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Open AccessAre there distribution patterns and population structure differences among demersal fish species in relation to Antarctic benthic communities? A case study in the Weddell Sea
Despite the general belief that the Southern Ocean harbors low fish biodiversity, the Weddell Sea hosts one of the richest fish communities in the region. Parallelly, the Weddell Sea is also known for the pres...
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Article
First record of beaching events for a calycophoran siphonophore: Abylopsis tetragona (Otto, 1823) at the Strait of Gibraltar
Two beaching events of the calycophoran siphonophore Abylopsis tetragona (Otto, 1823) were observed in two different areas of the Strait of Gibraltar during the cold season. The first was discovered on November 2...
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27 Submarine Canyons in the Mediterranean: A Shelter for Cold-Water Corals
In the Mediterranean Sea, many of the locations where cold-water coral communities have been reported and documented tend to be associated to submarine canyon environments. This contribution provides a summary...
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20 Gorgonian and Black Coral Assemblages in Deep Coastal Bottoms and Continental Shelves of the Mediterranean Sea
Coral gardens are increasingly being reported at 40–200 m depth in the Mediterranean Sea. These coral assemblages are composed of gorgonians from shallow coastal rocky bottoms extending their distribution to d...
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Fast growth rate in a young colony of the Mediterranean gorgonian Eunicella singularis
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Open AccessPristine populations of habitat-forming gorgonian species on the Antarctic continental shelf
Declines in the abundance of long-lived and habitat-forming species on continental shelves have attracted particular attention given their importance to ecosystem structure and function of marine habitats. The...
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Introduction to the special issue on the Life in Antarctica: Boundaries and Gradients in a Changing Environment (XIth SCAR Biology Symposium)
Scientific research in Antarctica has reached maturity in recent decades. The interest in issues related to knowledge about the southern polar regions has increased significantly among researchers from all sci...
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Article
Chironephthya mediterranea n. sp. (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Nidaliidae), the first species of the genus discovered in the Mediterranean Sea
In this paper, a new species of the soft coral genus Chironephthya from the northwestern Mediterranean Sea is described and illustrated. Chironephthya mediterranea sp. nov. is formally described based on morpholo...
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Natural heterotrophic feeding by a temperate octocoral with symbiotic zooxanthellae: a contribution to understanding the mechanisms of die-off events
Octocorals are among the most emblematic and representative organisms of sublittoral communities in both tropical and temperate seas. Eunicella singularis is the most abundant gorgonian in shallow waters and the ...
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Article
Physiological performance of the cold-water coral Dendrophyllia cornigera reveals its preference for temperate environments
Cold-water corals (CWCs) are key ecosystem engineers in deep-sea benthic communities around the world. Their distribution patterns are related to several abiotic and biotic factors, of which seawater temperatu...
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Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranean Sea
Over recent decades, man’s expanding influence on the oceans has begun to cause change in some regions, including in the Mediterranean Sea. New proliferations of jellyfish may be occurring in the Mediterranean...
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The Zooplankton
The Mediterranean Sea bears one of the longest traditions in the study of zooplankton. Pioneer work focused more on taxonomy to suit the high diversity of zooplankton that inhabits the Mediterranean, and indee...
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Zoobenthos
Among Mediterranean marine life, benthic communities are possibly the most peculiar in terms of richness and endemic species. The distribution and structure of benthic fauna (sessile and vagile) is driven by e...
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In situ observations on withdrawal behaviour of the sea pen Virgularia mirabilis
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Spatial distribution patterns of the soft corals Alcyonium acaule and Alcyonium palmatum in coastal bottoms (Cap de Creus, northwestern Mediterranean Sea)
Current knowledge on the abundance and distribution patterns of different soft coral species is relatively limited when compared to other benthic suspension feeders such as gorgonians and hard coral species. T...
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A review of the genus Mirostenella Bayer, 1988 (Octocorallia: Primnoidae) with a description of a new subgenus and species
In the present study, the genus Mirostenella Bayer (Proc Biol Soc Wash 101:251–256, 1988) is revised. We add to knowledge of the type species of the genus M. articulata Bayer (Proc Biol Soc Wash 101:251–256, 1988
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Article
Feeding ecology and trophic impact of the hydroid Obelia dichotoma in the Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen, Arctic)
Obelia dichotoma is a thecate hydroid with a worldwide distribution, occurring mainly on shallow water hard substrates. Since the trophic ecology of hydroids in polar waters is badly understood, ...
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Temperature effects on asexual reproduction rates of scyphozoan species from the northwest Mediterranean Sea
In recent decades, many areas worldwide have experienced mass occurrences of jellyfish. To determine how temperature may affect jellyfish populations in the northwest (NW) Mediterranean Sea, we maintained poly...
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Characterization of the zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate morphotypes of the Mediterranean gorgonian Eunicella singularis
The gorgonian Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794) is abundant on rocky bottoms at Cap de Creus (42°18′49″ N; 003°19′23″ E) in the western Mediterranean, and this study compared zooxanthellate colonies from relativ...
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Article
Amphinema gordini sp. nov., a new benthopelagic medusa (Cnidaria:Hydrozoa:Anthomedusae:Pandeidae) collected by sediment traps off the northern Chilean coast
Amphinema gordini, a new species of pandeid anthomedusa, is described from one holotype and several paratypes found in perfect condition in deep-water (883 m depth) sediment trap samples recovere...
