Eastern Mediterranean Coast Research Articles

PIXE contribution for a database of Phoenician pottery in Lebanon

The study the ancient Phoenician cult place of Kharayeb, in the rural hinterland of Tyre, southern of Lebanon, dated to the Iron Age and Hellenistic periods is particularly helpful in evaluating the complexity and variability of the so called “Hellenism” and of “Greek cultural influences” in the Phoenician world. The PIXE analytical technique was used to characterize the elemental composition of several artefacts from this archaeological site, mainly figurines and some artisanal objects, with an attempt to analyze geological samples that could be potential clay sources in the area. Furthermore, the PIXE information about the composition of the studied objects helped to understand if the figurines were locally produced or imported from the coast and how was the process of production connected to the sanctuary. Hence, particle induced X-ray emission technique PIXE was used to determine the elemental composition of about 57 excavated fragments of figurines and pottery from Kharayeb site, as well as from two another archaeological sites, Jemjim and Tyre which is the prestigious city of antiquity, located on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Then, PIXE analyses with multivariate statistical methods were used to compare and to reveal characteristic groups. Finally, PIXE technique contributed to establish a first database of chemical composition of Phoenician pottery, which will broaden the existing database currently related only to archaeological pottery from coastal sites in Lebanon. Therefore, this work will probably be used for any future archaeological study on Phoenician pottery in the Phoenician colonies in the Mediterranean basin.

Measurement-based investigation of ozone deposition to vegetation under the effects of coastal and photochemical air pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean

Dry deposition of ozone (O3) to vegetation is an important pathway for its removal from the troposphere, and it can lead to adverse effects in plants and changes in climate. However, our mechanistic understanding of O3 dry deposition is insufficient to adequately account for it in global and regional models, primarily because this process is highly complicated by feedback mechanisms and sensitivity to specific characteristics of vegetative environment and atmospheric dynamics and composition. We hypothesized that measuring dry deposition of O3 to vegetation near the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) coast, where large variations in meteorological conditions and photochemical air pollution frequently occur, would enable identifying the mechanisms controlling O3 deposition to vegetation. Moreover, we have only limited knowledge of O3 deposition to vegetation occurring near a coastline, under air pollution, or in the EM. This study investigated O3 deposition to mixed Mediterranean vegetation between the summers of 2015 and 2017, 3.6 km away from the EM coast, using the eddy covariance technique to quantify vertical flux of O3 and its partitioning to stomatal and non-stomatal flux, concurrent with nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Surprisingly, nighttime O3-deposition velocity (Vd) was smaller than daytime Vd by only ~20–37% on average for all measurement periods, primarily related to moderate nighttime atmospheric stability due to proximity to the seashore. We provide evidence for the role of sea-salt aerosols in enhancing O3 deposition via surface-wetness buildup at low relative humidity near the coast, and for daytime enhancement of O3 deposition by the combined effects of biogenic volatile organic compound emission and surface-wetness buildup. We further show that NOx emitted from elevated emission sources can reduce O3 deposition, and even lead to a positive O3 flux, demonstrating the importance of adequately taking into account the impact of air pollution on O3 deposition to vegetation.

Sealevel change and tectonic uplift from dated marine terraces along the eastern Mediterranean coast, southeastern Turkey

Tectonic movements among the African, Arabian, Aegean, and Anatolian Plates have deformed the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Since the late Pliocene, these movements caused transtensional opening of the NE-trending Antakya Graben. Tectonic uplift coupled with Quaternary sealevel fluctuations has produced several stacked marine terraces along the Mediterranean coasts on the Antakya Graben. Here, molluscs from terrace deposits that sit on both Graben flanks at elevations between ~ 3 and ~ 175 m were dated using standard electron spin resonance (ESR) dating. For molluscs in situ in the terraces, the ESR ages ranged from ~ 8.3 to ~ 214 ka, but most of the dated terraces contained molluscs reworked from several earlier deposits due to later tectonic movements, sealevel fluctuations, and associated sedimentary processes. By dating in situ fossils, such as Lithophaga, within or just above the basal contacts for the marine terraces, uplift rates were calculated on both sides of the Antakya Graben. North of the Asi River, the regional uplift rate ranges from ~ 0.43 ± 0.11 mm/yr at Samandağ to as high as 2.08 ± 0.70 mm/yr at Mağaracık Dump. South of the Asi River, uplift rates range from 0.81 ± 0.14 mm/yr at the Cliffside terrace to 2.33 ± 0.60 mm/yr at Meydan Dump I. Rather than regional movements, however, local active normal or transtensional faults, such as the Gözene, Altın, and Sinanlı Faults mainly uplifted these deposits.

Lyrodus mersinensis sp. nov. (Bivalvia: Teredinidae) another cryptic species in the Lyrodus pedicellatus (Quatrefages, 1849) complex.

New data from barcode index numbers (BINs) and 28S rRNA gene sequences confirm a cryptic species pair in Lyrodus pedicellatus from the eastern Mediterranean and European Atlantic coasts. Therefore, it is paramount to associate the new species to a scientific name for a reliable reference system of biological information. To this end, we describe Lyrodus mersinensis sp. nov., another cryptic species in the L. pedicellatus complex, and redescribe the `true´ L. pedicellatus. Both the description and redescription are based on molecular diagnostic characters obtained from sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear 28S rRNA genes. The 18S rRNA gene sequences did not yield diagnostic characters to distinguish these species. A morphological diagnosis of pedicellatus-like Lyrodus species is also provided.

Vulnerability assessment of the South-Lebanese coast: A GIS-based approach

The sea-level rise phenomenon affects several socio-economic and ecological aspects worldwide, particularly in terms of coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion. While the Mediterranean region is showing an increase vulnerability to the sea-level rise, in this study, we implement the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), between 2005 and 2013, on the Southern Lebanese coast. The selection of this study area is related to its commonly known vulnerable sandy beaches. The CVI is derived from six physical and geological variables that are estimated using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing techniques. Results show that this eastern Mediterranean coast has a moderate (66% of its total lengths) to high coastal vulnerability (30% of its total lengths) to the sea-level rise. As predicted, sandy beaches in our study area represent the most vulnerable regions. On the other hand, an absence of a Pearson correlation between the amount of the sea level rise and the sea surface temperature, is shown. It is probably related to the direct human interference that eclipsed the climate change as the main driving force in that period (i.e. 2005–2013). In this context, we propose an intervention strategy that focuses on offering ’soft’ technics performed at the sandy beaches and in dune systems. Stakeholders are encouraged to implement this approach to combat the coastal vulnerability of these areas. And by applying the proposed method to other limited-resources/datasets countries, regional organizations and institutions could have vital information to reduce the impact of the SLR at a larger-scale.

Molecular identification of fungal isolates and hatching success of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests.

The aim of this study is to investigate the fungal diversity of green turtle nests and to examine phylogenetic relationships among these isolates. During the nesting season, samples of intra-nest sand and failed eggs were collected from 25% of the surviving nests in Sugözü Beaches, which are amongst the most important nesting beaches for endangered green turtles in the Mediterranean. Twenty-three fungi were identified by molecular techniques. Fungal isolates belonged to genera Aspergillus, Emericella, Rhizopus, Actinomucor and Apophysomyces with two undescribed species. Aspergillus variecolor, Aspergillus quadrilinieatus, Aspergillus tubingensis, Rhizopus oryzae, Actinomucor elegans and Apophysomyces variabilis were firstly detected in all sea turtle nests within this study. Our results demonstrate that 36.4% of the nests had fungal contamination. Also hatching success of the nests contaminated by fungi were significantly lower than the uncontaminated nests (P = 0.029). Also, this may represent a threat to marine turtles and a risk for the health of conservation workers. This study is the first molecular phylogenetic study associated with sea turtle nests in the eastern Mediterranean coast and contributes to the wider body of literature on fungal invasion of sea turtle nests with firstly isolated species. These findings are important for improving potential conservation measures for the nest sites.

Redescription of Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner, 1863, with comments on Alburnus sellal adanensis Battalgazi, 1944 (Teleostei: Leuciscidae).

Alburnus kotschyi is re-described and a neotype is designated. It is found in a small isolated coastal stream at Arsuz at the eastern Mediterranean coast as well as in the Ceyhan and Seyhan River drainages in southern Anatolia. Alburnus adanensis, from the Seyhan River, seems not to have been found again since its first description in 1944 and might be extinct.

