The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. However, our estimates of marine diversity are still incomplete as yet—undescribed species will be added in the future. Diversity for microbes is substantially underestimated, and the deep-sea areas and portions of the southern and eastern region are still poorly known. In addition, the invasion of alien species is a crucial factor that will continue to change the biodiversity of the Mediterranean, mainly in its eastern basin that can spread rapidly northwards and westwards due to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial patterns showed a general decrease in biodiversity from northwestern to southeastern regions following a gradient of production, with some exceptions and caution due to gaps in our knowledge of the biota along the southern and eastern rims. Biodiversity was also generally higher in coastal areas and continental shelves, and decreases with depth. Temporal trends indicated that overexploitation and habitat loss have been the main human drivers of historical changes in biodiversity. At present, habitat loss and degradation, followed by fishing impacts, pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and the establishment of alien species are the most important threats and affect the greatest number of taxonomic groups. All these impacts are expected to grow in importance in the future, especially climate change and habitat degradation. The spatial identification of hot spots highlighted the ecological importance of most of the western Mediterranean shelves (and in particular, the Strait of Gibraltar and the adjacent Alboran Sea), western African coast, the Adriatic, and the Aegean Sea, which show high concentrations of endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species. The Levantine Basin, severely impacted by the invasion of species, is endangered as well.

This abstract has been translated to other languages (File S1).

/pdf/the-biodiversity-of-the-mediterranean-sea-estimates-patterns-38y4s7jond.pdf

The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats

Trabajo presentado en el 39th CIESM Congress, celebrado en Venecia, Italia, del 10 al 14 de mayo de 2010

/pdf/biodiversity-of-the-mediterranean-sea-estimates-patterns-and-2mjs6mi5cx.pdf

Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns and threats

Evolution of Nervous Control from Primitive Organisms to Man A Symposium organized by the Section on Medical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and presented at the New York Meeting on December 29–30, 1956. Edited by Allan D. Bass. Pp. vii + 231. (Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science; London: Bailey Bros. and Swinfen, Ltd., 1959.) 52s.

The Central Nervous System

A novel avian hypothalamic peptide inhibiting gonadotropin release.

Egg and sperm quality in fish

Determination of semen quality of the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, by sperm motility, seminal plasma parameters, and spermatozoal metabolism

European Lymnaeidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda), intermediate hosts of trematodiases, based on nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS-2 sequences.

The spermatozoon of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus is a simple organized aquasperm although it reveals very unique characteristics: the cytoplasmic channel is lacking, the mitochondria form a complex structure and the arrangement of the centriolar complex is species specific. Semen has high initial motility rates (c. 70-90%) and swimming velocities (c. 120-140 μm s -1 ), the main swimming type is linear. Motility duration in water is 30 s and is prolonged only to 40 s in NaCI solutions or more complex buffered motility activating saline solutions. A pH between 7.0 and 9.0 has no effect on the sperm motility parameters. Motility is completely and reversibly suppressed in electrolyte and non-electrolyte solutions with an osmolality of 200 mosmol kg -1 . During immotile storage the sperm viability is influenced by the osmolality and the potassium levels of the storage medium, by the temperature and by the dilution. At optimal conditions (buffered sperm motility inhibiting saline solution: 150 mmol l -1 NaCl, 2.5 mmol l -1 KCl, 1 mmol l -1 CaCl 2 , 1 mmol l -1 MgSO 4 , 20 mmol l -1 Tris solution, pH 8.5; dilution rate 1: 5; storage temperature, 4° C) sperm viability persists for >7 days. High viscosity of the pure seminal vesicle secretion completely inhibits the sperm motility. When the seminal vesicle secretion is diluted in water the viscosity decreases and the motility suppressing effect is neutralized. When semen is mixed with seminal vesicle secretion the sperm viability decreases to zero within 10 min.

The spermatozoon of the African catfish: fine structure, motility, viability and its behaviour in seminal vesicle secretion

The paper describes the habitat utilization of small cryptobenthic fishes of the families Blenniidae (Lipophrys nigriceps, and Parablennius zvonimiri), Gobiesocidae (Apletodon incognitus, Gouania wildenowi, Lepadogaster candollei, and L. lepadogaster), Gobiidae (Chromogobius zebratus, Corcyrogobius liechtensteini, Didogobius splechtnai, Gammogobius steinitzi, Millerigobius macrocephalus, Thorogobius ephippiatus, T. macrolepis, and Zebrus zebrus), and Tripterygiidae (Tripterygion melanurus). Nine different habitats from the waterline to a depth of about 40 m were examined. The depth distributions of the single species and co-occurrences with other cryptobenthic fish species are given.

Habitat Utilization and Depth Distribution of Small Cryptobenthic Fishes (Blenniidae, Gobiesocidae, Gobiidae, Tripterygiidae) in Ibiza (Western Mediterranean Sea)

The reproduction of Blennius pavo. V: Reproductive behavior in natural environment

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