Suchergebnisse

15 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables ; Population dynamics, morphology, density, lipid contents and prey capture rates were studied in a patchy population of the tree-like passive suspension feeder Eudendrium racemosum (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) during seasonal cycles. Density and size of colonies oscillated due to intraspecific competition (following the self-thinning rule) and predation (nudibranchs) showing size distributions in which alternatively large-and small-sized colonies were more abundant. Increase in the trophic impact on the water column was correlated with colony size (30.7 mg C m -2 d -1 in late spring-early summer compared with 10.2 mg C m -2 d -1 in the rest of the year). Lipid accumulation in the hydrocauli followed the same trend, being higher during the reproductive period (140 μg lipids mg -1 organic matter [OM]) compared with the rest of the year (70 μg lipids mg -1 OM). The short time cyclic variations reproduce, in a short time scale, the variations studied in other benthic suspension feeders, suggesting E. racemosum as a model organism to better understand the importance of large colonies in long-lived species in benthic-pelagic coupling processes. The accordance with the self-thinning rule found for this animal species strengthens the animal forest concept (a 3-dimensional live structure composed mainly by heterotrophic organisms such as gorgonians, bryozoans, and sponges), confirming the validity of the utilization, by marine ecologists, of the conceptual tools developed for terrestrial forest sciences. It is suggested that the impact of mature populations on benthic-pelagic coupling and biogeochemical cycles, simulated for long-lived species, could be validated by studying fast-growing species, in order to understand the importance of the preservation of complex structures and long-lived eco-engineering organisms in benthic habitats. © Inter-Research 2012 ; Support for this work was provided by a FPI fellowship from the 'Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia' and a Ramón y Cajal Contract (RyC-2007-01327) to S.R., by a CICYT grant and by the MAST-III-ELOISE European Union METRO MED Project. L.B. was supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (Project No. 221072 ; Peer Reviewed

9ª Trobada anual de gestors de projectes europeus de recerca de Catalunya ; The poster explains the experience of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) in the European project Responsible Research in Biosciences (ResBios). The project ResBios is aimed to put Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in practice in four institutions, the ICM-CSIC is one of them and is working mainly on 3 RRI aspects: scientific education, citizen engagement and gender ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement Nº 872146

36 páginas, 11 figuras, 7 tablas. ; We assess the occurrence and extent of cold-water coral (CWC) species Madrepora oculata and Dendrophyllia cornigera, as well as gorgonian red coral Corallium rubrum, in La Fonera canyon head (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea), as well as human impacts taking place in their habitats. Occurrence is assessed based on Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video imaging. Terrain classification techniques are applied to high-resolution swath bathymetric data to obtain semi-automatic interpretative maps to identify the relationship between coral distribution patterns and canyon environments. A total of 21 ROV immersions were carried out in different canyon environments at depths ranging between 79 and 401 m. Large, healthy colonies of M. oculata occur on abrupt, protected, often overhanging, rocky sections of the canyon walls, especially in Illa Negra branch. D. cornigera is sparser and evenly distributed at depth, on relatively low sloping areas, in rocky but also partially sedimented areas. C. rubrum is most frequent between 100 and 160 m on highly sloping rocky areas. The probable extent of CWC habitats is quantified by applying a maximum entropy model to predict habitat suitability: 0.36 km2 yield M. oculata occurrence probabilities over 70%. Similar predictive models have been produced for D. cornigera and C. rubrum. All ROV transects document either the presence of litter on the seafloor or pervasive trawling marks. Nets and longlines are imaged entangled on coral colonies. Coral rubble is observed at the foot of impacted colonies. Some colonies are partially covered by sediment that could be the result of the resuspension generated by bottom trawling on neighbouring fishing grounds, which has been demonstrated to be responsible of daily increases in sediment fluxes within the canyon. The characteristics of the CWC community in La Fonera canyon are indicative that it withstands high environmental stress of both natural and human origin. ; This research was supported by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme project PERSEUS (287600), the Spanish project ROV-CAÑONES (CTM2009-06778-E), and a Catalan Government Grups de Recerca Consolidats grant (2014 SGR 1068). ; Peer reviewed

