Spatio-temporal benthic biodiversity patterns and pollution pressure in three Mediterranean touristic ports

Chatzinikolaou, Eva; Mandalakis, Manolis; Damianidis, Panagiotis; Dailianis, Thanos; Gambineri, Simone; Rossano, Claudia; Scapini, Felicita; Carucci, Alessandra; Arvanitidis, Christos

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.111

Cited by 45 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Our results are in good agreement with previous studies where the benthic SRB communities have been found to be significantly different among sites at global scale (Pérez-Jiménez and Kerkhof, 2005;Robador et al, 2016). On the other hand, Chatzinikolaou et al (2018) have recently demonstrated that the three studied ports are markedly different in terms of their physico-chemical parameters, as a result of different geographical positions and local factors. On one side, the Mediterranean Sea is characterized by wellknown longitudinal gradients, such as a west to east increase in salinity and temperature, as well as a decrease in productivity (e.g., Coll et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The collected samples were labeled as follows: the first digit of the sample identifier refers to the time period of the sampling campaign (1: February; 2: May-June; 3: September), the second character specifies the port (C: Cagliari; E: El Kantaoui; H: Heraklion), while the third digit identifies the sampling station within each port sector ( Table 1). For analyses of hydrocarbons and microbiological variables, surface sediments (0-1 cm) were collected according to Chatzinikolaou et al (2018). The surface layer was used to determine the distribution of contaminants since it provides information on the most recently deposited sediment materials (Simpson et al, 2005).…”

Section: Study Sites and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The surface layer was used to determine the distribution of contaminants since it provides information on the most recently deposited sediment materials (Simpson et al, 2005). The environmental status of the three investigated ports has been recently assessed by Chatzinikolaou et al (2018), based on physico-chemical parameters measured on samples collected during the coordinated sampling campaigns. In the present work, the following parameters were included ( Supplementary Table S1): salinity measured in surface seawater as well as temperature, redox potential, silt-clay ratio, organic carbon, chlorophyll-a and phaeopigments, levels of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs) and unresolved complex mixture (UCM) measured in superficial sediments.…”

Section: Study Sites and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benthic Prokaryotic Community Response to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Chronic Exposure: Importance of Emission Sources in Mediterranean Ports

et al. 2019

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The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced by multiple emission sources on prokaryotic communities in sediments chronically affected by anthropogenic pressures. In this context, surface sediments were investigated in three Mediterranean touristic ports over three sampling periods and in different port sectors. The levels of 16 priority PAHs varied over three orders of magnitude (25-49,000 ng g −1) covering the range of concentrations previously reported for Mediterranean harbors. Pyrogenic processes were found to be the dominant emission source of PAHs, with considerable differences among ports. The prokaryotic communities were identified by using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, targeting the 16S rRNA gene for Bacteria and Archaea as well as the dsrAB gene for sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The structure of the three benthic prokaryotic communities varied consistently among the ports. The structure of Bacteria and Archaea exhibited strong spatiotemporal variations that did not allow us to specifically link the observed differences in community structures with PAH sources. On the contrary, our study provided, for the first time, evidence that the PAH emission sources play a role in structuring benthic communities of SRB. Our findings indicate that the SRB community can be used as a valuable candidate biotic descriptor for bioremediation monitoring in heavily impacted port sediments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Study Sites and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sites and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benthic Prokaryotic Community Response to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Chronic Exposure: Importance of Emission Sources in Mediterranean Ports

et al. 2019

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“…Harbours are considered as one of the most disturbed coastal ecosystems due to the increase in anthropogenic pressures (shipping activities, pollution and dredging) (Chan et al 2016;Dauvin et al 2017;Chatzinikolaou et al 2018;Romanelli et al 2019;Dimitriou et al 2020). In addition, harbours are considered as the major pathway to Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) due to their special features (Buruaem et al, 2012;Ardura et al 2015;Pejovic et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological status assessment and non-indigenous species in industrial and fishing harbours of the Gulf of Gabès (central Mediterranean Sea)

Mosbahi

Pezy

Neifar

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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This study from January to December 2018 was the rst initiative of a Port Baseline Survey (PBS) aimed at assessing the impact of biological invasions in harbours of the Gulf of Gabès (GG). A total of 12 shing and industrial harbours were seasonally prospected during 2018. A total of 174 macrobenthos taxa were recorded, belonging to eight zoological groups, with a dominance of crustaceans (32%), molluscs (31%) and polychaetes (20%). Among these taxa, 57 were Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) for Tunisian waters, while 27 species were recorded for the rst time in GG harbours and three decapods ( Dyspanopeus sayi, Hippolyte prideauxiana and Pilumnus minutus ) and one amphipod ( Hamimaera hamigera ) were newly recorded from Tunisian waters. Two main categories of harbours are distinguished according to their macrobenthic communities and environmental features (essentially edaphic factors). The industrial harbours yield higher numbers of species and abundance of NIS than the shing ports. The ALEX metric is used to evaluate the biological invasion status of the Gulf of Gabès harbours, showing that their status ranges from unaffected in shing harbours to extremely affected in industrial harbours. Three biotic indices (AMBI, BO2A and BENTIX) are applied to assess the ecological status of harbours, which varies from moderate to good. ALEX and the other biotic indices are signi cantly correlated with harbour characteristics, maritime tra c and edaphic factors (organic matter and chemical contamination). The present study gives an overview of all available benthic data, the impact of biological invasions and the ecological quality status of harbours in the Gulf of Gabès. The results could be considered as providing important baseline data for the implementation of environmental policies and management plans in the future.

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“…Gacia et al, 2007;García-Gómez et al, 2015;Ido & Shimrit, 2015). In the Aegean Sea, most studies related to artificial structures have focused in vagile fauna associated with harbours and marinas (Karalis et al, 2003;Chintiroglou et al, 2004;Corsini-Foka et al, 2015;Ulman et al, 2017;Chatzinikolaou et al, 2018;Zenetos et al, 2018), aquaculture facilities (Fernández-González & Sánchez-Jerez, 2017) and artificial reefs (Sinis et al, 2000;Lök et al, 2008;Klaoudatos et al, 2012). Regarding sessile fauna, a recent study in Saronikos Gulf found higher abundances of the cryptogenic coral Oculina patagonica over anthropogenic structures compared with natural habitats (Salomidi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing sessile benthos on shallow artificial versus natural hard substrates in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Sedano

Florido²,

Rallis³

et al. 2019

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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Artificial structures cover a considerable part of the Mediterranean coasts. In the Aegean Sea, most studies related to artificial structures have focused in vagile fauna on harbors and marinas but little attention has been given to the sessile biota on coastal defense structures. The aim of this work was to describe for the first time the shallow sublittoral sessile benthos on coastal defense structures in Crete (Eastern Mediterranean Sea) in order to identify potential differences in comparison to natural rocky substrates, adopting both a taxonomic and functional (i.e. macroalgal structural complexity) approach. Three shallow (1-3 m) localities were studied in the north coast and three in the south coast of the island (six localities in total). At each locality, two types of hard substrate were selected: an artificial coastal defense structure (rip-rap) and the nearest natural rocky substrates. The percent cover of sessile taxa was calculated using random points counts over photoquadrats (20 x 20 cm). The structure of the assemblage differed between artificial and natural habitats. Values of Shannon-Wiener’s diversity index and number of taxa were higher in natural substrates. In addition, cover of arborescent macroalgae was lower on artificial substrates. In conclusion, rip-raps do not function as surrogates of natural hard substrates in the study area since their shallow subtidal assemblages differ in terms of community structure, diversity and functionality. The deficient performance of such artificial structures could be attributed to the combined effects of abiotic factors and biotic processes, including substrate nature and roughness as well as differential grazing pressure.

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Spatio-temporal benthic biodiversity patterns and pollution pressure in three Mediterranean touristic ports

Cited by 45 publications

References 59 publications

Benthic Prokaryotic Community Response to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Chronic Exposure: Importance of Emission Sources in Mediterranean Ports

Benthic Prokaryotic Community Response to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Chronic Exposure: Importance of Emission Sources in Mediterranean Ports

Ecological status assessment and non-indigenous species in industrial and fishing harbours of the Gulf of Gabès (central Mediterranean Sea)

Comparing sessile benthos on shallow artificial versus natural hard substrates in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

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