Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge
The Alboran Sea is the westernmost sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The Alboran Ridge is located in the middle of the Alboran Sea and represents a hotspot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Besides their critical im...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/686 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850217070567882752 |
|---|---|
| author | Cristina García-Ruiz Manuel Hidalgo Cristina Ciércoles María González-Aguilar Pedro Torres Javier Urra José L. Rueda |
| author_facet | Cristina García-Ruiz Manuel Hidalgo Cristina Ciércoles María González-Aguilar Pedro Torres Javier Urra José L. Rueda |
| author_sort | Cristina García-Ruiz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Alboran Sea is the westernmost sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The Alboran Ridge is located in the middle of the Alboran Sea and represents a hotspot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Besides their critical importance, there are few studies on the communities and changes in biodiversity, and they mostly concentrate on infralittoral and circalittoral bottoms. In this work, the composition, structure and bathymetric and temporal changes of megafauna of the Alboran Ridge were examined. Samples were collected from MEDITS surveys carried out between 2012 and 2022 at depths ranging from 100 to 800 m. Analyses were performed separately for each of the taxonomic groups: osteichthyes, chondrichthyes, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and “other groups”. There was no common spatial organization for each of the faunistic groups studied, although most of them displayed differences between the shelf and the slope. The continental shelf was characterized by the highest values of community metrics such as abundance, biomass, species richness and mean weight of species for all groups except for chondrichthyes and crustaceans. Decreasing trends of some community metrics were detected in some of the faunistic groups throughout the study period. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a005d13a38dc499f8c873d9d4e758b2f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj-art-a005d13a38dc499f8c873d9d4e758b2f2025-08-20T02:08:09ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182024-11-01161168610.3390/d16110686Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran RidgeCristina García-Ruiz0Manuel Hidalgo1Cristina Ciércoles2María González-Aguilar3Pedro Torres4Javier Urra5José L. Rueda6Oceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainOceanographic Centre of Baleares (Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Muelle de Poniente s/n, 07015 Palma, SpainOceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainOceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainOceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainOceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainOceanographic Centre of Malaga (Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga), Instituto Español de Oceanografía—CSIC, Explanada San Andrés s/n (Muelle 9), 29002 Málaga, SpainThe Alboran Sea is the westernmost sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The Alboran Ridge is located in the middle of the Alboran Sea and represents a hotspot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Besides their critical importance, there are few studies on the communities and changes in biodiversity, and they mostly concentrate on infralittoral and circalittoral bottoms. In this work, the composition, structure and bathymetric and temporal changes of megafauna of the Alboran Ridge were examined. Samples were collected from MEDITS surveys carried out between 2012 and 2022 at depths ranging from 100 to 800 m. Analyses were performed separately for each of the taxonomic groups: osteichthyes, chondrichthyes, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and “other groups”. There was no common spatial organization for each of the faunistic groups studied, although most of them displayed differences between the shelf and the slope. The continental shelf was characterized by the highest values of community metrics such as abundance, biomass, species richness and mean weight of species for all groups except for chondrichthyes and crustaceans. Decreasing trends of some community metrics were detected in some of the faunistic groups throughout the study period.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/686bottom trawl surveyAlboran Seaabundancebiomassbiodiversity |
| spellingShingle | Cristina García-Ruiz Manuel Hidalgo Cristina Ciércoles María González-Aguilar Pedro Torres Javier Urra José L. Rueda Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge Diversity bottom trawl survey Alboran Sea abundance biomass biodiversity |
| title | Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge |
| title_full | Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge |
| title_short | Spatial Distribution and Temporal Variation of Megafauna in Circalittoral and Bathyal Soft Bottoms of the Westernmost Biodiversity Hotspot of the Mediterranean Sea: The Alboran Ridge |
| title_sort | spatial distribution and temporal variation of megafauna in circalittoral and bathyal soft bottoms of the westernmost biodiversity hotspot of the mediterranean sea the alboran ridge |
| topic | bottom trawl survey Alboran Sea abundance biomass biodiversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/686 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cristinagarciaruiz spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT manuelhidalgo spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT cristinaciercoles spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT mariagonzalezaguilar spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT pedrotorres spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT javierurra spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge AT joselrueda spatialdistributionandtemporalvariationofmegafaunaincircalittoralandbathyalsoftbottomsofthewesternmostbiodiversityhotspotofthemediterraneanseathealboranridge |