Dataset and species aggregation method applied to food-web models in the Northern Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea).
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ricci P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8040120 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:The ecosystem functioning of two marine food webs covering the north-eastern (Salento) and south-western (Calabria) sectors of the North-Western Ionian Sea (NWIS) (Central Mediterranean Sea) was investigated through a food-web model. Data inputs covered a wide set of ecological information applied to 58 functional groups (FGs). The sum of consumption and the mean predation mortality rate were calculated for benthic, demersal, and pelagic subsystems indicating the predator and prey roles of the FGs. A complex system of energy and biomass exchanges characterized the investigated food webs indicating an important benthic-pelagic coupling. In the food webs of both areas, the regulation of flows between the benthic-pelagic coupling seems to occur through the benthopelagic shrimps and the small pelagics due to their wasp-waist control role. Differences were observed concerning the top predators. Odontocetes play this keystone role in the Salento food web. Anglers, bathyal squids, and sharks assume this functional role in Calabria. The geomorphology and hydrography in the NWIS could affect the biomass and energy exchanges in this coupling. The higher flows of consumption of the benthic system observed in the Calabria food web could be influenced by a widespread presence of canyons along the continental edge which increase the benthic productivity. In contrast, the flows of consumption in the Salento food web seem to be driven by the planktonic productivity supporting the pelagic, benthopelagic, and demersal compartments. This condition could be favored by the large extension of the shelf break zone. The food-web models realized for the NWIS represent ideal platforms for the development of analysis with dynamic simulations. The comparative analysis of the two food webs by means of the FGs and their functional traits allowed the general pattern of ecosystem structure and functioning in the NWIS to be identified, making it an interesting approach to investigate the marine ecosystem.
| S-EPMC6787816 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The Risso's dolphin is a widely distributed species, found in deep temperate and tropical waters. Estimates of its abundance are available in a few regions, details of its distribution are lacking, and its status in the Mediterranean Sea is ranked as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List. In this paper, a synergy between bio-ecological analysis and innovative strategies has been applied to construct a digital platform, DolFin. It contains a collection of sighting data and geo-referred photos of Grampus griseus, acquired from 2013 to 2016 in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, North-eastern Central Mediterranean Sea), and the first automated tool for Smart Photo Identification of the Risso's dolphin (SPIR). This approach provides the capability to collect and analyse significant amounts of data acquired over wide areas and extended periods of time. This effort establishes the baseline for future large-scale studies, essential to providing further information on the distribution of G. griseus. Our data and analysis results corroborate the hypothesis of a resident Risso's dolphin population in the Gulf of Taranto, showing site fidelity in a relatively restricted area characterized by a steep slope to around 800?m in depth, north of the Taranto Valley canyon system.
| S-EPMC6249232 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this study, we mapped the distribution of Cold-Water Coral (CWC) habitats on the northern Ionian Margin (Mediterranean Sea), with an emphasis on assessing coral coverage at various spatial scales over an area of 2,000 km(2) between 120 and 1,400 m of water depth. Our work made use of a set of data obtained from ship-based research surveys. Multi-scale seafloor mapping data, video inspections, and previous results from sediment samples were integrated and analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS)-based tools. Results obtained from the application of spatial and textural analytical techniques to acoustic meso-scale maps (i.e. a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the seafloor at a 40 m grid cell size and associated terrain parameters) and large-scale maps (i.e. Side-Scan Sonar (SSS) mosaics of 1 m in resolution ground-truthed using underwater video observations) were integrated and revealed that, at the meso-scale level, the main morphological pattern (i.e. the aggregation of mound-like features) associated with CWC habitat occurrences was widespread over a total area of 600 km(2). Single coral mounds were isolated from the DTM and represented the geomorphic proxies used to model coral distributions within the investigated area. Coral mounds spanned a total area of 68 km(2) where different coral facies (characterized using video analyses and mapped on SSS mosaics) represent the dominant macro-habitat. We also mapped and classified anthropogenic threats that were identifiable within the examined videos, and, here, discuss their relationship to the mapped distribution of coral habitats and mounds. The combined results (from multi-scale habitat mapping and observations of the distribution of anthropogenic threats) provide the first quantitative assessment of CWC coverage for a Mediterranean province and document the relevant role of seafloor geomorphology in influencing habitat vulnerability to different types of human pressures.
| S-EPMC3900717 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The garfish Belone belone represents the only valid endemic Belone species for the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It shows a wide global distribution range, with a high commercial value and ecological relevance in the pelagic domain. Despite this, there needs to be more knowledge regarding the otoliths of this species, with the total absence of descriptions regarding asterisci and lapilli from Mediterranean populations and a lack of studies on the reliability of shape analysis on its sagittae. The present paper aims to provide the first main contours description of the three otoliths pairs from a Mediterranean population, providing an accurate investigation of morphology, morphometry, and intra-specific variability of sagittae, lapilli, and asterisci. Results showed (i) the absence of directional bilateral asymmetry and sexual asymmetry for the three otoliths pairs, (ii) a different morphology and morphometry of sagittae, lapilli and asterisci than those described in the literature, and (iii) an enhanced variability between sagittae morphometry and shape between the three investigated size classes. All these data confirmed the reliability of the studied species of shape analysis, showing a geographical and size-related variability of otoliths features probably related to genetics, environmental conditions, and life habits variations.
| S-EPMC10926657 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The effects of water depth, seasonal exposure, and substrate orientation on microbioerosion were studied by means of a settlement experiment deployed in 15, 50, 100, and 250 m water depth south-west of the Peloponnese Peninsula (Greece). At each depth, an experimental platform was exposed for a summer period, a winter period, and about an entire year. On the up- and down-facing side of each platform, substrates were fixed to document the succession of bioerosion traces, and to measure variations in bioerosion and accretion rates. In total, 29 different bioerosion traces were recorded revealing a dominance of microborings produced by phototrophic and organotrophic microendoliths, complemented by few macroborings, attachment scars, and grazing traces. The highest bioerosion activity was recorded in 15 m up-facing substrates in the shallow euphotic zone, largely driven by phototrophic cyanobacteria. Towards the chlorophyte-dominated deep euphotic to dysphotic zones and the organotroph-dominated aphotic zone the intensity of bioerosion and the diversity of bioerosion traces strongly decreased. During summer the activity of phototrophs was higher than during winter, which was likely stimulated by enhanced light availability due to more hours of daylight and increased irradiance angles. Stable water column stratification and a resulting nutrient depletion in shallow water led to lower turbidity levels and caused a shift in the photic zonation that was reflected by more phototrophs being active at greater depth. With respect to the subordinate bioerosion activity of organotrophs, fluctuations in temperature and the trophic regime were assumed to be the main seasonal controls. The observed patterns in overall bioeroder distribution and abundance were mirrored by the calculated carbonate budget with bioerosion rates exceeding carbonate accretion rates in shallow water and distinctly higher bioerosion rates at all depths during summer. These findings highlight the relevance of bioerosion and accretion for the carbonate budget of the Ionian Sea.
| S-EPMC4404344 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A detailed 3D image of the Calabro-Ionian subduction system in the central Mediterranean was obtained by means of a seismic tomography, exploiting a large dataset of local earthquakes and computing algorithms able to build a dense grid of measure nodes. Results show that the slab is continuous below the southern sector of the Calabro-Peloritan Arc, but the deformation processes developing at its edges are leading to its progressive narrowing, influencing tectonics and magmatism at the surface, and with possible stress concentration in the tip zones. In the southwest, the deformation occurring at a free slab edge lead to propagation of a vertical lithospheric tear in the overriding plate, which extends along a NW-SE fault system (Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni) up to about 30?km into the Ionian Sea; further southeast, the lithosphere appears only flexed and not broken yet. In the northeast, the slab seems to break progressively, parallel to the trench. Finally, northwest of Mt. Etna, the tomography highlights low VP that can be related to an upwelling of deep mantle material likely flowing laterally through a window opened by the complete slab detachment.