Diurnal Course of Evaporation From the Dead Sea in Summer: A Distinct Double Peak Induced by Solar Radiation and Night Sea Breeze

AbstractPartitioning between the relative effects of the radiative and aerodynamic components of the atmospheric forcing on evaporation is challenging since diurnal distributions of wind speed and solar radiation typically overlap. The Dead Sea is located about a 100 km off the Eastern Mediterranean coast, where and the Mediterranean Sea breeze front reaches it after sunset. Therefore, in the Dead Sea the peaks of solar radiation and wind speed diurnal cycles in the Dead Sea are distinctly separated in time, offering a unique opportunity to distinguish between their relative impacts on evaporation. We present mid‐summer eddy covariance and meteorological measurements of evaporation rate and surface energy fluxes over the Dead Sea. The evaporation rate is characterized by a clear diurnal cycle with a daytime peak, few hours after solar radiation peak, and a nighttime peak coincident with wind speed peak. Evaporation rate is minimum during sunrise and sunset. Measurements of evaporation rate from two other water bodies that are closer to the Mediterranean coast, Eshkol Reservoir, and Lake Kinneret, present a single afternoon peak, synchronous with the sea breeze. The inland diurnal evaporation rate cycle varies with the distance from the Mediterranean coast, following the propagation of sea breeze front: near the coast, wind speed, and radiation peaks are close and consequently a single daily evaporation peak appears in the afternoon; at the Dead Sea, about a 100 km inland, the sea breeze front arrives at sunset, resulting in a diurnal evaporation cycle characterized by a distinct double peak.

High genetic connectivity among morphologically differentiated populations of the black sea urchin Arbacia lixula (Echinoidea: Arbacioida) across the central African Mediterranean coast

The present study represents the first population structure analysis of the black sea urchin Arbacia lixula across part of its African Mediterranean distribution range, the Tunisian coast. This location is appropriate for the study of biogeographical processes given the presence of a well-known discontinuous biogeographic area (the Siculo-Tunisian Strait). Patterns of morphological and genetic variation in this highly dispersive echinoid species were assessed among its populations from the western and eastern Mediterranean coasts of Tunisia. A total of 109 specimens from six sites were collected and examined for morphometric variability in seven morphometric traits. Concordant results, inferred from CDA analyses, pairwise NPMANOVA comparisons and MDS plot, showed significant inter-population differences in the measured traits among the studied populations. In addition, UPGMA clustering and discriminant/Hotelling analysis enabled the delineation of two morphologically differentiated groups assigned to the western and eastern Mediterranean basins. SIMPER analysis showed that total dry weight and test diameter were major contributors to the morphometric separation between locations and among groups. Despite the extensive morphological variation found in A. lixula, genetic analysis of the mitochondrial COI marker recovered only a single evolutionary lineage and showed a lack of population structure as inferred from the results of one-level AMOVA and pairwise comparisons of genetic differentiation. Possible explanations for this genetic pattern are discussed. Notably, the lack of COI divergence patterns, highlighted by shallow genealogy associated with high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity, together with a recent demographic expansion event retrieved from mismatch distribution and BSP analysis could be considered a residual effect of a recent evolutionary history of the species in the Mediterranean.

New record of diamondback puffer Lagocephalus guentheri Miranda Ribeiro, 1915 from the North-Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey

One specimen of the diamondback puffer fish, Lagocephalus guentheri (33.7 cm, TL) was caught by a commercial trammel net at a depth of 37 m on 12 May 2017 from the Arsuz coast, Turkey. The present paper is the first report of L. guentheri from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Morphometric and meristics characters of our specimens are given and some remarks about the geographical distribution of the species in the all around the Mediterranean is presented. Although L. guentheri is recorded in the Mediterranean Sea and have been reported from the North-eastern Aegean waters of Turkey. The present study, L. guentheri was recorded for the first time from the northeastern Mediterranean, Turkey (Iskenderun Bay). The present of this species in the Mediterranean is propably due to migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.

Analysis of road development and associated agricultural land use change.

Development of road network is one of the strongest drivers of habitat fragmentation. It interferes with ecological processes that are based on material and energy flows between landscape patches. Therefore, changes in temporal patterns of roads may be regarded as important landscape-level environmental indicators. The aim of this study is to analyze road development and associated agricultural land use change near the town of Erdemli located in the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The study area has witnessed an unprecedented development of agriculture since the 2000s. This process has resulted with the expansion of the road network. Associations between agricultural expansion and road development were investigated. High-resolution satellite images of 2004 and 2015 were used to analyze spatial and temporal dimensions of change. Satellite images were classified using a binary approach, in which land areas were labeled as either "agriculture" or "non-agriculture." Road networks were digitized manually. The study area was divided into 23 sublandscapes using a regular grid with 1-km cell spacing. Percentage of landscape (PL) for agriculture and road density (RD) metrics were calculated for the earlier (2004) and later (2015) years. Metric calculations were performed separately for each of the 23 sublandscapes in order to understand spatial diversity of agriculture and road density. Study results showed that both RD and PL exhibited similar increasing trends between 2004 and 2015.

