Comparing demersal megafaunal species diversity along the depth gradient within the South Aegean and Cretan Seas (Eastern Mediterranean).

ABSTRACT: Knowledge on biodiversity patterns of demersal megafaunal species in the Mediterranean and particularly in its eastern basin is still very scarce. In the present study, fine-scale diversity patterns in relation to depth were analyzed for three major megafaunal groups (fish, cephalopods and crustaceans) in three subareas of the eastern Mediterranean (Crete, Cyclades and Dodecanese islands). The analysis was based on data from the Mediterranean International Trawl Survey conducted during 2005-2014 and the relationship between depth and two different diversity measures (species richness and Shannon-Weaver) was examined using Generalized Additive Modeling (GAM) techniques. Species richness of fish decreased with depth in two of the three subareas (Cyclades, Dodecanese), while the opposite was

SUBMITTER: Peristeraki P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5584924 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature