Distribution and species composition of planktonic cnidarians in the Algerian coastal waters (SW Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

This study presents an inventory of planktonic cnidarian species collected in Algerian coastal waters (1°10’00” W - 6°52’37” E and 35°37’42” N - 37°01’16” N) from May 2012 to February 2017. The aim was to analyse the qualitative distribution and identify the main components of this gelatinous fauna in different coastal ecosystems in western, central and eastern regions. A total of 60 taxa of planktonic cnidarians were identified, including 57 hydrozoans and three scyphozoans. The class Hydrozoa were represented by 34 hydromedusae, primarily belonging to orders Anthoathecata (15 taxa) and Siphonophorae (23 taxa). Several reported hydrozoan species were recorded for the first time in the southwestern Mediterranean Sea. These new regional records include the hydromedusae Kantiella enigmatica, Leuckartiara octona, Proboscidactylaornata, Cunina globosa, Lovenella cirrata, Cirrholovenia tetranema, Phialella quadrata, Homoeonema platygonon and the siphonophore Forskalia contorta. Seasonal fluctuations were observed in biodiversity, with the highest species richness in spring and summer. The most common species are the calycophorous siphonophores Abylopsis tetragona, Muggiaea atlantica, Lensia subtilis Muggiaea kochii and the holoplanktonic medusae Aglaura hemistoma, Rhopalonema velatum, Solmundella bitentaculata, Liriope tetraphylla and Pelagia noctiluca. The species’ occurrence frequency exhibited seasonal and spatial variability. These distribution patterns were primarily determined by meroplanktonic hydrozoans (Anthoathecata and Leptothecata).