| S-EPMC5980090 | biostudies-other
Project description:Almost half of all chondrichthyan species in the Mediterranean Sea are threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN Red List. Due to a substantial lack of access to data on chondrichthyan catches in the Mediterranean Sea, especially of threatened species, the implementation of conservation measures is extremely insufficient. This also concerns the Adriatic Sea. Here we present a detailed and up-to-date assessment of the species occurring in Croatian waters, as the last checklist of chondrichthyans in Croatian waters was conducted in 2009. Occurrence records from historical data, literature and citizen science information have been compiled in order to present a comprehensive list of species occurrences. We found 54 chondrichthyan species between 1822 and 2022, consisting of a single chimaera, 23 rays and skates, and 30 shark species. Here, four additional species are listed but are considered doubtful. Five species are reported here for the first time for Croatian waters that were not listed in the survey from 2009. Nearly one-third of the species reported here are critically endangered in the entire Mediterranean Sea, based on the IUCN Red List. Additionally, we revisited the Croatian records of the sandtiger shark Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 and discussed its potential confusion with the smalltooth sandtiger shark Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810). Our results thus provide novel insights into the historical and current distribution patterns of chondrichthyan fishes in the Croatian Sea and provide a basis for further research as well as conservation measures.
| S-EPMC7614753 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We developed numerical simulations of potential future ecological states of the Baltic Sea ecosystem at the end of century under five scenarios. We used a spatial food web (Ecospace) model, forced by a physical-biogeochemical model. The scenarios are built on consistent storylines that describe plausible developments of climatic and socioeconomic factors in the Baltic Sea region. Modelled species diversity and fish catches are driven by climate- and nutrient load-related changes in habitat quality and by fisheries management strategies. Our results suggest that a scenario including low greenhouse gas concentrations and nutrient pollution and ecologically focused fisheries management results in high biodiversity and catch value. On the other hand, scenarios envisioning increasing societal inequality or economic growth based on fossil fuels, high greenhouse gas emissions and high nutrient loads result in decreased habitat quality and diminished biodiversity. Under the latter scenarios catches are high but they predominantly consist of lower-valued fish.
| S-EPMC6814650 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Flow regimes are a major driver of community composition and structure in riverine ecosystems, and flow regulation by dams often induces artificially-stable flow regimes downstream. This represents a major source of hydrological alteration, particularly in regions where biota is adapted to strong seasonal and interannual flow variability. We hypothesized that dam-induced hydrological stability should increase the availability of autochthonous resources at the base of the food web. This, in turn, should favour herbivorous over detritivorous strategies, increasing the diversity of primary consumers, and the food-web width and length. We tested this hypothesis by studying the longitudinal variation in food-web structure in a highly-seasonal Mediterranean river affected by an irrigation dam. We compared an unregulated reach to several reaches downstream of the dam. Hydrological and sedimentological stability increased downstream of the dam, and altered the type and quantity of available resources downstream, prompting a change from a detritus-based to an algae-based food web. The fraction of links between top and intermediate species also increased, and the food web became longer and wider at the intermediate trophic levels. Food-web structure did not recover 14km downstream of the dam, despite a partial restitution of the flow regime. Our results advance the notion that hydrologic alteration affects riverine food webs via additions/deletions of taxa and variation in the strength and distribution of food-web interactions. Thus, flow regulation by dams may not only impact individual facets of biodiversity, but also food-web level properties across river networks.
| S-EPMC5861997 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This paper presents a dataset of 3D sagittal left otolith meshes from 339 individual red mullet (Mullus barbatus). These immature specimens were collected from 17 geographical areas covering the entire Mediterranean Sea. Measured biological parameters were: fish total length (TL ± 1 mm, range from 125 to 238 mm), total weight (W ± 0.1 g, range from 14.9 to 168.0 g), sex (S), sexual maturity staging (Mat). The 3D otolith dataset comprises high-resolution meshes of otoliths obtained using microtomography (29.2 μm voxel size). The data offer valuable insights into the morphological variability and population structure of red mullet populations in the Mediterranean Sea. Potential applications of the dataset include age determination, stock identification, and population connectivity analysis. These applications aim to enhance the understanding of red mullet populations and contribute to the sustainable management of marine resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
| S-EPMC11266348 | biostudies-literature