Sandy sediment and its infauna were annually sampled along the shallow waters of the Israeli coast during the 2005–2016 period, as a part of the Israeli National Environmental Program framework, ...aiming to detect anthropogenic interference in that province by monitoring changes in the species composition, abundance, and diversity of the infaunal communities and in accompanied abiotic parameters: the levels of total organic carbon and a series of heavy metals and the site-specific grain size distribution. The > 250-μm fraction of the fauna was segregated from the sampled sediment and was identified to species or higher taxonomic level. Three spatial biotopes were determined based on their unique faunal composition, Haifa Bay, Haifa harbor, and the southern coast. Species homogeneity among samples of each biotope was evaluated. Temporal and spatial changes of the species composition, abundance, and diversity were calculated for each biotope, mostly revealing random annual fluctuations. Only two minor temporal trends were observed: two spatially identical and temporally different faunal communities in the southern coast biotope, distinguishing the 2005–2007 and 2008–2016 periods, and a slight increase in the number of species across time in the two Haifa Bay provinces. Total organic carbon was highly correlated to the faunal composition with the highest organic carbon levels in the Haifa harbor biotope. The biotopes’ mutually occurring abundant species were sufficient to determine biotope borders and the contribution of intermittently sampled rare species, including the zoogeographically Indo-Pacific originated ones was feeble, important only to identify species migration and faunistics. Practically, three sampling sites along the Israeli shallow soft substrate, corresponding to the defined spatial biotopes, are sufficient to monitor the effect of environmental changes. Seasonal sampling twice a year is recommended as well as more accurate species identification using molecular taxonomy.
Abstract
Benthic microbes are key organisms in the oligotrophic Southeastern Mediterranean Sea (SEMS), yet their abundance, activity, and diversity in this rapidly changing basin are not fully ...understood. We investigated the prokaryotic and microfungal communities throughout years 2018–2020 at 27 stations (6–1900 m water depths, down to 20 cm below the sediment surface), in two transects with distinct downslope transport regimes, and along the eutrophic coastline. We estimated microbial abundance with flow cytometry, secondary production as leucine assimilation, and sequenced marker genes (the 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer) to assess diversity indices. The highest abundance (0.21 × 108 cells gr–1 sediment) was estimated at slope stations where we assumed substantial transport rates and found an accumulation of organic carbon. Secondary production was the highest nearshore (12 ± 4 ng C gr–1 h–1), and markedly declined offshore (0.5 ± 0.9 ng C gr–1 h–1). Populations of archaea (dominant Nitrososphaeria and Nanoarchaeia) and diverse bacteria were stable over three years, and taxonomic composition was dictated mainly by depth gradients. Saprotrophic and pathotrophic microfungi Ascomycota (70% ± 23%) and Basidiomycota (16% ± 18%) were prevalent, whereas parasitic chytrids were abundant nearshore. Our results highlight the role of downslope transport, which enriched the typical deep-sea communities with anaerobic lineages, in shaping microbial populations near the continental slope.
The spatial distribution and dynamics of benthic microbes (Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi) were monitored in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea along offshore transects and with depth in the sediments.
The competition between sulfate reducing bacteria and methanogens over common substrates has been proposed as a critical control for methane production. In this study, we examined the co-existence of ...methanogenesis and sulfate reduction with shared substrates over a large range of sulfate concentrations and rates of sulfate reduction in estuarine systems, where these processes are the key terminal sink for organic carbon. Incubation experiments were carried out with sediment samples from the sulfate-methane transition zone of the Yarqon (Israel) estuary with different substrates and inhibitors along a sulfate concentrations gradient from 1 to 10 mM. The results show that methanogenesis and sulfate reduction can co-exist while the microbes share substrates over the tested range of sulfate concentrations and at sulfate reduction rates up to 680 μmol L
day
. Rates of methanogenesis were two orders of magnitude lower than rates of sulfate reduction in incubations with acetate and lactate, suggesting a higher affinity of sulfate reducing bacteria for the available substrates. The co-existence of both processes was also confirmed by the isotopic signatures of δ
S in the residual sulfate and that of δ
C of methane and dissolved inorganic carbon. Copy numbers of
and
genes supported the dominance of sulfate reduction over methanogenesis, while showing also the ability of methanogens to grow under high sulfate concentration and in the presence of active sulfate reduction.
This study presents a novel application of marine geoelectromagnetic technique, in an attempt to delineate freshwater extension of the coastal sub-aquifers beneath the SE Mediterranean Sea, along ...central Israel. The novel marine Ex-Bz time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) geophysical method was applied, demonstrating high sensitivity to the presence of sub-seafloor electrically resistive structures up to several kilometers offshore (shallow marine environment). The study included 19 marine measurements located offshore between Ashdod in the south to Tel-Aviv in the north, where a previous onshore study detected fresh groundwater below seawater intrusion at the coast line. The offshore measurements were conducted to distances of up to 3 km from the shoreline. It was found that the lower sub-aquifer contains fresh groundwater (resistivity >10 Ω-m) to a distance of 2.8 km offshore along the 30 km strip, and is probably constrained by lateral geo-facial changes.
Aerosol deposition may supply a high diversity of airborne microbes, which can affect surface microbial composition and biological production. This study reports a diverse microbial community ...associated with dust and other aerosol particles, which differed significantly according to their geographical air mass origin. Microcosm bioassay experiments, in which aerosols were added to sterile (0.2 µm filtered and autoclaved) SE Mediterranean Sea (SEMS) water, were performed to assess the potential impact of airborne bacteria on bacterial abundance, production, and N2 fixation. Significant increase was observed in all parameters within a few hours, and calculations suggest that airborne microbes can account for one third in bacterial abundance and 50–100% in bacterial production and N2‐fixation rates following dust/aerosol amendments in the surface SEMS. We show that dust/aerosol deposition can be a potential source of a wide array of microorganisms, which may impact microbial composition and food web dynamics in oligotrophic marine systems such as the SEMS.
Key Points
Airborne bacteria are viable upon deposition in the ocean
Airborne bacteria contribute to bacterial production in surface seawater
Airborne bacteria contribute to N2 fixation in surface seawater
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•Long-term (∼40 y) record of deep-sea sharks denotes mercury accumulation.•Anthropogenic Hg accumulation is enhanced in oligotrophic deep-sea sharks.•Long-living deep-sea species show ...a temporal increase in THg levels.•THg is expected to further increase in deep marginal seas sharks.•Consumption of deep-sea sharks is potentially a high risk to human health.
Deep-sea habitats are currently recognized as a hot spot for mercury (Hg) accumulation from anthropogenic sources, resulting in elevated concentrations of total mercury (THg) in deep-sea megafauna. Among them, deep-sea sharks (Class Chondrichthyes) are characterized by high trophic position and extended longevity and are, therefore, at high risk for mercury contamination. Despite this, sharks are overexploited by fishing activity in increasingly deeper water, worldwide, imposing health risks to human consumption. While it is imperative to better understand long-term mercury contamination in deep-sea megafauna, few historical data sets exist to capture this process. Here we explore four decades (1985–2022) of THg accumulation in five species of deep-sea sharks (G. melastomus, E. spinax, S. rostratus, C. granulosus, and D. licha) of the ultra-oligotrophic Southeastern Mediterranean Sea (SEMS) sampled during 19 research cruises. We exhibited exceptionally high THg levels (per length/weight), the highest as 16.6 μg g−1 (wet wt.), almost entirely (98.9 %; n = 298 specimens) exceeding the limit for safe consumption (0.3–0.5 μg THg g−1 wet wt.). The maximal THg levels of the long-lived species D. licha and C. granulosus in the SEMS were enriched by a factor of ∼ 7 and >10 compared to counterpart species from other oceanic areas, respectively. We attribute this to the ultra-oligotrophic conditions of the SEMS, which cause slower growth rates and dwarfism in deep-sea sharks, resulting in an extended exposure time to mercury contamination. In the long-lived species, C. granulosus and D. licha, a temporal increase of average THg levels of ∼ 80 % was recorded between 1987–1999 and 2021–2022. This likely reflects the long-term accumulation of historical anthropogenic Hg in deep-sea environments, which is further amplified in marginal seas such as the Mediterranean, impacted by global air pollution crossroads and surrounded by land-based pollution sources. Future consumption of products from deep-sea sharks is potentially high risk to human health.
The Eastern Mediterranean is experiencing a large-scale invasion of alien tropical species from the Red Sea. This "Lessepsian invasion" began with the opening of the Suez Canal and is promoted by the ...ongoing oceanic warming. The environmental differences between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean act as a buffer allowing the invasion of certain species. This provides an opportunity to study the differences in temperature sensitivity between two sibling species of the cosmopolitian foraminifera Amphistegina. Both species are very common in the Red Sea. Whilest, only one is a successful invader and the other is absent in the Eastern Mediterranean. Here we show that the two species are different in their temperature sensitivity, which explains their selective invasion into the Mediterranean. These differences demonstrate that in respect to climate change resilient marine species can be distinguished by their ability to compensate for temperature changes by adjusting their physiological performance and by having tolerance to a wider temperature range. Moreover, we demonstrate that selective filtering mechanisms during invasion can prefer species that are more resilient to colder rather than expected warmer temperatures.
Footprints of human activities identified in the sedimentary sequence of submerged historical saltpans can reveal the history of the site and can indicate the relative sea level during its ...operational period. Saltpans are man-made constructions used continuously for salt production in the Mediterranean at least for the last 2000 years. The east Adriatic coast contains many such submerged remains, preserved and well-dated by historical archives. Sedimentological, microfossil and geochemical analyses of the sediments from cores drilled in the saltwork area at Brbinj, Dugi Otok, Croatia, enable the reconstruction of various past environmental conditions. The current study aims to: a) identify the anthropogenic unit in the sedimentary sequence deposited over time, b) determine its age, and c) use it as past sea-level limiting points. Basal units made of terra rossa soil materials were identified in the sedimentary records. These layers are located -120 ±7 cm below mean sea level next to the separation wall and -125 ±7 cm and -135 ±7 cm, respectively, in the inner pools, most likely representing a man-made pavement. The terra rossa layer is overlaid by a unit rich in faunal remains dominated by euryhaline foraminifera and ostracod species such as Ammonia veneta and Cyprideis torosa, representing the saltworks unit. The flooding of the saltpans by the rising sea is manifested by the deposition of an upper sedimentary unit dominated by remains of marine species. The base and the top of the saltwork unit are dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence to 1040±50 CE and to 1390±30 CE, respectively. The study presents a new approach for obtaining footprints of human activities in ancient, submerged saltpans, by identifying and dating the indicative anthropogenic layers and using these for the reconstruction of paleo sea-level. The described method can be applied all around the Mediterranean.
The spatial variability in the composition of bacterioplankton communities from the Levantine basin off the Israeli coast (south-eastern Mediterranean Sea) was studied using water samples from nine ...stations down to 1880 m depth. An nMDS (non-metric multidimensional scaling) ordination plot of ARISA (automated rRNA intergenic spacer analyses) fingerprints performed on 39 water samples revealed three groups of communities based on depth (epi, meso and bathypelagial waters), while the stations’ geographical location did not seem to have an effect on the distribution of bacterioplankton assemblages. Interestingly, communities from the two deep pelagic zones were further grouped depending on the three prevailing water masses in the Levantine basin, and depth, salinity, temperature and silicic acid were significantly related to the variations of the bacterial community compositions. Cloning of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of dominant ARISA peaks showed that abundant bacteria in all depths were ubiquitous uncultured Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. The results further indicate that distinct microbial community profiles in the Levantine basin are associated with prevailing water masses that have formed due to different physico-chemical parameters and thus might act as physical barriers rather than physiological discriminators, as has been suggested in studies from other ocean regions.
The authors explored distribution patterns of bacterial consortia along with oceanographic parameters in a relatively confined area in the ultra-oligotrophic Levantine basin along depth transects from the surface down to 1880 m and found clear vertical zonation.
This study was promoted by the recent efforts using larger benthic foraminiferal (LBF) shells geochemistry for the monitoring of heavy metals (HMs) pollution in the marine environment. The shell ...itself acts as a recorder of the ambient water chemistry in low to extreme HMs-polluted environments, allowing the monitoring of recent-past pollution events. This concept, known as sclerochronology, requires the addition of new parts (i.e., new shell) even in extreme pollution events. We evaluated the physiological resilience of three LBF species with different shell types and symbionts to enriched concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Pb at levels several folds higher than the ecological criteria maximum concentration (CMC) (165-166, 33-43, 1001-1206 µg L
, respectively), which is derived from aquatic organisms' toxicity tests. The physiological response of the holobiont was expressed by growth rates quantified by the addition of new chambers (new shell parts), and by the chlorophyll
of the algal symbionts. The growth rate decrease varied between 0% and 30% compared to the unamended control for all HMs tested, whereas the algal symbionts exhibited a general non-fatal but significant response to Pb and Cu. Our results highlight that shell growth inhibition of LBF is predicted in extreme concentrations of 57 × CMC of Cu and 523 × CMC of Cd, providing a proof of concept for shell geochemistry monitoring, which is currently not used in the regulatory sectors.
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