Ocean warming is the key filter for successful colonization of the migrant octocoral Melithaea erythraea (Ehrenberg, 1834) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

ABSTRACT: Climate, which sets broad limits for migrating species, is considered a key filter to species migration between contrasting marine environments. The Southeast Mediterranean Sea (SEMS) is one of the regions where ocean temperatures are rising the fastest under recent climate change. Also, it is the most vulnerable marine region to species introductions. Here, we explore the factors which enabled the colonization of the endemic Red Sea octocoral Melithaea erythraea (Ehrenberg, 1834) along the SEMS coast, using sclerite oxygen and carbon stable isotope composition (δ 18OSC and δ 13CSC), morphology, and crystallography. The unique conditions presented by the SEMS include a greater temperature range (∼15 °C) and ultra-oligotrophy, and these are reflected by the lower δ 13CSCvalues. This is indi

SUBMITTER: Grossowicz M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7320722 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature