). The number of species belonging to these three taxa known from the Mediterranean is estimated to be 88 species, 64 of which are characterized as Atlanto-Mediierranean, 15 as endemic, 8 as cosmopolitan and 1 as lndo-Mediterranean. The species numbers of all the above categories, except the last, seem to decrease generally from the Western to the Eastern Mediterranean and to the Black Sea, from which only a few species are known.
Trabajo presentado en el XXXIX Congres de la Comissio Internacional per l'exploracio de la ma... more Trabajo presentado en el XXXIX Congres de la Comissio Internacional per l'exploracio de la mar Mediterrania, celebrado en mayo de 2010
Mediterranean bottom trawling is generally characterised by a highly diversified mixed catch, com... more Mediterranean bottom trawling is generally characterised by a highly diversified mixed catch, composed of fish, cephalopods,crustaceans, and other megabenthic invertebrates. Although management of Mediterranean trawling requires a multispecies approach on a community basis, this does not seem to be the case in the relevant literature. Herein, we present an extensive review ofthe existing knowledge on megabenthic invertebrate communities, focusing on the trawlable bottoms. A total of 207 publicationsfrom 1930 to the early 2021 was collected and classified into seven research areas. Research effort on soft bottom megabenthicinvertebrates of trawlable grounds was higher for the Western Mediterranean and the depth zone of 50-200 m. Overall, 1,797 taxawere reported belonging to different taxonomic groups, the most diverse of which were Mollusca, Crustacea, Polychaeta, andPorifera. Among the reported taxa, 43 species are alien to the Mediterranean Sea, and 42 are included in the lists of ...
Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and S... more Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and Scleractinia (17) were collected in the North Aegean Sea. Three of these (Amphianthus dohrnii, Cladopsammia rolandi, and Monomyces pygmaea ) are new records for the Eastern Mediterranean and two ( Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) are new records for the Aegean Sea. It was estimated that 56 species belonging to these three orders have been found in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea and are presented here for the first time in a checklist. Zoogeographical consideration of the Eastern Mediterranean hexacoral fauna shows that the bulk of the species can be characterized as Atlanta-Mediterranean, fo llowed by the Mediterranean endemic and cosmopolitan species. In the Aegean, Atlanta-Mediterranean species dominate both in the order Acti niaria (78.5%) and in Scleractinia (70%). However, cosmopolitan species are more numerous among Scleractinia (25%) than among Actiniaria (3.6%); in...
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2015
Although sponges constitute the dominant animal group in marine caves globally, few studies have ... more Although sponges constitute the dominant animal group in marine caves globally, few studies have investigated quantitatively their diversity patterns in this habitat. Regarding Mediterranean marine caves, data describing the structure and diversity gradients of sponge assemblages are available for the north-western basin, while information for the eastern Mediterranean is almost inexistent. In this study, the sponge assemblages in two Aegean marine caves (eastern Mediterranean Sea) with different topography were examined using a non-destructive method. In each cave, three quadrats (25 × 25 cm) were photographed at 5 m intervals, along three transects: one along the ceiling and two along the opposite walls. Per cent coverage for each sponge species was calculated using advanced image processing software. Our analyses revealed a rich sponge assemblage, which consisted of 50 species assigned to eight growth forms. Resemblance analysis for the surveyed caves revealed two major groups of...
Sponge assemblages play a significant role in the functioning of the Mediterranean benthic ecosys... more Sponge assemblages play a significant role in the functioning of the Mediterranean benthic ecosystem. The main goal of this study was to investigate the diversity and distribution of poorly known sponge communities in the mesophotic and deep-sea substrates of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. More than 1500 sponge specimens belonging to 87 taxa were collected from 156 stations during experimental and commercial bottom trawling in the Aegean Sea and the eastern part of the Ionian ecoregion, at depths of between 10 and 800 m. A total of 79 sponge species were found in the Aegean and 40 species in the Ionian Sea. Eight of these species are included in lists of endangered and threatened species, two were newly recorded in the Aegean and six were first recorded in the east Ionian Sea. Both community structure and diversity differed between the two ecoregions. Species richness, biomass, abundance and diversity decreased with increasing depth, while different species dominated, in terms of bi...