A woman stung by the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis (Cnidaria, Cubozoa) at a Spanish Mediterranean beach, showed systemic manifestations over several months (pain far from the inoculation point, arthralgia, paresthesia, hyperesthesia, increase of eosinophils and IgE) in addition to the skin condition. ; This research was carried out under contract LIFE 08 NAT ES 0064 (to CB, JMG and VF) co-financed by the European Commission (www.cubomed.eu), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, Fundación Biodiversidad and the Dirección General del Agua of the Regional Government of Valencia.

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552 ; The study was funded by a 2003-2004 INTERREG project between Catalonia Languedoc Rouissillon "Pirineus Mediterrànis: La muntanya que uneix"' of the CSIC and CNRS, of the 2009-2013 European project LIFE+ INDEMARES "Inventario y designación de la red natura 2000 en áreas marinas del estado español" (LIFE07/NAT/E/000732) of the European Union, and by a PRIN 2010-2011 project (prot. 2010Z8HJ5M) on "Coastal bioconstructions: structure, function and management" Italian Ministry of Education, Univeristy and Research. ; Gorgonian species show a high morphological variability in relation to the environment in which they live. In coastal areas, parameters such as temperature, light, currents, and food availability vary significantly with depth, potentially affecting morphology of the colonies and the structure of the populations, as well as their connectivity patterns. In tropical seas, the existence of connectivity between shallow and deep populations supported the hypothesis that the deep coral reefs could potentially act as (reproductive) refugia fostering re-colonization of shallow areas after mortality events. Moreover, this hypothesis is not so clear accepted in temperate seas. Eunicella singularis is one of the most common gorgonian species in Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, playing an important role as ecosystem engineer by providing biomass and complexity to the coralligenous habitats. It has a wide bathymetric distribution ranging from about 10 m to 100 m. Two depth-related morphotypes have been identified, differing in colony morphology, sclerite size and shape, and occurrence of symbiotic algae, but not in mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. In the present study the genetic structure of E. singularis populations along a horizontal and bathymetric gradient was assessed using microsatellites and ITS1 sequences. Restricted gene flow was found at 30-40 m depth between the two Eunicella morphotypes. Conversely, no genetic structuring has been found among shallow water populations within a spatial scale of ten kilometers. The break in gene flow between shallow and deep populations contributes to explain the morphological variability observed at different depths. Moreover, the limited vertical connectivity hinted that the refugia hypothesis does not apply to E. singularis. Re-colonization of shallow water populations, occasionally affected by mass mortality events, should then be mainly fueled by larvae from other shallow water populations.

20 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, supporting information https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0160678.-- We have obtained the GenBank Accession numbers for all the sequences used in the work (GenBank from KX051564 to KX051577 and from KX002245 to KX002255) ; Gorgonian species show a high morphological variability in relation to the environment in which they live. In coastal areas, parameters such as temperature, light, currents, and food availability vary significantly with depth, potentially affecting morphology of the colonies and the structure of the populations, as well as their connectivity patterns. In tropical seas, the existence of connectivity between shallow and deep populations supported the hypothesis that the deep coral reefs could potentially act as (reproductive) refugia fostering re-colonization of shallow areas after mortality events. Moreover, this hypothesis is not so clear accepted in temperate seas. Eunicella singularis is one of the most common gorgonian species in Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, playing an important role as ecosystem engineer by providing biomass and complexity to the coralligenous habitats. It has a wide bathymetric distribution ranging from about 10m to 100 m. Two depth-related morphotypes have been identified, differing in colony morphology, sclerite size and shape, and occurrence of symbiotic algae, but not inmitochondrial DNA haplotypes. In the present study the genetic structure of E. singularis populations along a horizontal and bathymetric gradient was assessed using microsatellites and ITS1 sequences. Restricted gene flow was found at 30-40 m depth between the two Eunicella morphotypes. Conversely, no genetic structuring has been found among shallow water populations within a spatial scale of ten kilometers. The break in gene flow between shallow and deep populations contributes to explain the morphological variability observed at different depths.Moreover, the limited vertical connectivity hinted that the refugia hypothesis does not apply to E. singularis. Re-colonization of shallow water populations, occasionally affected by mass mortality events, should then be mainly fueled by larvae from other shallow water populations ; AG was funded by a I3P contract of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Ref. I3P-BPD2005). SR wants to thank the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya to MERS (2014 SGR-1356) and the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (ANIMAL FOREST HEALTH, project number 327845). The study was funded by a 2003-2004 INTERREG project between Catalonia-Languedoc Rouissillon ''Pirineus Mediterrànis: La muntanya que uneix'' of the CSIC and CNRS, of the 2009-2013 European project LIFE+ INDEMARES ''Inventario y designación de la red natura 2000 en áreas marinas del estado español'' (LIFE07/NAT/E/000732) of the European Union, and by a PRIN 2010-2011 project (prot. 2010Z8HJ5M) on 'Coastal bioconstructions: structure, function and management' Italian Ministry of Education, Univeristy and Research ; Peer Reviewed

9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. ; Growth rates of the cold-water corals (CWC) Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Desmophyllum dianthus and Dendrophyllia cornigera were measured over 8 mo under controlled conditions (12°C in the dark, fed 5 times a week) by means of the buoyant weight technique. Additionally, linear growth rates were measured in M. oculata and L. pertusa for 2 and 1 yr, respectively. The weight measurements revealed growth rates, expressed as percent growth per day (mean ± SD), of 0.11 ± 0.04 for M. oculata, 0.02 ± 0.01 for L. pertusa, 0.06 ± 0.03 for D. dianthus and 0.04 ± 0.02 % d–1 for D. cornigera. Growth in M. oculata was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than in the other 3 CWC species. For M. oculata and L. pertusa, also linear growth was recorded. These values (mean ± SD) were 0.014 ± 0.007 and 0.024 ± 0.018 mm d–1 for M. oculata and L. pertusa, respectively. This is the first study that compares the growth rates of 4 different CWC species under the same experimental conditions of water flow, temperature, salinity and food supply. These corals have different growth rates, both in terms of total weight increase and linear increase, and these growth rates can be related to interspecific physiological differences. Data on growth rates are essential to understand the population dynamics of CWC as well as the recovery capacity of these communities after disturbance. ; This work was funded by the European Projects HERMES (Goce-CT-2005-511234-I) and HERMIONE (Grant Agreement Number 226354) and the Spanish Project DEEP CORAL (CTM2005-07756-C02-02/MAR). This collaborative study was also partly supported by the Government of the Principality of Monaco. C. Orejas was supported by a I3P postdoctoral contract from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC (I3P-PC2006L), co-financed by the European Social Fund, and G. Tsounis by a postdoctoral fellowship by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation (E-08-2007-1673618). ; Peer reviewed

29 pagex, 9 figures, 2 tables ; The Catalan Sea, located between the eastern Iberian coast and the Balearic Islands, is a representative portion of the western Mediterranean basin and provides a valuable case study for climate change effects on Mediterranean ecosystems. Global warming is reflected regionally by a rise in sea level over the last century, an increase in surface temperature of around 1.1°C in the last 35 yr, a progressive salinisation of intermediate and deep waters and a strengthening of the stratification. A likely scenario of what we can expect in the Mediterranean Sea is a considerable decrease in rainfall and wind, warmer surface waters and a prolonged stratification period. The effects on Mediterranean ecosystems are evident in: (1) a meridionalisation of the algal, invertebrate and vertebrate species, which favours the more thermophilic species over the temperate species; (2) mass mortality events of sessile invertebrates of the coralligenous communities owing to anomalous warm waters during the period when food is scarce; (3) increases in the smallest phytoplankton due to the prolongation of the water stratification period; (4) proliferation of gelatinous carnivores, including jellyfish, due to the temperature rise and the lack of rainfall; (5) a faster acidification of seawater, compared with the global oceans, accompanied by a decrease in the capacity to absorb atmospheric CO2. In order to anticipate and mitigate these predicted changes, we recommend investing in research and observation, conserving areas that serve as indicators of climate change and reducing other anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, overfishing or pollution, which may act synergistically to accelerate these changes. ; E.C., C.P., M.R. and R.C. acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through grants CTM2009-08849/MAR, CTM2006-01463 and CGL2007-66757-C02-01/BOS and a Ramón y Cajal contract to E.C. This paper is a contribution from the Marine Biogeochemistry and Global Change research group, funded by Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government) through grant 2009SGR142. ; Peer reviewed

