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Long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of cephalopod assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea

Authors :
Antoni Quetglas
Maria Valls
Francesca Capezzuto
Loredana Casciaro
Danila Cuccu
María González
Zdravko Ikica
Svjetlana Krstulović Šifner
Valentina Lauria
Evgenia Lefkaditou
Panagiota Peristeraki
Corrado Piccinetti
Pavlos Vidoris
Stefanie Keller
Source :
Scientia Marina, Vol 83, Iss S1, Pp 33-42 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2019.

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea shows a trend of increasing temperature and decreasing productivity from the western to the eastern basin. In this work we investigate whether this trend is reflected in the cephalopod assemblages found throughout the Mediterranean. Data obtained with bottom trawl surveys carried out during the last 22 years by EU Mediterranean countries were used. In addition to analysing spatial differences in cephalopod assemblages, we also analysed putative temporal changes during the last two decades. For this purpose, the basin was spatially divided into bioregions, the trawling grounds were subdivided into depth strata, and the dataset was split into two time series of 11 years each. All analyses were done using PRIMER software. The species richness did not vary with the longitudinal gradient, though in most bioregions it showed a mild decrease with depth before plummeting in the deepest waters. Cluster analysis revealed four different bathymetric assemblages in all bioregions. Despite the contrasting conditions between basins and the claims of biodiversity loss, our study revealed that spatial and temporal differences during the last two decades were restricted to changes in the relative abundance of species from a common pool of species inhabiting the whole Mediterranean.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02148358 and 18868134
Volume :
83
Issue :
S1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Scientia Marina
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.269c12396bf4eb6803e916f798f9c81
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04841.20A