The diet of native and invasive fish species along the eastern Mediterranean coast (Osteichthyes)

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 enabled the invasion of more than 100 alien fish species into the Mediterranean. The aim of the present study was to compare the diet of native and alien fish species and to identify possibly shared food resources. We examined the diet composition of 13 of the most abundant fish species (6 alien, 7 native) on shallow soft bottom off southern Israel. All 13 species are omnivorous/carnivorous. The native fish exhibited a wider diversity of food types than the aliens. Alien fish prey upon and are preyed by native species as well as by other alien fish. A high level of diet overlap was found among some species, the aliens Saurida lessepsianus and Scomberomorus commerson overlapped with the native Synodus saurus; and the alien Nemipterus randalli with the native species Pagrus caeruleostictus, Lithognathus mormyrus and Pagellus erythrinus. The identified diet overlap is discussed, and the possibility of competitive interactions between these species is considered.

Migrating young eagles follow adults for conservation success

Although the lesser spotted eagle is not listed as endangered by the IUCN, Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg from BirdLife Germany (NABU) knows that the graceful bird of prey's future is far from assured in Germany. Meyburg explains that the German population has dwindled to just 110 breeding pairs in recent decades, largely due to habitat loss and persecution by poachers during their long migration to their overwintering sites in southern Africa. In a bid to stem the destruction of the German population, Meyburg has been relocating chicks from the more stable Latvian population in the hope of boosting the declining German numbers. However, it was not clear whether the translocated chicks would survive the gruelling migration to their overwintering sites in southern Africa. To be convinced that the conservation strategy might offer hope for the German population, Meyburg needed evidence that the translocated Latvian chicks could somehow reach South Africa and return successfully.‘I initiated the conservation project in the federal state of Brandenburg in 2004’, says Meyburg, explaining that the scheme has not impacted the Latvian population, as he takes only the chicks that hatch second, which usually die within a matter of days. Meyburg and his international team of conservationists rescued the chicks – referred to as ‘Abels’, after the biblical story of Cain and Abel – even before they had hatched and reared them in Latvia, before relocating them to a secure hide – known as a hack – in the Schorfheide-Chorin reserve in Brandenburg. ‘The small chicks are fed using a puppet that looks like the head of an adult bird’, says Meyburg, adding, ‘Once they are big enough to feed on their own, the food is introduced into the hacking chamber through a small hole in one of the solid walls … to avoid imprinting on humans’.Then, in 2009, the team fitted lightweight GPS transmitters to 12 Latvian Abels, eight lesser spotted eagle youngsters from nearby nests and nine adults to track their departures and migrations. Meyburg recalls that the majority of the Abels embarked on their migration earlier than the other migrants, departing between 10 and 11 September, with a few remaining until 16–17 September. In contrast, most of the adults set off between 16 and 19 September, with the Brandenburg-hatched chicks departing between 14 and 16 September – although one lingered until 26 September, when the final adult departed. However, when Meyburg analysed the bird's migrations, he realised that the Abels’ early departure probably spelled disaster.Instead of following the route taken by the more experienced adults – southeast across the Bosphorus and along the Eastern Mediterranean coast before entering Africa at Suez – most of the Abels struck out west before attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Meyburg explains that as eagles are large compared with many other migrants, they cannot sustain flapping flight and depend instead on thermals generated above land to remain airborne; without the benefit of lift-generating thermals, the inexperienced birds were doomed to fail as they crossed the water. Consequently, four of the youngsters perished in the Mediterranean and two died in North Africa, with only four completing the full migration.In contrast, just one of the eight youngsters that had hatched in Germany died on the outbound journey, following the same route as the experienced adults south across the Bosphorus. ‘Juvenile lesser spotted eagles are highly dependent on adult guidance in order to survive their first migration and locate the traditional winter grounds’, says Meyburg.Although it was clear that the epic round trip took a significant toll on all of the youngsters – only two of the 12 2009 Abels returned, while just 25% of the German chicks made it home – Meyburg is excited by the potential of the Abel conservation strategy. ‘The greatest success was a Latvian male, which returned at the age of 2 years to the release site and fed there a few times’, recalls Meyburg, adding that the youngster eventually reared his own chick near the site 3 years later. ‘A new territory had been established which did not exist before’, he says triumphantly.