Numerous organisms, including both passive sinkers and active migrators, are captured in sediment traps together with sediments. By capturing these "swimmers", the traps become an extraordinarily tool to obtain relevant information on the biodiversity and dynamics of deep-sea organisms. Here we analyze near-bottom swimmers larger than 500 mm and their fluxes collected from eight near-bottom sediment traps installed on instrumented moorings deployed nearby Blanes Canyon (BC). Our data, obtained from November 2008 to October 2009 with a sampling rate of 15 days, constitutes the first year-long, continuous time series of the whole swimmers' community collected at different traps and bottom depths (from 300 m to 1800 m) inside a submarine canyon and on its adjacent open slope (OS). The traps captured 2155 specimens belonging to 70 taxa, with Crustacea (mainly Copepoda) and Annelida Polychaeta accounting for more than 90% of the total abundance. Almost half of the identified taxa (33) were only present in BC traps, where mean annual swimmer fluxes per trap were almost one order of magnitude higher than in the OS ones. Temporal variability in swimmer fluxes was more evident in BC than in OS. Fluxes dropped in winter (in coincidence with the stormy period in the region) and remained low until the following spring. In spring, there was a switch in taxa composition, including an increase of planktonic organisms. Additionally, we report drastic effects of extreme events, such as major storms, on deep-sea fauna. The impact of such extreme events along submarine canyon systems calls to rethink the influence of climate-driven phenomena on deep-sea ecosystems and, consequently, on their living resources. ; Our research was supported by the PROMETEO research project (Ref. CTM2007- 66316-C02-02/MAR) funded by the Spanish State Research Plan. This is a contribution to the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Benthic Ecology of the "Generalitat de Catalunya" (2014SGR120). CR received an International Outgoing Fellowship from the People Programme (Marie S. Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) (www.DeepFall-project.eu) under the REA grant agreement N. PIOF-GA-2013-628146. ; Peer reviewed

Background. The Life+ Indemares project (www.indemares.es) aimed to better understand the natural and socioeconomic values of several marine areas along the territorial waters of the Spanish State, leading to an informed decision-making process for the designation of new protected areas for the marine environment. One of the 10 areas selected corresponded to the "South-West Gulf of Lions Canyon System" (https://eunis.eea.europa.eu/sites/ESZZ16001), located in the north-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. It includes the submarine canyons of Cap de Creus and Lacaze-Duthiers and their adjacent continental shelf. The Marine Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation Research Group from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona (ICM-CSIC) produced a detailed evaluation of the physical and ecological characteristics of the seabed and water column habitats, providing the necessary scientific information for its proposal as a Site of Community Importance to the European Union. Faunistic catalogue. An ecosystem-based approach to the management of Cap de Creus marine area after protection measures are put in place requires a comprehensive knowledge of its benthic ecosystem, which includes the continental shelf and submarine canyon. The methodology employed to identify and characterize its main benthic communities down to 400 m depth was based on images collected through underwater video platforms, such as Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and manned submersibles. The involvement of taxonomists allowed for the identification of most of the organisms observed in the images down to species or genus level, a task that could only be achieved due to the high-quality footage recorded and the set of biological samples collected. This detailed work led to the development of a photographic catalogue that served as basis for the set of ecological studies developed subsequently. Acknowledging that the identification of benthic species from imagery still has its caveats, we felt that this faunistic inventory should be made ...

7 pages, 3 figures, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3118 ; In the Mediterranean Sea, gorgonians are among the main habitat-forming species of benthic communities on the continental shelf and slope, playing an important ecological role in coral gardens. In areas where bottom trawling is restricted, gorgonians represent one of the main components of trammel net bycatch. Since gorgonians are long-lived and slow-growing species, impacts derived from fishing activities can have far-reaching and long-lasting effects, jeopardizing their long-term viability. Thus, mitigation and ecological restoration initiatives focusing on gorgonian populations on the continental shelf are necessary to enhance and speed up their natural recovery. Bycatch gorgonians from artisanal fishermen were transplanted into artificial structures, which were then deployed at 85 m depth on the outer continental shelf of the marine protected area of Cap de Creus (north-west Mediterranean Sea, Spain). After 1 year, high survival rates of transplanted colonies (87.5%) were recorded with a hybrid remotely operated vehicle. This pilot study shows, for the first time, the survival potential of bycatch gorgonians once returned to their habitat on the continental shelf, and suggests the potential success of future scaled-up restoration activities ; This study was developed within the frame of the ShelfReCover project (Ecological restoration of benthic ecosystem engineers on the Mediterranean continental shelf project) funded by the Fundación BBVA. Funding was also provided by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 689518 (MERCES). This output reflects only the authors' views, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. M. Montseny was founded by an FPU 2014 research grant (FPU2014_06977) from the Spanish government. A. Gori received funding from a Beatriu de Pinos 2013 research grant (BP‐B00074) from the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Marie Curie Fellowship from the EU‐funded project Ithaca, as well as from a Juan de la Cierva 2015 research grant (IJCI‐2015‐23962) from the Spanish government ; Peer Reviewed

21 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.621151/full#supplementary-material ; Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats dwell on continental shelves, slopes, seamounts, and ridge systems around the world's oceans from 50 to 4000 m depth, providing heterogeneous habitats which support a myriad of associated fauna. These highly diverse ecosystems are threatened by human stressors such as fishing activities, gas and oil exploitation, and climate change. Since their life-history traits such as long lifespan and slow growth rates make CWCs very vulnerable to potential threats, it is a foremost challenge to explore the viability of restoration actions to enhance and speed up their recovery. In contrast to terrestrial and shallow-water marine ecosystems, ecological restoration in deep marine environments has received minimal attention. This review, by means of a systematic literature search, aims to identify CWC restoration challenges, assess the most suitable techniques to restore them, and discuss future perspectives. Outcomes from the few restoration actions performed to date on CWCs, which have lasted between 1 to 4 years, provide evidence of the feasibility of coral transplantation and artificial reef deployments. Scientific efforts should focus on testing novel and creative restoration techniques, especially to scale up to the spatial and temporal scales of impacts. There is still a general lack of knowledge about the biological, ecological and habitat characteristics of CWC species exploration of which would aid the development of effective restoration measures. To ensure the long-term viability and success of any restoration action it is essential to include holistic and long-term monitoring programs, and to ideally combine active restoration with natural spontaneous regeneration (i.e., passive restoration) strategies such as the implementation of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs). We conclude that a combination of passive and active restoration approaches with involvement of local society would be the best optimal option to achieve and ensure CWC restoration success ; MM was funded by a FPU 2014 research grant (FPU2014_06977) from the Spanish government (Spain). AGr received funding from a Juan de la Cierva 2015 research grant (IJCI-2015-23962) from the Spanish government. CL gratefully acknowledges the financial support by ICREA under the ICREA Academia program. This study was supported by the SHELFRECOVER project funded by the Fundación BBVA and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreements nos. 689518 (MERCES) and 678760 (ATLAS) ; With the institutional support of the 'Severo OchoaCentre of Excellence' accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S) ; Peer reviewed