Effects of a Short-term Environmental Change on a Brackish-water Polychaete Community

Abstract. Aquatina lake is a brackish basin, connected with the Adriatic Sea along the mast of Apulia (Italy), with a mean salinity of 26%. The abundance and biomass of fifteen polychaete species were recorded by monthly samples in a pilot area of the lake from February 1989 to February 1990. Naineris laevigata was dominant, both in number of individuals and biomass. During 1990, obstruction of freshwater inflow to the lake caused an increase in salinity up to 4O%, followed by some changes in the polychaete community. Noromasrus hiericeus became dominant, and the abundances of the other species decreased except for Naineris laevipru . Salinity assumed normal values after three months, but community responded slowly becauie the massive presence of N. latericeus inhibited the recovery of other species. An abiotic disturbance, followed by a biotic disturbance, altered the structure of the polychaete community.     

Multicausal environmental severity: A flexible framework for microtidal sandy beaches and the role of polychaetes as an indicator taxon

The aim of this paper is to study the macrofaunal community dynamics and the biological–environmental interactions in the mid- and sublittoral ecosystems of the microtidal Mediterranean sandy shores. Four sandy beaches, three on the island of Crete and one on the northwest coast of Italy were selected to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in the community structure and the associated environmental variables. The littoral zone, which has not been adequately studied in the Eastern Mediterranean, presents special interest not only from the scientific point of view but also for practical reasons of ecological management. The multivariate techniques revealed that the community pattern of the sandy beach macrofauna is mainly spatial rather than temporal. There are pronounced differences in species composition and abundance of the macrofaunal assemblages of the mid- and sublittoral zone. The multicausal environmental severity hypothesis appears to be valid for the sandy beach macrofaunal communities of the Mediterranean. The abundance and composition of the macrofaunal assemblages are highly variable and are affected by the synergistic effects of many environmental variables. The polychaete taxonomic assemblage structure closely follows the macrofaunal community pattern. Differences between the two patterns may arise from the different responses that polychaetes may show to the environmental stress.     

Seasonal succession of cyanoprokaryotes in a hypereutrophic oligo-mesohaline lagoon from the South of France

The Bolmon lagoon (South of France) is an oligo-mesohaline coastal lagoon that has undergone intense eutrophication in the past decades, resulting from a strong concentration of human activities in its drainage basin. Consequently, it exhibits some characteristics typical of an advanced trophic state; namely, the disappearance of submerged vegetation, the permanently intense phytoplankton growth and the recurrence of cyanoprokaryote blooms. As cyanoprokaryote dominance in south-temperate saline lagoons is little reported, we carried out this study in order to understand the seasonal variations in the phytoplankton composition and biomass, and to analyse the influence of environmental parameters such as salinity, nutrients and climate on the seasonal succession of species. In this lagoon, the phytoplankton was permanently dominated by cyanoprokaryotes, probably because of high availability of nutrients, low light penetration in the water column and frequent turbulent mixing induced by wind. The two most abundant species Planktothrix agardhii (in winter–spring) and Pseudanabaena limnetica (in summer) have low light requirements and are well adapted to a high mixing frequency, which defines the S1 functional group in Reynolds' typology for phytoplankton. Although widely studied in north-temperate lakes, blooms of these typically freshwater species are almost unreported in the Mediterranean area, especially in brackish ecosystems that are not their normal habitat. In the Bolmon lagoon, all their requirements for nutrients, light and mixing are satisfied and they seem to cope with a moderate presence of salt but P. agardhii was less competitive than P. limnetica at highest salinities, the latter being probably more halophytic. Contrary to the observations in lakes located at higher latitudes, the Mediterranean climate seems to induce a typical seasonal pattern of succession characterised by the dominance of P. agardhii (winter) – Chroococcales (spring) – Pseudanabaenaceae (summer) – P. agardhii (autumn, winter). The warm temperatures seemed to have a major influence on the phytoplankton succession, being responsible for the survival of Planktothrix during winter and its rapid and intense development in early spring. Intense mixing and high irradiance in summer promoted the development of Pseudanabaenaceae, as reported in another south-temperate lagoon, the Albufera of Valencia (Spain). The ecological success of Oscillatoriales observed in the Bolmon lagoon is a perfect example of a shift to the “turbid stable state” as proposed for freshwater shallow lakes only. Our work demonstrated that hypereutrophic Mediterranean lagoons can function very similarly to shallow lakes at higher latitudes; but the warmer climate and higher irradiances are probably responsible for differences in the seasonal pattern of species dominance.     

Consequences of winter upwelling events on biogeochemical and phytoplankton patterns in a western Galician ria (NW Iberian peninsula)

