Biodiversity of the Upper Slope Demersal Community in the Eastern Mediterranean: Preliminary Comparison Between Two Areas With and Without Trawl Fishing

D’Onghia, Gianfranco; Mastrototara, F; Matarrese, Angela Maria Stella; Politou, C-Y; Mytilineou, Chryssi

doi:10.2960/j.v31.a20

Cited by 81 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…This might be due to the absence of fishing pressure in this area below 400-500 m in depth (D'Onghia et al, 2003). However, according to these authors, the differences in the ichthyofauna composition and abundance between the eastern and western Ionian upper slope could also be due to the different hydrographic conditions on the two sides of the basin.…”

Section: Mora Moromentioning

confidence: 83%

New records of deep-water teleost fish in the Balearic Sea and Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

Lloris

Politou²,

Sión³

et al. 2004

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: During an EC-funded research carried out in the Mediterranean Sea deep-water fish (600-4000 m) were collected in the Balearic Sea as well as the western and eastern Ionian Sea. Caelorhynchus mediterraneus is a new record for the Balearic Sea, Cyclothone braueri, Hygophum benoiti, Paralepis speciosa, Chalinura mediterranea, Coryphaenoides guentheri, C. mediterraneus, Lepidion lepidion and Cataetyx laticeps for the western Ionian Sea, and Polyacanthonotus rissoanus, C. guentheri, C. mediterraneus, L. lepidion and C. laticeps for the eastern Ionian Sea. The bathymetric distribution of other species has been updated. Species richness decreased with depth in the three surveyed areas, showing a significant shift below 1500 m. At depths greater than 1000 m macrourid and morid species were dominant except in the Balearic Sea, where Alepocephalus rostratus was found to be very abundant as deep as 1500 m. At depths greater than 1500 m the dominant species were Bathypterois mediterraneus, C. mediterranea and C. guentheri. The results of this research confirm the scarcity of deep fish fauna in the Mediterranean compared to the Atlantic. For the greatest depths are concerned, the faunistic difference between the western and eastern Mediterranean seems to be most probably due to a lesser number of investigations on the eastern side rather than any real paucity of ichthyofauna.

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Section: Mora Moromentioning

confidence: 83%

New records of deep-water teleost fish in the Balearic Sea and Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

Lloris

Politou²,

Sión³

et al. 2004

Sci. Mar.

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show abstract

“…This latter aspect was particularly evident in the upper and middle slope, where the main differences in the faunistic abundance between the Balearic and Ionian areas were detect-ed. Although the small number of hauls and the gear selectivity could affect the finding of the different species whose abundance appears to decrease with depth, the abundant presence of C. agassizii and H. dactylopterus exclusively on the upper slope of the eastern Ionian Sea might be due to the absence of fishing activity in this area below 400-500 m in depth (D'Onghia et al, 2003). Though on the deepest bottoms the occurrence of some species and their abundance (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep-water fish assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea

D’Onghia¹,

Politou²,

Bozzano³

et al. 2004

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: Data collected during the DESEAS survey carried out in three areas of the Mediterranean Sea (Balearic Sea, western and eastern Ionian Sea) were used to describe the structure and spatial distribution of the fish assemblages at depths between 600 and 4000 m. A total of 55 species (8 chondrichthyes and 47 teleost fish) were sampled, 38 of them in the Balearic Sea, 30 in the western Ionian and 37 in the eastern Ionian. Multivariate analysis showed a clear pattern of zonation with depth and geographic area. Three main assemblages were identified across the vertical gradient investigated: on the upper slope around a depth of 600 m, on the middle slope between 800 and 1300 m, and on the lower slope below 1300 m. The geographic characterisation of the ichthyofauna structure was mainly observed on the upper and middle slope. The highest abundance and biomass values were found at depths of 1000-1200 m due to the presence of larger species with high energy requirements, such as Alepocephalus rostratus, Mora moro and Galeus melastomus. On the middle slope, significant differences in the abundance, biomass and mean fish weight were detected between the three areas. Significant differences for these parameters were also shown between the middle and lower slope assemblages. A significant decrease in species richness and diversity was shown with increasing depth, indicating an impoverishment of the megafauna with depth and a higher similarity between the Balearic Sea and the Ionian Sea with regard to the greatest depths. The dominant species on the deepest bottoms were Bathypterois mediterraneus, Chalinura mediterranea and Coryphaenoides guentheri. On the lower slope, the shark Centroscymnus coelolepis was also found to be relatively abundant off the Balearic Islands, Etmopterus spinax in the eastern Ionian Sea and the teleost fish Cataetyx laticeps throughout the three study areas. The deepest bottoms of the Mediterranean Sea shelter an ichthyofauna dominated by small-medium species living in a food scarce environment in which some large mobile fishes are widespread. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies mostly carried out in the Atlantic and western Mediterranean.

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“…temperature and salinity and productivity) between the western and central Mediterranean (Hopkins, 1989;D'Onghia et al, 2003) have been reported to affect the species distribution (Politou et al, 2004). Few papers discuss the depth distribution of Aristeus in Atlantic waters (Ribeiro-Cascalho, 1988), though the temperature of Atlantic deep-sea waters decreases several degrees below that of Mediterranean waters, where temperature is constant between 12.8 and 14.1 ºC.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep-sea distribution, biological and ecological aspects of <i>Aristeus antennatus</i> ( Risso, 1816) in the western and central Mediterranean Sea

Sardà¹,

D’Onghia²,

Politou³

et al. 2004

Sci. Mar.

109

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Biodiversity of the Upper Slope Demersal Community in the Eastern Mediterranean: Preliminary Comparison Between Two Areas With and Without Trawl Fishing

Cited by 81 publications

References 15 publications

New records of deep-water teleost fish in the Balearic Sea and Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

New records of deep-water teleost fish in the Balearic Sea and Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

Deep-water fish assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea

Deep-sea distribution, biological and ecological aspects of <i>Aristeus antennatus</i> ( Risso, 1816) in the western and central Mediterranean Sea

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