ABSTRACT Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (... more ABSTRACT Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and Scleractinia (17) were collected in the North Aegean Sea. Three of these (Amphianthus dohrnii, Cladopsammia rolandi, and Monomyces pygmaea ) are new records for the Eastern Mediterranean and two ( Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) are new records for the Aegean Sea. It was estimated that 56 species belonging to these three orders have been found in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea and are presented here for the first time in a checklist. Zoogeographical consideration of the Eastern Mediterranean hexacoral fauna shows that the bulk of the species can be characterized as Atlanta-Mediterranean, fo llowed by the Mediterranean endemic and cosmopolitan species. In the Aegean, Atlanta-Mediterranean species dominate both in the order Acti niaria (78.5%) and in Scleractinia (70%). However, cosmopolitan species are more numerous among Scleractinia (25%) than among Actiniaria (3.6%); in the latter, endemic species appear with a greater percentage (14.3%). The number of species belonging to these three taxa known from the Mediterranean is estimated to be 88 species, 64 of which are characterized as Atlanto-Mediierranean, 15 as endemic, 8 as cosmopolitan and 1 as lndo-Mediterranean. The species numbers of all the above categories, except the last, seem to decrease generally from the Western to the Eastern Mediterranean and to the Black Sea, from which only a few species are known.
Trabajo presentado en el XXXIX Congres de la Comissio Internacional per l'exploracio de la ma... more Trabajo presentado en el XXXIX Congres de la Comissio Internacional per l'exploracio de la mar Mediterrania, celebrado en mayo de 2010
Mediterranean bottom trawling is generally characterised by a highly diversified mixed catch, com... more Mediterranean bottom trawling is generally characterised by a highly diversified mixed catch, composed of fish, cephalopods,crustaceans, and other megabenthic invertebrates. Although management of Mediterranean trawling requires a multispecies approach on a community basis, this does not seem to be the case in the relevant literature. Herein, we present an extensive review ofthe existing knowledge on megabenthic invertebrate communities, focusing on the trawlable bottoms. A total of 207 publicationsfrom 1930 to the early 2021 was collected and classified into seven research areas. Research effort on soft bottom megabenthicinvertebrates of trawlable grounds was higher for the Western Mediterranean and the depth zone of 50-200 m. Overall, 1,797 taxawere reported belonging to different taxonomic groups, the most diverse of which were Mollusca, Crustacea, Polychaeta, andPorifera. Among the reported taxa, 43 species are alien to the Mediterranean Sea, and 42 are included in the lists of ...
Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and S... more Twenty-one hcxacoral species belonging Lo the orders Actiniaria (3), Corallirnorpharia (1), and Scleractinia (17) were collected in the North Aegean Sea. Three of these (Amphianthus dohrnii, Cladopsammia rolandi, and Monomyces pygmaea ) are new records for the Eastern Mediterranean and two ( Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) are new records for the Aegean Sea. It was estimated that 56 species belonging to these three orders have been found in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea and are presented here for the first time in a checklist. Zoogeographical consideration of the Eastern Mediterranean hexacoral fauna shows that the bulk of the species can be characterized as Atlanta-Mediterranean, fo llowed by the Mediterranean endemic and cosmopolitan species. In the Aegean, Atlanta-Mediterranean species dominate both in the order Acti niaria (78.5%) and in Scleractinia (70%). However, cosmopolitan species are more numerous among Scleractinia (25%) than among Actiniaria (3.6%); in...
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2015
Although sponges constitute the dominant animal group in marine caves globally, few studies have ... more Although sponges constitute the dominant animal group in marine caves globally, few studies have investigated quantitatively their diversity patterns in this habitat. Regarding Mediterranean marine caves, data describing the structure and diversity gradients of sponge assemblages are available for the north-western basin, while information for the eastern Mediterranean is almost inexistent. In this study, the sponge assemblages in two Aegean marine caves (eastern Mediterranean Sea) with different topography were examined using a non-destructive method. In each cave, three quadrats (25 × 25 cm) were photographed at 5 m intervals, along three transects: one along the ceiling and two along the opposite walls. Per cent coverage for each sponge species was calculated using advanced image processing software. Our analyses revealed a rich sponge assemblage, which consisted of 50 species assigned to eight growth forms. Resemblance analysis for the surveyed caves revealed two major groups of...
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Papers by Eleni Voultsiadou