The consequences of two upwelling events in mid- (MW) and late (LW) winter on biogeochemical and phytoplankton patterns were studied in the Pontevedra Ria and compared with the patterns measured under typical winter conditions and under a summer upwelling event. Thermohaline patterns measured during the mid-winter upwelling event (MW-up) revealed the intrusion of saltier seawater (35.9) into the ria associated with the Iberian Poleward Current (IPC). During the late-winter upwelling event (LW-up), the seawater which had welled up into the ria showed characteristics of the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water mass (ENACW). In both cases the measured water residence time (4 days during MW-up and 10 days during LW-up) was related to both meteorological and fluvial forcing. This residence time contrasts with that of summer upwelling (7 days) and with that estimated under unfavorable upwelling atmospheric conditions (2–4 weeks). During MW-up, the ria became poor in nutrients due to continental freshwater dilution, associated with the shorter residence time of the water, and the intrusion of IPC, which is a water body poor in nutrient salts: 2.9 μM of nitrate, 0.1 μM of phosphate and 1.5 μM of silicate. During this event, the ria exported 3.4 mol_DIN s⁻¹, compared with 6.9 mol_DIN s⁻¹ in non-upwelling conditions. Phytoplankton showed a uniform distribution throughout the ria, as during unfavorable upwelling conditions, and was characterized by the dominance of diatoms, mainly Nitzschia longissima and Skeletonema costatum. During LW-up, a nutrient depletion in the photic layer also occurred, but as a result of a phytoplankton spring bloom developing at this time. The ria was a nutrient trap where 4.1 mol_DIN s⁻¹ were processed by photosynthesis. This budget is three times higher than the one under non-upwelling conditions. In contrast with the MW-up, which had no effect on primary production, during LW-up the ria became more productive, although not as productive as during a summer upwelling event (9.9 mol_DIN s⁻¹). The taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community did not change noticeably during LW-up and the summer upwelling, with the same species present and changing only in relative proportions. Diatoms were always the dominant microphytoplankton community, with Pseudonitzschia pungens, Thalassionema nitzschioides and several species of Chaetoceros as characteristic taxons.     

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of deep‐sea mesozooplankton in the eastern Mediterranean – indications of a climatically induced shift?

Zooplankton samples from the eastern Mediterranean were collected in April/May 1999 with a multiple opening and closing net (mesh size 333 μm) to examine the distribution and taxonomic composition of mesozooplankton, mainly Calanoida (Copepoda), some years after the onset of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT), a climatically induced shift in hydrography. The samples from seven stations on a transect from the Ionian Sea to the eastern part of the Levantine Basin were collected at closely spaced vertical intervals from the surface to water depths of 4250 m. Data from January 1987, June 1993, January 1998 and October 2001 from the main site of investigation, south of Crete, were used to describe the temporal evolution before (1987), during (1993) and after (1998–2001) the EMT. The eastern Mediterranean mesozooplankton fauna is dominated by three Calanoida species along the west–east transect, with varying abundances in different depth‐zones: Haloptilus longicornis in the epipelagic zone, Eucalanus monachus in the mesopelagic zone, and Lucicutia longiserrata in the bathypelagic zone. A drastic change in mesozooplankton composition and abundance occurred at the main site during the EMT, whereupon increased abundances of Candacia elongata and L. longiserrata were observed in the bathypelagic zone in the following years; L. longiserrata accounted for 43% of the total mesozooplankton in this zone. The hypothesis is posed that the Mediterranean deep‐sea ecosystem is able to respond quickly to changes in the environment and memorizes these changes over time. We claim that the biological effects of climatically induced changes can be easily monitored in the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea using calanoid copepod key species due to the hydrographically extreme, but ‘simply structured’ ecosystem.     

Growth of the Mediterranean Gorgonian Lophogorgia ceratophyta (L., 1758)

Abstract. Growth of the shallow-water gorgonian Lophogorgia ceratophyta was investigated in an infralittoral station located in La Spezia Gulf, Ligurian Sea. Mean annual height growth rate was estimated to be 2.57 cm · a^-1. The fractal dimension of the colonies was found to gradually evolve in complexity, exhibiting a simpler branching pattern in younger specimens. The maintenance of a low, invariable ramification complexity as an optimal choice in managing relationships between water and the colony's living tissues is also discussed.     

The Sponge Population of the Cabrera Archipelago (Balearic Islands): Characteristics, Distribution, and Abundance of the Most Representative Species

Abstract. The abundance, distribution, and species richness of the littoral sponges (0–55 m) from the Cabrera Archipelago (Balearic Islands) were studied along light gradients from the surface to the sea bottom and from cave mouths to their inner parts. A total of 98 species (11 Calcarea and 87 Demospongiae ) were recorded, 8 of which are new records for the Spanish coast.
Cluster and correspondence analyses enabled the identification of a sciophilous sponge group including three subgroups: sponges found only in semi-dark cave habitats, a subgroup common to the coralligenous, precoralligenous, and semi-dark cave biocoenoses, and a third subgroup exclusive to the coralligenous biocoenosis. A small number of photophilic species and other species having a wide bathymetric distribution made up another separate group. No species clusters for the different semi-sciophilous (either fleshy or carbonate) or photophilic seaweed communities were discernible. The number of sponge species was negatively correlated with the irradiance level.     

Biomarkers of Exposure and Effects for Assessing Toxicological Risk of Endocrine Disrupters in Top Predators of the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) have the potential to alter hormone pathways that regulate reproductive processes in wildlife and fisheries. In this research the unexplored hypothesis that Mediterranean top predator species (such as large pelagic fish and marine mammals) are potentially at risk due to EDCs is investigated. In the Mediterranean environment, top predators accumulate high concentrations of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) and toxic metals, incurring high toxicological risk. Here we illustrate the need to develop sensitive biomarkers for evaluation of toxicological risk in top marine predators (Xiphias gladius, Thunnus thynnus thynnus) and non-lethal techniques, such as non-destructive biomarkers, for the hazard assessment of threatened species exposed to EDCs, such as marine mammals ( Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus ).