Benthic communities in three Mediterranean touristic ports: MAPMED project

Abstract

Background

Mediterranean ports are sources of significant economic activity and at the same time they act as recipients of considerable anthropogenic disturbance and pollution. Polluted and low-in-oxygen sediments can negatively impact benthic biodiversity and favour recruitment of opportunistic or invasive species. Macrobenthic communities are an important component of the port biota and can be used as environmental quality indicators. However, a baseline database for benthic biodiversity in Mediterranean ports has not yet been widely established.

New information

Macrobenthic assemblages were recorded in three Mediterranean touristic ports under the framework of the ENPI CBC MED project MAPMED (MAnagement of Port Areas in the MEDiterranean Sea Basin). Samples were collected from Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), Heraklion (Crete, Greece) and El Kantaoui (Tunisia) ports during February, May and September 2012. The sampling stations were selected according to the different sectors within each port (i.e. leisure, fishing, passenger/cargo vessels and shipyard). A total of 277 taxa belonging to 12 phyla were found, of which the 96 taxa were present in all three ports. El Kantaoui port hosted the highest number of macrobenthic taxa. Mollusca were the most abundant group (34%) in all ports. The highest percentage of opportunistic taxa per station was found before the touristic period in the shipyard of Heraklion port (89.3%).

Introduction

Mediterranean ports are sources of significant economic activity and they strongly support local, regional and national economic development. The Mediterranean Sea hosts about 480 ports and terminals and is one of the busiest maritime areas of the world (REMPEC 2008). Shipping of goods between the main EU ports and ports located in the Mediterranean reached 598 million tonnes in 2015 (Eurostat 2015), while crude oil transported through the Mediterranean Sea was 421 million tonnes in 2006 (REMPEC 2008). Ports act as recipients of considerable anthropogenic disturbance and pollution due to the activities they are hosting, such as emission of air pollutants, noise, sediment dredging and transport, industrial installations, wastewater discharges, oil spill accidents, storage and spillage of hazardous materials and introduction of invasive species (Darbra et al. 2005). Polluted marine sediments, commonly low oxygen levels and low hydrodynamism can have a negative impact on benthic biota and marine biodiversity, which may favour recruitment by opportunistic or more resistant taxa, including invasive species. Macrobenthic communities are an important component of the port biota and have been commonly used as environmental quality indicators in biomonitoring studies (Gray and Elliot 2010). Therefore, the establishment of a baseline database for benthic biodiversity in Mediterranean ports can offer valuable background information for port management activities, including the identification of biological risks, such as pollution events or invasion by alien species (Mandal and Harkantra 2013).

General description

Purpose

This dataset includes macrobenthic taxa identified in three touristic ports in the Mediterranean, located at Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), Heraklion (Crete, Greece) and El Kantaoui (Tunisia) (Chatzinikolaou and Arvanitidis 2017). Sampling was undertaken seasonally during the ENPI CBC MED project MAPMED in 2012 in different sectors within each port, which were defined according to their distinct usage activities (i.e. leisure, fishing, passenger/cargo vessels and shipyard). Samples were collected during winter (February), before the touristic period (May) and after the touristic period (September) in order to identify the impact of seasonal touristic activities on benthic communities. A detailed comparison of macrobenthic biodiversity amongst different locations - sectors - seasons was performed in order to offer information about the environmental quality at these understudied artificial port environments. A total of 277 taxa belonging to 12 phyla were found, of which 96 taxa were common in all ports. Differences in benthic biodiversity were found between ports and between sectors in each port, while seasonal differences were not apparent (Chatzinikolaou et al. 2018). The El Kantaoui port hosted the highest number of macrobenthic taxa, while the shipyard sector in Heraklion port had the lowest number of taxa. The highest abundance of opportunistic taxa was found in Heraklion port at the passenger ships and shipyard stations.

Project description

Title

MAPMED: MAnagement of Port areas in the MEDiterranean sea basin

Personnel

Dr Eva Chatzinikolaou (project management, design and implementation of sampling, taxonomic identification), Dr Panagiotis Damianidis (taxonomic identification), Dr Christina Pavloudi (taxonomic identification), Dr Katerina Vasileiadou (taxonomic identification), Dr Sarah Faulwetter (taxonomic identification), Kleoniki Keklikoglou (taxonomic identification), Wanda Plaiti (taxonomic identification), Dimitra Mavraki (data management), Stamatina Nikolopoulou (data management) and Dr Christos Arvanitidis (principal investigator).

Study area description

Mediterranean touristic ports: Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), Heraklion (Crete, Greece) and El Kantaoui (Tunisia).

Design description

During this study, differences in macrobenthic assemblages were examined across three levels: a) geographical differences (three countries), b) use-sectoral differences (3-5 stations within ports) and c) temporal differences (three seasons in relation to the touristic period).

Funding

This project has been financed by the European Union under the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme in the framework of the project “MAnagement of Port areas in the MEDiterranean Sea Basin” (MAPMED) (Grand Contract 6/2019-25/ 7/2011). This publication has been supported by the LifeWatchGreece infrastructure (MIS 384676), funded by the Greek Government under the General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), ESFRI Projects, National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) and from LifeWatch ERIC.

Sampling methods

Sampling description

Five replicates of sediment samples were collected from each station using a box corer (13.5 cm × 13.5 cm × 16 cm) manually operated from a small boat. A Garmin 60 CS portable GPS and a depth meter were available on board to record the exact position and depth of each station respectively. The sediment samples were sieved through a 0.5 mm sieve and then fixed and preserved in 5% formaldehyde buffered with seawater and stained with Rose Bengal. The benthic organisms were sorted out of the sediment under a stereoscope, counted and identified down to the lowest possible taxonomic level.

Quality control

All scientific names were standardised against the World Register of Marine Species using the Taxon Match tool (http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=match) on 10-03-2021.

Geographic coverage

Description

Three Mediterranean touristic ports were selected as study sites and they are presented in Fig. 1. The port of Cagliari (Fig. 1B) is a large port (2.07 km²) located on the southern coast of Sardinia (Italy). The port of Heraklion (Fig. 1C) is medium-sized (0.87 km²) and it is located on the northern coast of Crete (Greece). The port of El Kantaoui (Fig. 1D) is a small touristic marina (0.04 km²) on the eastern Tunisian coast. Both the ports of Heraklion and Cagliari host a leisure marina, large passenger, cruise and cargo vessels, while El Kantaoui port offers moorings only for smaller fishing boats, luxury yachts and boats for sporting activities. Heraklion port has also a shipyard section.

Figure 1.

The three Mediterranean touristic ports (A) and location of the sampling stations in Cagliari (B), Heraklion (C) and El Kantaoui (D)

Sampling stations were selected in order to achieve good spatial coverage in each port and also to represent sectors with different uses according to the Water Management Units in MAPMED Action Plans (MAPMED 2015). Four stations were selected in the port of Heraklion, five stations in the port of Cagliari and three stations in the port of El Kantaoui (Table 1).

Table 1.

Maximum depth (m), use sectors and coordinates of all sampling stations in the Meditarranean ports of Cagliari, Heraklion and El Kantaoui.

Port	Station	Depth (m)	Port sector	Coordinates
Cagliari	C1	7.8	Leisure/fishing	39°12'12.2''N; 09°07'25.1''E
	C2	4.5	Leisure/fishing	39°12'23.0''N; 09°07'16.7''E
	C3	8.3	Leisure/fishing	39°12'34.0''N; 09°06'45.9''E
	C4	13.5	Passenger/cargo ships	39°12'29.7''N; 09°06'14.8''E
	C5	11.4	Intense maritime traffic	39°12'01.7''N; 09°06'45.2''E
Heraklion	H1	3.7	Leisure/fishing	35°20'38.7''N; 25°08'12.4''E
	H3	19.5	Passenger ships	35°20'45.6''N; 25°08'43.3''E
	H4	10.5	Cargo ships	35°20'39.5''N; 25°08'55.5''E
	H5	19.0	Shipyard	35°20'42.9''N; 25°09'08.6''E
El Kantaoui	E1	2.5	Leisure/fishing	35°53'39.9''N; 10°35'52.1''E
	E2	4.0	Leisure/fishing	35°53'34.6''N; 10°35'58.9''E
	E3	3.2	Leisure/fishing	35°53'34.1''N; 10°36'05.2''E

Coordinates

33.724 and 41.311 Latitude; 7.954 and 27.598 Longitude.

Taxonomic coverage

Description

The dataset includes information on macrobenthic assemblages found in the three Mediterranean touristic ports belonging to the following 12 phyla: Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Sipuncula, Nemertea, Cnidaria, Phoronida, Chordata, Foraminifera, Platyhelminthes and Priapulida (Table 2).

Table 2.

List of taxa (phylum, class, family and species name) found in the three Mediterranean touristic ports.

Phylum	Class	Family	Species	Cagliari	Heraklion	El Kantaoui
Annelida	Polychaeta	Ampharetidae	Amageadspersa	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Amphinomidae	Chloeiaviridis		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Amphinomidae	Eurythoecomplanata	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Capitellidae	Capitellacapitata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Capitellidae	Capitellagiardi		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Capitellidae	Heteromastusfiliformis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Capitellidae	Notomastuslatericeus	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Chaetopteridae	Spiochaetopteruscostarum	x		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Cirratulidae	Aphelochaetafiliformis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Cirratulidae	Aphelochaetamarioni	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Cirratulidae	Cirriformiatentaculata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Cirratulidae	Tharyxkillariensis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Cossuridae	Cossurasoyeri	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Dorvilleidae	Dorvilleaatlantica			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Dorvilleidae	Dorvillearubrovittata	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Dorvilleidae	Protodorvilleakefersteini		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Dorvilleidae	Schistomeringosrudolphi	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Eunicidae	Eunicevittata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Eunicidae	Lysidiceunicornis		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Flabelligeridae	Piromiseruca		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Glyceridae	Glyceralapidum	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Glyceridae	Glyceratesselata	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Glyceridae	Glyceratridactyla	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Goniadidae	Goniadaemerita		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Hesionidae	Psamathefusca	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Lumbrineridae	Hilbignerisgracilis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Lumbrineridae	Lumbrinerislatreilli	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Lumbrineridae	Scoletomafunchalensis		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Magelonidae	Magelonaminuta			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Maldanidae	Euclymenepalermitana	x		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Maldanidae	Praxillellaaffinis	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Maldanidae	Praxillellagracilis	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Melinnidae	Melinnapalmata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nephtyidae	Nephtyscaeca		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nephtyidae	Nephtyshystricis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nephtyidae	Nephtysincisa	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nereididae	Neanthesacuminata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nereididae	Nereisrava			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Nereididae	Nereiszonata		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Onuphidae	Aponuphisbilineata	x		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Onuphidae	Aponuphisbrementi		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Onuphidae	Diopatraneapolitana	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Opheliidae	Polyophthalmuspictus	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Orbiniidae	Phylofoetida	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Orbiniidae	Scoloplos (Scoloplos) armiger	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Oweniidae	Oweniafusiformis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Paraonidae	Aricidea (Aricidea) fragilis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Paraonidae	Levinseniagracilis	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Paraonidae	Paradoneislyra	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Pectinariidae	Lagiskoreni	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Phyllodocidae	Eteonelonga			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Phyllodocidae	Mystapicta		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Phyllodocidae	Phyllodoce sp.	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Pilargidae	Ancistrosyllisgroenlandica	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Poecilochaetidae	Poecilochaetusserpens		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Polynoidae	Harmothoeimpar	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Polynoidae	Harmothoespinifera		x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Sabellidae	Amphiglenamediterranea	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Sabellidae	Dialychonedunerificta			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Sabellidae	Pseudopotamillareniformis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Scalibregmatidae	Polyphysiacrassa			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Serpulidae	Serpulavermicularis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Spionidae	Polydoraciliata			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Spionidae	Prionospiocirrifera	x		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Spionidae	Prionospiomalmgreni	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Spionidae	Spiofilicornis	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Sternaspidae	Sternaspisscutata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Exogone sp.	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Sphaerosyllishystrix	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Syllisarmillaris	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Syllisgarciai			x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Syllishyalina	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Syllidae	Syllisprolifera	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Terebellidae	Laniceconchilega	x		x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Terebellidae	Pistacristata	x	x	x
Annelida	Polychaeta	Trichobranchidae	Terebellidesstroemii	x
Annelida	Polychaeta		Echiura ind.	x	x	x
Annelida	Clitellata		Oligochaeta ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Arachnida	Pontarachnidae	Pontarachnapunctulum	x
Arthropoda	Insecta		Insecta ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Ampeliscidae	Ampeliscadiadema	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Ampeliscidae	Ampeliscaledoyeri	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Amphilochidae	Apolochusneapolitanus			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Anthuridae	Anthuridae ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Anthuridae	Cyathuracarinata			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Aora sp.	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Aoragracilis	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Aoraspinicornis		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Aoridae ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Autonoespiniventris	x		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Lemboswebsteri	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Microdeutopus sp.	x		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Microdeutopusanomalus		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Microdeutopusstationis		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Aoridae	Microdeutopusversiculatus	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Apseudidae	Apseudopsismediterraneus	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Atylidae	Nototropisguttatus		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Bodotriidae	Bodotriascorpioides	x		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Bodotriidae	Iphinoeserrata	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Bodotriidae	Iphinoetenella	x		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Bodotriidae	Iphinoetrispinosa	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Bodotriidae	Vaunthompsoniacristata		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Calliopiidae	Apherusamediterranea		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Caprellidae	Liropuselongatus		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Caprellidae	Phtisicamarina	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Caprellidae	Pseudoliriuskroyeri	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Corophiidae	Apocorophiumacutum	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Corophiidae	Leptocheirus sp.		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Corophiidae	Medicorophiumminimum	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Corophiidae	Medicorophiumruncicorne	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Dexaminidae	Dexaminespinosa		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Diastylidae	Diastylisrugosa		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Gammaridae	Gammaridae ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Gnathiidae	Gnathia sp.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Holognathidae	Cleantisprismatica		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Hyalidae	Apohyaleperieri	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Hyalidae	Parhyaleaquilina	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Idoteidae	Idotea sp.		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Ischyroceridae	Ericthoniuspunctatus		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Ischyroceridae	Jassamarmorata	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Leptocheliidae	Chondrocheliasavignyi	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Leucothoidae	Leucothoeincisa	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Maeridae	Elasmopusrapax	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Maeridae	Maeragrossimana	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Melitidae	Melita hergensis	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Microprotopidae	Microprotopusmaculatus			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Nannastacidae	Cumella (Cumella) pygmaea	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Nannastacidae	Nannastacus sp.			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Nuuanuidae	Gammarellafucicola		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Oedicerotidae	Kroyeracarinata	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Oedicerotidae	Perioculodeslongimanus	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Oedicerotidae	Pontocratesarenarius		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Oedicerotidae	Synchelidiumhaplocheles	x		x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Oedicerotidae	Synchelidiummaculatum	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Paranthuridae	Paranthurajaponica			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Photidae	Cerapopsislongipes	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Sphaeromatidae	Dynamenebidentata		x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Sphaeromatidae	Sphaeroma sp.	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Stenothoidae	Stenothoeelachista			x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca	Tanaididae	Tanaisdulongii	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca		Amphipoda ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca		Isopoda ind.	x	x	x
Arthropoda	Malacostraca		Tanaidacea ind.		x
Arthropoda	Pycnogonida		Pycnogonida ind.1		x
Arthropoda	Pycnogonida		Pycnogonida ind.2		x
Chordata	Ascidiacea		Ascidiacea ind.			x
Chordata	Ascidiacea	Styelidae	Botryllus sp.			x
Chordata			Pisces ind.	x
Cnidaria	Anthozoa		Anthozoa ind.	x	x	x
Cnidaria	Hydrozoa		Hydrozoa ind.		x	x
Echinodermata	Asteroidea		Asteroidea ind.	x		x
Echinodermata	Holothuroidea	Cucumariidae	Trachythyone sp.	x
Echinodermata	Holothuroidea		Holothuroidea ind.1	x	x
Echinodermata	Holothuroidea		Holothuroidea ind.2			x
Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea	Amphiuridae	Amphiurachiajei	x	x	x
Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea	Ophiodermatidae	Ophiodermalongicaudum	x	x	x
Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea		Ophiuroidea ind.1	x	x	x
Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea		Ophiuroidea ind.2	x	x	x
Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea		Ophiuroidea ind.3	x
Foraminifera			Foraminifera ind.	x		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Arcidae	Arcatetragona	x		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Cardiidae	Cerastodermaglaucum		x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Cardiidae	Papillicardiumminimum	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Cardiidae	Papillicardiumpapillosum	x		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Cardiidae	Parvicardiumexiguum	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbulidae	Varicorbulagibba	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lasaeidae	Kurtiellabidentata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lasaeidae	Litigiellaglabra	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lucinidae	Ctenadecussata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lucinidae	Loripesorbiculatus	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lucinidae	Loripinusfragilis		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lucinidae	Lucinelladivaricata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Lucinidae	Myrteaspinifera	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Mytilidae	Modiolusadriaticus	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Mytilidae	Modiolusbarbatus	x		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Mytilidae	Musculussubpictus	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Mytilidae	Mytilusedulis	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Nuculanidae	Lembuluspella	