Phytoplankton and macrofauna in the low salinity ponds of a productive solar saltworks: Spatial variability of community structure and its major abiotic determinants

Evagelopoulos, Athanasios; Spyrakos, Evangelos; Koutsoubas, Drosos

doi:10.30955/gnj.000576

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Their inability to seek favorable conditions determines strong variations in functional traits and species composition as an effective strategy to improve the community success [10,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Studies dealing with phytoplankton in salinas systems have produced large amounts of information that are often misleading, with successional patterns depending on the scale dimension utilized and the consequent degree of connectivity in the systems [24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Evolution of Phytoplankton Metacommunity in a Disused Mediterranean Saltwork

Bolinesi

Talamo

Mangoni

2023

Water

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Saltworks are interesting sites for aquatic ecology, where marine phytoplankton plays a fundamental role in regulating ecosystem processes and sustaining large-scale biodiversity. This paper presents successional, structural, and dynamical traits of a phytoplankton metacommunity in a disused saltwork, where the industrial hydraulic management has been changed, leading to a different overlapping of natural and anthropic induced scales. We have considered the total phytoplankton biomass, size classes, and chemotaxonomical composition in monitoring the metacommunity dynamics in a series of single ponds spanning from marine to hypersaline ones between July 2008 and October 2009. Results indicate a large accumulation of biomass during summer to early autumn in hypersaline ponds, with the prevalence of small-size cells (<20 μm) in the entire system. Despite severe salinity fluctuations as a consequence of rainy events and evaporating processes, chlorophytes represented the dominant group of hypersaline ponds, while diatoms were more abundant where the influence of seawater inflow was higher. Despite the absence of ordinary maintenance, the phytoplankton metacommunity dynamic and patterns observed suggest that the existing saline gradient ensures qualitative and quantitative aspects of the primary production usually found in active saltworks. This makes the Saline di Tarquinia an important site not only for the preservation of Mediterranean biodiversity and hypersaline biotopes but also for ecological studies dealing with the trait-based responses of the phytoplankton community to large environmental fluctuations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Evolution of Phytoplankton Metacommunity in a Disused Mediterranean Saltwork

Bolinesi

Talamo

Mangoni

2023

Water

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Mediterranean's changing saltscapes; a study of the abandonment of salt-making business in Greece

Petanidou

Dalaka²

2013

Global NEST Journal

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Saltscapes are landscapes with a long lasting salt-making activity, thus embedded with a blend of salt-related characteristics that marked them physically, ecologically, economically, and culturally. This study, based on a broad survey, focuses on the changing atlas of saltmaking business and the consequent land use change in Greece within the 20 th century.Like in many Mediterranean countries, salt-making has been an important activity in Greece, not only because salt catered for local and national needs (food condiment and preservative; basic resource in husbandry and industry), but also because it offered significant revenues to the Greek State. Taxed salt has been produced in 28 semi-or entirely-mechanized State saltworks. The remaining less productive salinas operated in clandestine and were numerous: 48 in lagoons and 307 on rocks. Both salina types produced either self-formed salt or were man-managed (primitive, artisanal). This very dense network of salt-making sites, all located along the coastline, was in operation mostly until WW II, thereafter many sites were gradually abandoned. Today only eight saltworks are active in Greece (dormancy 71.4%) and, despite their increased potential, the overall saltscape loss in the country is significant. Salinas operating in lagoons suffered a spectacular change (93.4%) compared to those on rocks (43.0%). We discuss the reasons of abandonment, especially the role of "globalization" in heritage loss (ecological, cultural). We compare salinas on islands and the mainland as to typology and values and we propose ways of recuperating these threatened resources by using them as alternative poles for local development mainly through tourism.

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A new genus and species of Hydrobiidae Stimpson, 1865 (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from Peloponnese, Greece

Falniowski¹,

Grego

Rysiewska³

et al. 2021

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Minute caenogastropod brackish-water gastropods, formerly classified as Hydrobia, are important elements of the brackish-water fauna and were objects of intensive study for many years. Until now, five genera have been distinguished, most of them represented by a number of species, but rather indistinguishable without molecular data (cytochrome oxidase subunit I – COI). In the eastern Mediterranean region, they are still poorly studied. In this paper, we present a new species of “Hydrobia” from the brackish Moustos spring, Arkadia, eastern Peloponnese, Greece. The shell, protoconch, radula, female reproductive organs, and penis are described and illustrated, together with the molecular (COI) relationships with other hydrobiids. All data confirm that these snails represent a distinct taxon, which must be classified as a new species belonging to a new genus. The formal descriptions are given. The closest, sister taxon is Salenthydrobia Wilke, 2003. The molecularly estimated time of divergence, 5.75 ± 0.49 Mya, coincides with 5.33 Mya, which is the time of the Oligocene flooding that terminated the Messinian salinity crisis. During the latter period, brackish “Lago-Mare” habitats were most probably suitable for the last common ancestor of Salenthydrobia and the newly described genus. Later, the Pliocene flooding isolated the Apennine and Peloponnese populations, promoting speciation.

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Phytoplankton and macrofauna in the low salinity ponds of a productive solar saltworks: Spatial variability of community structure and its major abiotic determinants

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

Temporal Evolution of Phytoplankton Metacommunity in a Disused Mediterranean Saltwork

Temporal Evolution of Phytoplankton Metacommunity in a Disused Mediterranean Saltwork

Mediterranean's changing saltscapes; a study of the abandonment of salt-making business in Greece

A new genus and species of Hydrobiidae Stimpson, 1865 (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from Peloponnese, Greece

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