One hundred years after Pinctada: an update on alien Mollusca in Tunisia

Antit, Mouna; Gofas, Serge; Salas, Carmen; Azzouna, Atf

doi:10.12681/mms.53

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The most dominant among them is the nudibranch P. emertoni, originally described from the western Atlantic and associated with the bryozoan Amathia verticillata, which has also been found in the Mediterranean Sea (Zenetos et al, 2004;Antit et al, 2011;Zenetos et al, 2012;Galil & Gevili, 2014). In the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, A. verticillata inhabits different coastal habitats (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This species is actually recognized as an invasive species in the fouling community worldwide (Amat & Tempera, 2009). The presence of P. emertoni in the Bay of Tunis could be related to the proximity of La Goulette harbour, through which the spe- cies could have entered in the area, and the presence of seagrasses where the bryozoan can be attached (Antit et al, 2011). The high abundance of individuals of P. emertoni in soft bottoms in winter would be linked with the loss of leaves in the seagrass meadows and the death of the bryozoan due to low seawater temperatures, whereas the presence of few individuals in April and May would be related to recruitment events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geographic situation of Tunisia, between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean basins, and the strategic position of the Bay of Tunis itself, makes it an important monitoring site for Mediterranean alien species in relation to global warming (Antit et al, 2011;Zenetos et al, 2012;Galil et al, 2014). Maritime traffic, including calling at the important and busy harbour of La Goulette, is an important pathway of introduction of non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean Sea (Katsanevakis et al, 2014) and elsewhere (Arenas et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Seasonality and trophic diversity in molluscan assemblages from the Bay of Tunis (southern Mediterranean Sea)

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soft bottom molluscan assemblages from the Bay of Tunis have been studied in order to analyse their seasonality and trophic diversity in relation to environmental variables. A total of 147 species of molluscs was identified, with gastropods displaying the highest species richness and bivalves the highest abundances, and including five non-indigenous species such as the dominant ectoparasite Polycerella emertoni. Carnivorous and scavenger gastropods were among the most frequent species, reflecting a diverse benthic community. Seasonal changes were significant, being more acute at 3-4 m than at 10-15 m depth, and were driven mainly by seawater temperature and percentage of organic matter in the sediment. The high affluence of tourists in summer was coincident with high decreases in species richness and abundance of molluscs, together with a strong siltation of the sediment. Nevertheless, most trophic groups remained and the trophic diversity was relatively high. Significant relationships were found between the index of trophic diversity and Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness indices, suggesting that the identity of the species with its particular trophic trait, together with the good distribution of the individuals among the species (density) would be the drivers for the maintenance of the molluscan food web under environmental stress. The abundance of P. emertoni altered the trophic structure of the molluscan assemblage, with the ectoparasite trophic group reaching an unusual punctual higher dominance. Soft bottom molluscan assemblages of the Bay of Tunis should be taken into account in monitoring programs for anthropogenic impacts and non-indigenous species trends throughout the Mediterranean basin.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Seasonality and trophic diversity in molluscan assemblages from the Bay of Tunis (southern Mediterranean Sea)

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other introduced opistobranchs are also expanding their geographical range. Polycerella emertoni is now established in the WMED (Tunisia: Antit et al, 2011); Polycera hedgpethi is well established in the ADRIA (Lagoon of Venice: Keppel et al, 2012); Bursatella leachii in the WMED (Izquierdo-Muñoz et al in Nicolaidou et al, 2012;Ibañez-Yuste et al, 2012).…”

Section: B Distribution Of Aliens Across the Mediterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the ADRIA and WMED, shipping and aquaculture are the main vectors: there molluscs lag behind macrophytes and crustaceans. The sharing of different pathways is more balanced in the CMED, where the input from corridors is in the same order of magnitude as that from other sources (Antit et al, 2011). With the natural expansion of many species first arrived in the EMED, the contribution of corridors to the CMED and WMED is expected to increase.…”

Section: E Pathway Per Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part 2. Introduction trends and pathways

et al. 2012

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

More than 60 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) have been removed from previous lists and 84 species have been added, bringing the total to 986 alien species in the Mediterranean [775 in the eastern Mediterranean (EMED), 249 in the central Mediterranean (CMED), 190 in the Adriatic Sea (ADRIA) and 308 in the western Mediterranean (WMED)]. There were 48 new entries since 2011 which can be interpreted as approximately one new entry every two weeks. The number of alien species continues to increase, by 2-3 species per year for macrophytes, molluscs and polychaetes, 3-4 species per year for crustaceans, and 6 species per year for fish. The dominant group among alien species is molluscs (with 215 species), followed by crustaceans (159) and polychaetes (132). Macrophytes are the leading group of NIS in the ADRIA and the WMED, reaching 26-30% of all aliens, whereas in the EMED they barely constitute 10% of the introductions. In the EMED, molluscs are the most species-rich group, followed by crustaceans, fish and polychaetes. More than half (54%) of the marine alien species in the Mediterranean were probably introduced by corridors (mainly Suez). Shipping is blamed directly for the introduction of only 12 species, whereas it is assumed to be the most likely pathway of introduction (via ballasts or fouling) of another 300 species. For approximately 100 species shipping is a probable pathway along with the Suez Canal and/or aquaculture. Approximately 20 species have been introduced with certainty via aquaculture, while >50 species (mostly macroalgae), occurring in the vicinity of oyster farms, are assumed to be introduced accidentally as contaminants of imported species. A total of 18 species are assumed to have been introduced by the aquarium trade. Lessepsian species decline westwards, while the reverse pattern is evident for ship-mediated species and for those introduced with aquaculture. There is an increasing trend in new introductions via the Suez Canal and via shipping.

show abstract

Induction of Osteogenic MC3T3‐E1 Cell Differentiation by Nacre and Flesh Lipids of Tunisian Pinctada radiata

Ammar

Piet

Brion

et al. 2019

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The flesh of the Pinctada radiata pearl oyster from coastal Tunisia is considered as a high source of n‐3 and n‐6 and its shell nacre layer is a promising osteogenic biomaterial. Fatty acid (FA) analysis showed that the major components found in total FA (TFA) were 14:0, 16:0, and 18:0 saturated FA (SFA); 16:1, 18:1, and 20:1 monoenoic FA; 20:4n‐6 (ARA), 22:5n‐3 (DPA). Characteristically high levels of 20:5n‐3 (EPA) and 22:6n‐3 (DHA) (6.53–89.75 mg/100 g TFA) polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) were found, respectively, in the TFA of nacre and flesh. Evaluated the effects in vitro of lipids extracted from nacre (Ln) and from flesh (Lc) of P. radiata on growth and the differentiation of osteoblasts. Cytotoxicity tests (3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazolyl‐2)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide [MTT] and lactic acid dehydrogenase c [LDH]) demonstrated that both extracts are nontoxic. Alizarin Red staining was used in an osteoblast differentiation model using the osteoblast MC3T3‐E1 cell line. It showed that the FA of both extracts induced osteoblast differentiation leading to mineralization. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) showed a significantly higher expression of osteocalcin (Bglap) and runt‐related transcription (Runx2) in MC3T3‐E1 cells in the presence of Ln. No difference of osteopontin (Spp1) and Collagen type I (Col1a1) genes compared to the control was observed. In conclusion, these results supported, obtained from our in vitro experimental model used, the interest/potential of lipids extracted from nacre and P. radiata flesh to stimulate bone formation.

show abstract

One hundred years after Pinctada: an update on alien Mollusca in Tunisia

Cited by 28 publications

References 18 publications

Seasonality and trophic diversity in molluscan assemblages from the Bay of Tunis (southern Mediterranean Sea)

Seasonality and trophic diversity in molluscan assemblages from the Bay of Tunis (southern Mediterranean Sea)

Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part 2. Introduction trends and pathways

Induction of Osteogenic MC3T3‐E1 Cell Differentiation by Nacre and Flesh Lipids of Tunisian Pinctada radiata

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About