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Nuculidae	Nuculanitidosa	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Pharidae	Pharuslegumen			x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Semelidae	Abraalba	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Semelidae	Abraprismatica	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Solemyidae	Solemyatogata			x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Tellinidae	Asbjornseniapygmaea			x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Tellinidae	Gastranafragilis			x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Tellinidae	Macomopsiscumana			x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Tellinidae	Moerelladonacina	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Tellinidae	Peronidiaalbicans	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Thraciidae	Thraciaphaseolina	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Chameleagallina		x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Dosinialupinus	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Gouldiaminima	x	x	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Pitarrudis	x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Ruditapesdecussatus	x		x
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Veneridae	Venerupislucens	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Bullidae	Bullastriata	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Caecidae	Caecumsubannulatum		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiidae	Bittiumlatreillii	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiidae	Bittiumreticulatum		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiidae	Cerithiumprotractum			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiidae	Cerithiumscabridum			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiidae	Cerithiumvulgatum			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Cerithiopsidae	Cerithiopsisminima			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Conidae	Conusventricosus	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Epitoniidae	Epitoniumclathrus			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Eulimidae	Eulimabilineata	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Eulimidae	Parviorisibizenca			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Granulinidae	Granulinamarginata	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Mangeliidae	Mangeliapaciniana			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Mangeliidae	Sorgenfreispirabrachystoma		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Muricidae	Hexaplextrunculus	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Muricidae	Nucellalapillus			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Nassariidae	Tritiacorniculum	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Nassariidae	Tritiareticulata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Nassariidae	Tritiavaricosa	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Naticidae	Neveritajosephinia		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Neritidae	Smaragdiaviridis			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Omalogyridae	Ammonicerarota	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Phasianellidae	Tricoliapullus			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Phasianellidae	Tricoliaspeciosa	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Phasianellidae	Tricoliatenuis	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Chrysallidaindistincta		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Eulimellaacicula		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Megastomiaconoidea	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Odostomiaunidentata		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Ondinadiaphana	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Partheninaterebellum		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Pyrgiscusrufus			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Turbonillagradata		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Turbonillamicans			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Turbonillamultilirata			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Pyramidellidae	Turbonillapumila			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Raphitomidae	Raphitomaphilberti		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Retusidae	Retusatruncatula		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Retusidae	Retusaumbilicata			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Alvaniaalgeriana			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Alvaniacimex	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Alvaniadiscors			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Alvaniamamillata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Manzoniacrassa		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Pusillinamarginata	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Pusillinaradiata	x	x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Rissoaaartseni			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Rissoidae	Rissoasplendida		x	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Skeneidae	Skeneaserpuloides			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Gibbulaardens	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Gibbulamagus	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Jujubinusgravinae	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Jujubinuskarpathoensis		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Jujubinusmontagui	x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Jujubinusstriatus	x		x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Jujubinusunidentatus			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Steromphalaadansonii			x
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Trochidae	Steromphalavaria		x	x
Mollusca	Scaphopoda	Dentaliidae	Antalisdentalis	x	x
Mollusca	Scaphopoda	Fustiariidae	Fustiariarubescens			x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Amphiporidae	Amphiporus sp.		x	x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Carcinonemertidae	Carcinonemertescarcinophila			x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Drepanophoridae	Drepanophorus sp.			x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Oerstediidae	Oerstediadorsalis			x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Ototyphlonemertidae	Ototyphlonemertesduplex			x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Prosorhochmidae	Prosorhochmus sp.	x	x
Nemertea	Hoplonemertea	Tetrastemmatidae	Tetrastemma sp.			x
Nemertea	Palaeonemertea	Cephalotrichidae	Cephalothrix sp.		x
Nemertea	Pilidiophora	Lineidae	Micrura sp.	x	x
Nemertea			Nemertea ind.1	x	x
Nemertea			Nemertea ind.2	x	x	x
Nemertea			Nemertea ind.3			x
Nemertea			Nemertea ind.4	x	x	x
Phoronida			Phoronida ind.	x		x
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria		Turbellaria ind.			x
Priapulida			Priapulida ind.	x
Sipuncula	Phascolosomatidea	Phascolosomatidae	Phascolosoma sp.	x	x	x
Sipuncula	Sipunculidea	Sipunculidae	Sipunculus (Sipunculus) nudus			x
Sipuncula			Sipuncula ind.1	x	x	x
Sipuncula			Sipuncula ind.2			x
Sipuncula			Sipuncula ind.3	x	x	x

A total of 46,187 individuals were identified down to the lowest possible taxonomic level, from which 15,535 were found in Cagliari port, 11,571 in Heraklion port and 19,081 in El Kantaoui port. A total of 277 macrofaunal taxa were identified in the three ports, from which 32 were present exclusively in Cagliari port, 22 were found only in Heraklion port and 53 were found only in El Kantaoui port. A total of 96 taxa were common between all three Mediterranean ports (Fig. 2). The highest number of taxa in total was found in El Kantaoui port (206), while Cagliari and Heraklion ports had 170 and 165 taxa in total, respectively.

Figure 2.

Chart showing number of common and unique taxa in the three Mediterranean ports (Cagliari, Heraklion and El Kantaoui).

Mollusca were the most abundant group (34.7%), Annelida (28.2%) and Arthropoda (24.2%) were also highly represented, while each of the remaining groups contributed less than 5% in the benthic assemblages studied (Fig. 3).

Figure 3.

Distribution of the different phyla found in the three Mediterranean ports (Cagliari, Heraklion and El Kantaoui).

The percentage of opportunistic taxa abundances (i.e. short-lived taxa often characterising disturbed or stressed habitats) was calculated for each station as the percentage of abundances for Capitellidae, Cirratulidae, Spionidae and Oligochaeta taxa (Pearson and Rosenberg 1978, Munari et al. 2005) in the total sample (Fig. 4). The highest percentages (> 50%) of opportunistic taxa abundances were found in Heraklion port at stations H3 (passenger ships) during all seasons and at H5 (shipyard station) in winter and especially before summer. Additionally, in El Kantaoui station E1 (leisure boats), the percentage of opportunistic taxa abundance increased before summer. The percentage of opportunists in Cagliari was generally lower than in the other ports.

Figure 4.

Percentage (%) of opportunistic taxa abundances in the different stations of Cagliari port (purple: C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5), Heraklion port (orange: H1, H3, H4 and H5) and El Kantaoui (blue: E1, E2 and E3) during the three differerent sampling seasons (dark colours: winter, medium colours: before summer, light colours: after summer).

Additional statistical analysis has been applied to the species composition matrices of the specific dataset by Chatzinikolaou et al. (2018) and Dimitriou et al. (2020) in order to explore the multivariate patterns of benthic assemblages and to calculate benthic diversity and biotic indices for the assessment of the ecological status of the habitats. A detailed comparison of macrobenthic biodiversity amongst the different locations - sectors - seasons indicated significant differences between ports and between sectors in each port, while seasonal differences were not apparent (Chatzinikolaou et al. 2018).

Temporal coverage

Data range: 2012-2-13 – 2012-9-25.

Notes

Three seasonal sampling campaigns were carried out during 2012: one in winter (February), one in spring before the beginning of the touristic season (May) and one in late summer after the touristic season (September).

Collection data

Collection name

Benthic communities and environmental parameters in three Mediterranean ports (Sardinia, Crete and Tunisia).

Specimen preservation method

5% formaldehyde buffered with seawater.

Curatorial unit

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Heraklion, Crete, Greece.

Usage licence

Usage licence

Open Data Commons Attribution License

IP rights notes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License. All data in the database can be freely used provided it is fully cited even if only partially used.

Data resources

Data package title

Benthic communities and environmental parameters in three Mediterranean ports (Sardinia, Crete and Tunisia).

Resource link

https://www.gbif.org/dataset/9b11f305-fb7a-4a65-826e-7fb97af06e5f

Alternative identifiers

http://ipt.medobis.eu/resource?r=mapmed_ports

Number of data sets

1

Data set 1.

Data set name

Benthic communities and environmental parameters in three Mediterranean ports (Sardinia, Crete and Tunisia).

Data format

Darwin Core Archive.

Character set

UTF-8

Download URL

http://ipt.medobis.eu/resource?r=mapmed_ports

Description

The dataset is available via the MedOBIS (Mediterranean node of Ocean Biodiversity Information System),https://portal.lifewatchgreece.eu/home Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) which has been established through the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure and is hosted in the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC) of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). The data are also harvested by and made available through the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS).https://portal.obis.org/dataset/e32ff326-333e-46c3-87c4-7641aad2fc9aThe dataset is available as a DarwinCoreArchive and all fields are mapped to DarwinCore terms.

This publication refers to the most recent version of the dataset available through the IPT server or MedOBIS. Future changes to the dataset due to quality control activities might change its content or structure.

The current publication refers to the "occurrence" source file (txt file) that is associated with the particular dataset. Additional details about the sampling events can be found in the "event" source file (txt file) associated with the same dataset.

Data set 1.

Column label	Column description
id	A unique identifier for the record within the dataset or collection, auto-incrementing number automatically added by the system (same with eventID).
eventID	An identifier for the set of information associated with an Event (something that occurs at a place and time).
samplingProtocol	The description of the method or protocol used for sample collection.
eventDate	The date-time or interval during which an Event occurred.
year	The four-digit year in which the Event occurred, according to the Common Era Calendar.
month	The integer month in which the Event occurred.
day	The integer day of the month on which the Event occurred.
eventRemarks	Comments or notes about the Event.
locationID	An identifier for the set of location information (station name).
locality	The specific description of the place.
minimumDepthInMetres	The lesser depth of a range of depth below the local surface, in metres.
maximumDepthInMetres	The greater depth of a range of depth below the local surface, in metres.
decimalLatitude	The geographic latitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are north of the Equator, negative values are south of it. Legal values lie between -90 and 90, inclusive.
decimalLongitude	The geographic longitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are east of the Greenwich Meridian, negative values are west of it. Legal values lie between -180 and 180, inclusive.
geodeticDatum	The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based.
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres	The horizontal distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location.
georeferenceProtocol	A description or reference to the methods used to determine the spatial footprint, coordinates and uncertainties.
institutionCode	The name (or acronym) in use by the institution having custody of the object (s) or information referred to in the record.
collectionCode	An identifier for the collection or dataset from which the record was derived.
basisOfRecord	The specific nature of the data record.
occurrenceID	An identifier for the Occurrence (as opposed to a particular digital record of the occurrence).
catalogNumber	An identifier (preferably unique) for the record within the dataset or collection.
individualCount	The number of individuals represented present at the time of the Occurrence.
occurrenceStatus	A statement about the presence or absence of a Taxon at a Location.
scientificNameID	An identifier for the nomenclatural (not taxonomic) details of a scientific name (Isid of WORMS).
scientificName	The full scientific name, not including authorship.
kingdom	The full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified.
phylum	The full scientific name of the phylum in which the taxon is classified.
class	The full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified.
order	The full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified.
family	The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified.
genus	The full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified.
specificEpithet	The species epithet of the scientificName.
scientificNameAuthorship	The authorship information for the scientificName formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclaturalCode.
nomenclaturalCode	The nomenclatural code (or codes in the case of an ambiregnal name) under which the scientificName is constructed.
taxonRemarks	Comments or notes about the taxon or name in the original dataset file.

Funding Statement

This project has been financed by the European Union under the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme in the framework of the project “MAnagement of Port areas in the MEDiterranean Sea Basin” (MAPMED) (Grand Contract 6/2019-25/ 7/2011). This publication has been was supported by the LifeWatchGreece infrastructure (MIS 384676), funded by the Greek Government under the General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT), ESFRI Projects, National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).

Author contributions

Dr Eva Chatzinikolaou (writing of manuscript, project management, design and implementation of sampling, taxonomic identification), Dr Panagiotis Damianidis (taxonomic identification), Dr Christina Pavloudi (taxonomic identification), Dr Katerina Vasileiadou (taxonomic identification), Dr Sarah Faulwetter (taxonomic identification), Kleoniki Keklikoglou (taxonomic identification), Wanda Plaiti (taxonomic identification), Dimitra Mavraki (data management), Stamatina Nikolopoulou (data management) and Dr Christos Arvanitidis (principal investigator).