scholarly journals Modeling of Coastal Processes in the Mediterranean Sea: A Pilot Study on the Entrance of Suez Canal in Egypt

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Fouad Kaiser ◽  
Walaa Awaad Ali ◽  
Maysara Khairy El Tahan
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Coastal Processes ◽  
The Mediterranean

Radiocarbon dating of individual foram tests show that alleged Lessepsian species are of Holocene age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo G. Albano ◽  
Anna Sabbatini ◽  
Jonathan Lattanzio ◽  
Jan Steger ◽  
Sönke Szidat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Sediment Depth ◽  
The Mediterranean

<p>The Lessepsian invasion – the largest marine biological invasion – followed the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 (81 years BP). Shortly afterwards, tropical species also distributed in the Red Sea appeared on Mediterranean shores: it was the dawn of what would become the invasion of several hundred tropical species. The time of the Suez Canal opening coincided with an acceleration in natural history exploration and description, but the eastern sectors of the Mediterranean Sea lagged behind and were thoroughly explored only in the second half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. Many parts are still insufficiently studied today. Baseline information on pre-Lessepsian ecosystem states is thus scarce. This knowledge gap has rarely been considered by invasion scientists: every new finding of species belonging to tropical clades has been assumed to be a Lessepsian invader.</p><p>We here question this assumption by radiocarbon dating seven individual tests of miliolids – imperforated calcareous foraminifera – belonging to five alleged non-indigenous species. Tests were found in two sediment cores collected at 30 and 40 m depth off Ashqelon, on the Mediterranean Israeli shelf. We dated one <em>Cribromiliolinella milletti </em>(core at 40 m, 20 cm sediment depth), three <em>Nodophthalmidium antillarum </em>(core at 40 m, 35 cm sediment depth), one <em>Miliolinella </em>cf. <em>fichteliana </em>(core at 30 m, 110 cm sediment depth), one <em>Articulina alticostata </em>(core at 40 m, 35 cm sediment depth) and one <em>Spiroloculina antillarum </em>(core at 30 m, 110 cm sediment depth). All foraminiferal tests proved to be of Holocene age, with a median calibrated age spanning between 749 and 8285 years BP. Only one test of <em>N. antillarum</em> showed a 2-sigma error overlapping the time of the opening of the Suez Canal, but with a median age of 1123 years BP. Additionally, a thorough literature search resulted in a further record of <em>S. antillarum</em> in a core interval dated 1820–2064 years BP in Turkey.</p><p>Therefore, these foraminiferal species are not introduced, but native species. They are all circumtropical or Indo-Pacific and in the Mediterranean distributed mostly in the eastern sectors (only <em>S. antillarum</em> occurs also in the Adriatic Sea). Two hypotheses can explain our results: these species are Tethyan relicts that survived the Messinian salinity crisis (5.97–5.33 Ma) and the glacial periods of the Pleistocene in the Eastern Mediterranean, which may have never desiccated completely during the Messinian crisis and which may have worked as a warm-water refugium in the Pleistocene; or they entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea more recently but before the opening of the Suez Canal, for example during the Last Interglacial (MIS5e) high-stand (125,000 years BP) when the flooded Isthmus of Suez enabled exchanges between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific fauna. The recognition that some alleged Lessepsian invaders are in fact native species influences our understanding of the invasion process, its rates and environmental correlates.</p>

scholarly journals Long-term monitoring for the surveillance of the conservation status of Tursiops truncatus in an EU Natura2000 site in the Mediterranean Sea. A pilot study in the Tuscan Archipelago

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTONELLA ARCANGELI ◽  
ROBERTO CROSTI ◽  
ILARIA CAMPANA ◽  
LARA CAROSSO ◽  
MARTINA GREGORIETTI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Common Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
The Mediterranean

A pilot study, using the dataset from the research network ‘FLT Med Net’, which regularly monitors transborder regions in the Mediterranean Sea using ferries as platform for systematic surveys, was undertaken to assess common bottlenose dolphin range and population trends within the Natura 2000 EU marine site “Tutela del Tursiops truncatus”. The site was recently designated by the Tuscany Region (Italy) within the requirement of the EU Habitats Directive. In order to evaluate the conservation status of bottlenose dolphin according to the surveillance scheme of the Directive, two six-year periods (2007-2012; 2013-2018) were compared to assess trends in distribution-occurrence (range); Sightings Per Unit of Effort and Density (population). In total, 18146 NM were surveyed along two fixed transects, recording 90 sightings of Tursiops truncatus and a total of 268 specimens. Between the two periods, slight but not statistically significant differences were assessed, with decreasing trend in range and population  of the species; no variation was detected in mean group sizes. Travelling was the most common behaviour, and juveniles were present in 20% of the sightings, concentrated during spring and summer. The consistent FLT Med Net dataset was found to be appropriate to evaluate important parameters for the assessment of trends in the conservation status of Tursiops truncatus at the Natura2000 site scale. 

scholarly journals The Enlargement of the Suez Canal and Introduction of Non-Indigenous Species to the Mediterranean Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bella Galil ◽  
Ferdinando Boero ◽  
Simona Fraschetti ◽  
Stefano Piraino ◽  
Marnie Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Non Indigenous Species

Tintinnids (Ciliophora: Choreotrichia) of the Suez Canal and their transmigration process between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-462
Author(s):  
Hamed A. El-Serehy ◽  
Fahad A. Al-Misned ◽  
Nasser S. Abdel-Rahman ◽  
Khaled A. Al-Rasheid
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
The Mediterranean

Present Development Phases of the Suez Canal Project

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-465
Author(s):  
Nabil Hilaly
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Nile Delta ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Development Phases ◽  
The Mediterranean

It is recorded that Egypt was the first country to dig a canal to promote world trade; the first canal was dug in the reign of Pharaoh Senusret III (1887–1849 B.C.), to link the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea through the Nile delta. This canal, often abandoned due to silting, was reopened for navigation by later Pharaohs and finally by Amro Ibn El Ass in A.D. 640 after which it remained open for 150 years.

scholarly journals First occurrence of a Hymenosomatid crab Elamena mathoei (Desmarest, 1823) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in the Mediterranean Sea

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 278 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. ZAOUALI ◽  
J. BEN SOUISSI ◽  
M. RIFI ◽  
C. D'UDEKEM d'ACOZ
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Rocky Shore ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
West Pacific ◽  
First Occurrence ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Levant Basin

Mediterranean fauna is undergoing drastic modifications as a result of anthropogenic activities and global warming. The most important of these is the colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by alien species, many of them entering through the Suez Canal. While many of them are still confined to the Levant Basin, several have extended their distribution westwards to Tunisian waters. The presence of the Indo-west Pacific hymenosomatid crab Elamena mathoei on a rocky shore at Sidi Daoud, Cape Bon Peninsula, Tunisia, is the first Mediterranean record of this species. It is a testimony to the changes in the patterns of invasion in the Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals Non-methane hydrocarbon (C<sub>2</sub>–C<sub>8</sub>) sources and sinks around the Arabian Peninsula

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 7209-7232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratios Bourtsoukidis ◽  
Lisa Ernle ◽  
John N. Crowley ◽  
Jos Lelieveld ◽  
Jean-Daniel Paris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Associated Gas ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) have been extensively studied around the globe due to their importance to atmospheric chemistry and their utility in emission source and chemical sink identification. This study reports on shipborne NMHC measurements made around the Arabian Peninsula during the AQABA (Air Quality and climate change in the Arabian BAsin) ship campaign. The ship traversed the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the northern Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Gulf, before returning by the same route. The Middle East is one of the largest producers of oil and gas (O&amp;G), yet it is among the least studied. Atmospheric mixing ratios of C2–C8 hydrocarbons ranged from a few ppt in unpolluted regions (Arabian Sea) to several ppb over the Suez Canal and Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf), where a maximum of 166.5 ppb of alkanes was detected. The ratio between i-pentane and n-pentane was found to be 0.93±0.03 ppb ppb−1 over the Arabian Gulf, which is indicative of widespread O&amp;G activities, while it was 1.71±0.06 ppb ppb−1 in the Suez Canal, which is a characteristic signature of ship emissions. We provide evidence that international shipping contributes to ambient C3–C8 hydrocarbon concentrations but not to ethane, which was not detected in marine traffic exhausts. NMHC relationships with propane differentiated between alkane-rich associated gas and methane-rich non-associated gas through a characteristic enrichment of ethane over propane atmospheric mixing ratios. Utilizing the variability–lifetime relationship, we show that atmospheric chemistry governs the variability of the alkanes only weakly in the source-dominated areas of the Arabian Gulf (bAG=0.16) and along the northern part of the Red Sea (bRSN=0.22), but stronger dependencies are found in unpolluted regions such as the Gulf of Aden (bGA=0.58) and the Mediterranean Sea (bMS=0.48). NMHC oxidative pair analysis indicated that OH chemistry dominates the oxidation of hydrocarbons in the region, but along the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf the NMHC ratios occasionally provided evidence of chlorine radical chemistry. These results demonstrate the utility of NMHCs as source/sink identification tracers and provide an overview of NMHCs around the Arabian Peninsula.

scholarly journals First record of the twobar sea bream Acanthopagrus bifasciatus (Teleostei: Sparidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 437 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. BEN-SOUISSI ◽  
W. BOUGHEDIR ◽  
M. RIFI ◽  
C. CAPAPE ◽  
E. AZZURRO
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
First Record ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Sea Bream ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Human Transport

In September 2010, one specimen of the twobar seabream Acanthopagrus bifasciatus was recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, off the Islands of Zembra (Gulf of Tunisi: 37°07’03’’N; 10°48’35’’E). This species could have entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or alternatively by unintentional human transport.

scholarly journals Asexual Reproduction and Strobilation of Sanderia malayensis (Scyphozoa, Pelagiidae) in Relation to Temperature: Experimental Evidence and Implications

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Massimo Avian ◽  
Gregorio Motta ◽  
Mattia Prodan ◽  
Enrico Tordoni ◽  
Vanessa Macaluso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Knowledge Gap ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Polyp Stage ◽  
The Mediterranean

Sanderia malayensis is a scyphozoan species present in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from the Suez Canal to Japan. Although this jellyfish is commonly kept in aquariums around the world, there is a knowledge gap regarding its biology and ecology, especially at the polyp stage. In this study, we tested the asexual reproductive activity of S. malayensis at three different temperatures: 10, 15 and 20 °C. Results showed significant increases of polyps at 15 and 20 °C, and a minimum at 10 °C, corresponding with daily budding rates of 6.61% ± 0.92%, 5.85% ± 2.36% and 0.66% ± 0.24%, respectively. Moreover, a second experiment was carried out to report about the ability of S. malayensis to prey on Aurelia solida at the ephyra stage. Unidirectional predation of S. malayensis ephyrae on A. solida and an absence of inverse predation was observed. These results could give new insights on the potential fitness and survival of this species if it will ever invade the Mediterranean Sea.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document