Egg masses of the loliginid squid Loligo vulgaris Lamarck, 1798 are attached to hard substratum or branched sessile organisms on the sea bottom. Embryonic development lasts from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the environmental water temperature. Because embryonic statolith growth of L. vulgaris is very sensitive to temperature under laboratory conditions, we analyzed the possibilitie...

The present study investigates the genetic diversity of Scarus ghobban, a recently introduced parrotfish in the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Two mitochondrial and one nuclear DNA regions were sequenced and phylogenetic relationships investigated, from samples collected from Lebanon and across its natural range. Scarus ghobban clustered in two major clades, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocea...

The distribution of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum Graham in the Mediterranean Sea was once restricted to the eutrophic waters of the Alborán Sea. In September 1999, this taxon was found for first time in the Algerian basin, being the dominant species at subsurface depths (~1 cell mL–1) associated with low salinity waters. The geographical expansion of this exotic species is not...

The Mediterranean coastline is a dynamic and complex system which owes its complexity to its past and present vicissitudes, e.g. complex tectonic history, climatic fluctuations, and prolonged coexistence with human activities. A plant species that is widespread in this habitat is the sea daffodil, Pancratium maritimum (Amaryllidaceae), which is a perennial clonal geophyte of the coastal sands o...

Citation: Giannoulaki M, Pyrounaki MM, Bourdeix J-H, Ben Abdallah L, Bonanno A, Basilone G, Iglesias M, Ventero A, De Felice A, Leonori I, Valavanis VD, Machias A and Saraux C (2017) Habitat Suitability Modeling to Identify the Potential Nursery Grounds of the Atlantic Mackerel and Its Relation to Oceanographic Conditions in the Mediterranean Sea. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:230. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017...

This volume compiles a number of scientific papers resulting from a sustained multidisciplinary research effort of the deep-sea ecosystem in the Mediterranean Sea that started 20 years ago, which has peaked over the last few years thanks to a number of Spanish and European projects like PROMETEO, DOS MARES, REDECO, GRACCIE, HERMES, HERMIONE and PERSEUS, amongst other projects. The geographic fo...

Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres....

The Red Sea (Lessepsian) migrant fish, the arrow bulleye, Priacanthus sagittarius, and the spotbelly batfish, Platax teira, are recorded for the second time from the Mediterranean, suggesting the establishment of new populations. The record of another Lessepsian migrant, the spiny blaassop, Tylerius spinosissimus from Israel, constitutes a considerable extension of its distribution range in the...

During 2011-2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea. Nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, and hemagglutinin gene sequences of the identified strain were highly homologous with those of a morbillivirus that caused a 2006-2007 epidemic in the Mediterranean. Dolphin morbillivirus represents a serious threat for fin whales.

Biological invasions are increasingly creating ecological and economical problems both on land and in aquatic environments. For over a century, the Mediterranean Sea has steadily been invaded by Indian Ocean/Red Sea species (called Lessepsian invaders) via the Suez Canal, with a current estimate of ~450 species. The bluespotted cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii, considered a 'Lessepsian sprint...