Magdalini Christodoulou

Biodiversity Centre Linz

Atyaephyra de Brito Capello, 1867 was described from the Mediterranean region almost 200 years ago. Since then, the genus has been recorded from various freshwater habitats in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Despite its long history, the taxonomic status of Atyaephyra species remains confusing and uncertain. Consequently numerous specimen...

Examination of sampledmaterial and review of the relevant literature revealed the presence of 299 benthic and 46 pelagic amphipod species from the Aegean Sea. Two of the species identified, Caprella hirsuta Mayer, 1890 and Apohyale crassipes (Heller, 1866), are recorded for the first time in the Aegean Sea and the Levantine Basin respectively. A ch...

The organismic assemblage associated with Caretta caretta was studied in 37 loggerhead turtles, washed ashore dead at various localities in the northern Aegean Sea. A total number of 63 macrobenthic species and 17 species of macroalgae were identified. From these species, 41 and 13 respectively are reported for the first time as epibionts of this t...

In order to elucidate the distinction of Atyaephyra desmarestii subspecies (A. d. desmarestii, A. d. orientalis, A. d. stankoi and A. d. mesopotamica) and investigate their geographical distribution in Greece, the main morphological features and somatometric ratios were studied in numerous specimens collected from a dense station network of Greek f...

The Mediterranean Sea is the largest and deepest enclosed sea on Earth. Despite representing less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface, the Mediterranean Sea is home to up to 18% of the world’s marine species depending on the phylum. Over 17,000 marine species have been reported from the Mediterranean Sea, with approximately one fifth being endemic...

This chapter presents an updated taxonomic review of freshwater Malacostraca. It is organized into an introduction to Malacostraca followed by seven other sections corresponding to the main orders of freshwater Eumalacostraca (Amphipoda, Bathynellacea, Decapoda, Ingolfiellida, Mysida and Stygomysida, Isopoda, and Thermosbaenacea) present in Mediter...

Caridina sobrina riek, 1953, only known from Fraser Island (Queensland, Australia), is redescribed and elevated from subspecies to species level. A morphologically very similar species, Caridina pagei sp. nov., is described from nearby Moreton Island. the taxon known in previous literature as Caridina sp. C2 is also illustrated but left unnamed in...

This report presents results from four pilot studies from harbors in Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Sweden that combine metabarcoding, morphological analysis, and qPCR techniques to test the applicability of DNA-based methods for NIS detection in harbors in comparison to traditional monitoring following OSPAR-HELCOM protocols. We aimed to evaluate b...

DNA-based monitoring has the potential to provide high resolution biodiversity data from the marine environment at a fraction of the time and costs associated with morphology based monitoring. This report provides evidence from 3 sub pilots on the applicability of DNA-based monitoring in soft bottom sediments of the North Sea.

DNA metabarcoding can be used in marine environmental monitoring if results are reproducible between labs and robust against modifications to the lab protocol. In this interlaboratory study, we conducted a ring test where subsamples of blended macrobenthos samples were distributed to four laboratories located in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany an...

Due to the increasing challenge of meeting human demands for metals from land-based resources, interest in extracting mineral ores from the deep sea has gained momentum in recent years. Targeted mining of deep-seabed minerals could have adverse effects on the associated ecosystems, but knowledge on the biological communities found there, their stru...

Introduction The Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Northeast Pacific Ocean holds the largest deposits of polymetallic nodules at abyssal depths. These nodules are rock formations containing valuable metals and minerals targeted for mining. They further provide diverse habitat for a range of deep-sea species. Little is known so far on the taxonom...

Although Ipnops specimens are relatively common in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), an area targeted for potential future deep-sea mining, a reliable species identification has not yet been possible due to the lack of a captured specimen. In April 2012, an Ipnops specimen was caught for the first time from the eastern CCZ during an explo...

Deep-sea decapod crustaceans (Crustacea: Decapoda) collected during nine research cruises to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the NE Pacific Ocean and the Peru Basin in the SE Pacific Ocean were studied comprehensively using an integrative taxonomic approach. The abyssal seafloors of both areas are rich in economically interesting polymetallic...

Based on material collected during the mid-to late 1980s new distributional records for the anchialine shrimp, Caridina rubella Fujino & Shokita, 1975 are presented. Asides from the Ryukyus, Palawan and Sulawesi, the species is now also recorded from Tahiti, Niue, Tonga, Western Samoa, the Loyalty Islands, Solomon Islands, Bohol and Panglao. Attent...

Life at hydrothermal vent sites is based on chemosynthetic primary producers that supply heterotrophic microorganisms with substrates and generate biomass for higher trophic levels. Often, chemoautotrophs associate with the hydrothermal vent megafauna. To investigate attached bacterial and archaeal communities on deep-sea squat lobsters, we collect...

Background The growing interest in mineral resources of the deep sea, such as seafloor massive sulphide deposits, has led to an increasing number of exploration licences issued by the International Seabed Authority. In the Indian Ocean, four licence areas exist, resulting in an increasing number of new hydrothermal vent fields and the discovery of...

Deep-sea mining in the Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), a low-energy sedimentary habitat with polymetallic nodules, is expected to have considerable and long-lasting environmental impact. The CCZ hosts extraordinarily high species diversity across representatives from all Domains of Life. Data on species biology and ecology remain sc...

Deep-sea mining in the Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), a low-energy sedimentary habitat with polymetallic nodules, is expected to have considerable and long-lasting environmental impact. The CCZ hosts extraordinarily high species diversity across representatives from all Domains of Life. Data on species biology and ecology remain sc...

Deep-sea mining in the Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), a low-energy sedimentary habitat with polymetallic nodules, is expected to have considerable and long-lasting environmental impact. The CCZ hosts extraordinarily high species diversity across representatives from all Domains of Life. Data on species biology and ecology remain sc...

Benthic macroinvertebrates are key components in environmental impact assessments. Nevertheless, their use as bioindicators can be constrained by the time- and cost-consuming processes needed for their morphological identification. The recent advances in high-throughput sequencing, particularly DNA metabarcoding can provide an alternative to morpho...

Macrobenthos is a good indicator to evaluate the potential effects of human activities on the marine benthic ecosystem. In environmental impact assessments (EIAs), macrobenthic species identification is typically based on morphological characteristics, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process for which specific taxonomic knowledge and experts a...

Deep-sea mining in the NE Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), a low-energy sedimentary habitat with polymetallic nodules, is expected to have considerable and long-lasting environmental impact. Recent studies have revealed extraordinarily high species diversity in the CCZ, in nearly all domains of Life present. Data on species biology a...

The workshop aimed to identify coherent, collaborative, and scientifically robust solutions to addressing taxonomic knowledge gaps in various stages from collection, preservation and archiving of biological samples and taxonomic data to identification and description of species. Specifically, the workshop focused on: (i) identifying specific needs...

Σύμφωνα με τις πιο πρόσφατες καταγραφές ανασκόπησης, περισσότερα από 3.000 είδη Καρκινοειδών Δεκαπόδων ενδιαιτούν στα εσωτερικά ύδατα παγκοσμίως, καθιστώντας την εν λόγω ομάδα ένα από τα πολυπληθέστερα ζωικά τάξα. Η ομάδα αντιπροσωπεύει το 1/5 όλων των γνωστών ειδών Δεκαπόδων της υδρογείου και περιλαμβάνει αντιπροσώπους γαρίδων, καβουριών, καραβίδω...

Πρόλογος επιμελητή: Η βιοποικιλότητα είναι τμήμα του φυσικού πλούτου της χώρας και η διατήρησή της αποτελεί εθνική υποχρέωση και προτεραιότητα. Οι βασικές παράμετροι της ελληνική βιοποικιλότητας, η πανίδα, η χλωρίδα, και οι οικότοποι, είναι από τις πλέον σημαντικές στην Ευρώπη και αντιμετωπίζουν πολλές και σοβαρές απειλές. Για να προστατευτεί όπως...

The largest and commercially appealing mineral deposits can be found in the abyssal sea floor of the Clarion- Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a polymetallic nodule province, in the NE Pacific Ocean, where experimental mining is due to take place. In anticipation of deep-sea mining impacts, it has become essential to rapidly and accurately assess biodiversit...

A new species of Alpheus, A. samudra nov. sp., is described from the bycatch of trawlers operating between 275-375 m depth on the Quilon Bank (Kerala, India). The new species belongs to the brevirostris group, but can be easily distinguished from all but one species, by the extremely laterally compressed major cheliped. Alpheus samudra nov. sp. is...

The seafloor contains valuable mineral resources, including polymetallic (or manganese) nodules that form on offshore abyssal plains. The largest and most commercially attractive deposits are located in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EP) between Hawaii and Mexico, where testing of a mineral collection syst...

The most species-rich genus, Caridina, of the shrimp family Atyidae is broadly distributed throughout five biogeographic realms, with the Indo-Malayan realm being the centre of its distributional range. Due to the scarcity of studies, very little is known regarding the Middle East species, which are placed on the north-western edge of the genus’ di...

A new species of the alpheid shrimp genus Potamalpheops Powell, 1979 is described from an anchialine cave on Nggela Pile Island, Solomon Islands. Potamalpheops nazgul sp. nov. belongs to the P. monodi (Sollaud, 1932) species group, defined by the presence of two pairs of cuspidate setae on the distal margin of the telson and feebly or non-enlarged...

Atyaephyra stankoi’s Karaman 1972 syntypic material has been assumed to be lost. However, M. Karaman’s type material has been found within the zoological collections of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia and thus a lectotype is herein designated, while placing aside the designated neotype. An updated distribution of A. stankoi in Greece and F.Y.R.O...

We describe the sexual dimorphism in the genus Atyaephyra de Brito Capello, 1867 (family Atyidae De Haan, 1849) through the example of A. thyamisensis Christodoulou, Antoniou, Magoulas & Koukouras, 2012 as a contribution to the ongoing effort to describe the morphological variability in the genus. Individuals of A. thyamisensis were collected from...

Background This paper describes a dataset of macrofaunal organisms associated with the sponge Sarcotragusfoetidus Schmidt, 1862, collected by scuba diving from two sampling sites: one in Greece (North Aegean Sea) and one in Cyprus (Levantine Sea). New information This dataset includes macrofaunal taxa inhabiting the demosponge Sarcotragusfoetidus...

The turbulent and intricate geology of the Mediterranean region has been responsible for connections, redirections, and interruptions of freshwater systems that have been instrumental in the speciation and distribution of many organisms, including freshwater shrimps. There are 50 species and subspecies currently reported from the freshwater systems...

Atyaephyra is a widespread genus in Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Mediterranean islands. Recent reviews showed the existence of seven species. Among them, A. acheronensis, A. desmarestii and A. tuerkayi exhibit the highest number of eggs, while A. orientalis the lowest. A. thyamisensis is a Greek endemic with no information on the reproduct...

The study of freshwater invertebrates’ diversity and the delineating of their biogeographical patterns aim to draw conclusions on the historical, long-term evolutionary processes of freshwater biota, on their ecological interactions with the abiotic elements and on the determination of future conservation policies. Among the invertebrate taxa, fres...

The lessepsian species, Upeneus pori (Pisces), Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Cephalopoda) and Aquilonastra burtoni (Echinodermata) are reported for the first time from Cyprus, while the lessepsian bivalve, Barbatia plicata is reported for the first time from Kastelorizo Island, Greece. Finally, the fish species Pempheris vanicolensis, Sphyraena pinguis...

Four decapod species, Plesionika narval, Processa elegantula, Macropipus tuberculatus and Parthenope expansa are recorded for the first time from Cyprus. The crab, P. expansa is also recorded for the first time from the Levantine Basin. The geographical distribution of each species is given. The discovery of these four species raises the known deca...

This study aims at describing the spatial composition of the community of the sandy midlittoral substratum, as well as to investigate the effects of the pollution of Thermaikos Gulf on its composition. For this reason, in July 1976 and July 2003, double faunal samples were taken along one transect extended from the upper to the lower midlittoral zo...

Twenty-nine dead loggerhead turtles, washed ashore at various localities in northern Greece, were sampled. Study of the material collected revealed 9 species of Cirripedia Thoracica. Chelonibia patula (Ranzani, 1818), Balanus perforatus Bruguière, 1789, and Pachylasma giganteum (Philippi, 1836) are reported for the first time as epibionts of Carett...