Continuity and Admixture in the Last Five Millennia of Levantine History from Ancient Canaanite and Present-Day Lebanese Genome Sequences

The Canaanites inhabited the Levant region during the Bronze Age and established a culture that became influential in the Near East and beyond. However, the Canaanites, unlike most other ancient Near Easterners of this period, left few surviving textual records and thus their origin and relationship to ancient and present-day populations remain unclear. In this study, we sequenced five whole genomes from ∼3,700-year-old individuals from the city of Sidon, a major Canaanite city-state on the Eastern Mediterranean coast. We also sequenced the genomes of 99 individuals from present-day Lebanon to catalog modern Levantine genetic diversity. We find that a Bronze Age Canaanite-related ancestry was widespread in the region, shared among urban populations inhabiting the coast (Sidon) and inland populations (Jordan) who likely lived in farming societies or were pastoral nomads. This Canaanite-related ancestry derived from mixture between local Neolithic populations and eastern migrants genetically related to Chalcolithic Iranians. We estimate, using linkage-disequilibrium decay patterns, that admixture occurred 6,600–3,550 years ago, coinciding with recorded massive population movements in Mesopotamia during the mid-Holocene. We show that present-day Lebanese derive most of their ancestry from a Canaanite-related population, which therefore implies substantial genetic continuity in the Levant since at least the Bronze Age. In addition, we find Eurasian ancestry in the Lebanese not present in Bronze Age or earlier Levantines. We estimate that this Eurasian ancestry arrived in the Levant around 3,750–2,170 years ago during a period of successive conquests by distant populations.

Genetic diversity, population structure and marker-trait associations for agronomic and grain traits in wild diploid wheat Triticum urartu

BackgroundWild diploid wheat, Triticum urartu (T. urartu) is the progenitor of bread wheat, and understanding its genetic diversity and genome function will provide considerable reference for dissecting genomic information of common wheat.ResultsIn this study, we investigated the morphological and genetic diversity and population structure of 238 T. urartu accessions collected from different geographic regions. This collection had 19.37 alleles per SSR locus and its polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.76, and the PIC and Nei’s gene diversity (GD) of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) were 0.86 and 0.88, respectively. UPGMA clustering analysis indicated that the 238 T. urartu accessions could be classified into two subpopulations, of which Cluster I contained accessions from Eastern Mediterranean coast and those from Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia belonged to Cluster II. The wide range of genetic diversity along with the manageable number of accessions makes it one of the best collections for mining valuable genes based on marker-trait association. Significant associations were observed between simple sequence repeats (SSR) or HMW-GSs and six morphological traits: heading date (HD), plant height (PH), spike length (SPL), spikelet number per spike (SPLN), tiller angle (TA) and grain length (GL).ConclusionsOur data demonstrated that SSRs and HMW-GSs were useful markers for identification of beneficial genes controlling important traits in T. urartu, and subsequently for their conservation and future utilization, which may be useful for genetic improvement of the cultivated hexaploid wheat.

Genetic and morphological divergence in the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) across the African Mediterranean coast

The present investigation focuses on population structure analysis of the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus across the African Mediterranean coast, with the main aim of assessing the influence of the Siculo-Tunisian Strait on gene flow disruption in this highly dispersive echinoid species. For this purpose, patterns of morphological and genetic variation were assessed among its populations from the western and eastern Mediterranean coasts. A total of 302 specimens from seven Tunisian sites were collected and examined for morphometric variability at twelve morphometric traits. Concordant results, inferred from CDA (canonical discriminant analyses), pairwise NPMANOVA (non parametric multivariate analysis of variance) comparisons and MDS (multidimensional scaling) plot, unveiled significant inter-population differences in the measured traits among the studied populations. Furthermore, the combined use of the one way ANOSIM (analysis of similarities) and the Discriminant/Hotelling analysis allowed unravelling two morphologically differentiated groups assigned to both western and eastern Mediterranean basins. The SIMPER (similarity percentages) routine analysis showed that total dry weight, test diameter and spine length were major contributors to the morphometric separation between locations and between groups. Pattern of phenotypic divergence discerned in P. lividus across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait is interestingly in congruence with that inferred from the genetic investigation of the purple sea urchin populations from the same region based on the analysis of the mtDNA COI (cytochrome oxidase I) gene in 314 specimens from nineteen locations covering a wider geographic transect, streching westward to the Algerian coast and eastward to the Libyan littoral. The specific haplotypic composition characterizing each Mediterranean basin, as inferred from the minimum spanning network, confirmed the geographic partioning of genetic variation, as revealed by F-statistics and AMOVA (analysis of molecular variance) analyses, yielding significant genetic differentiation between eastern and western Mediterranean populations. The newly detected phylogeographic patterns, observed for the first time in P. lividus throughout the explored distribution range, suggest the involvement of different biotic and abiotic processes in shaping such variation, and provide evidence that a large and geographically exhaustive dataset is necessary to unveil phylogeographic structure within widespread marine species, previously cathegorized as panmictic in part of their distribution range.

Design of marine macroalgae photobioreactor integrated into building to support seagriculture for biorefinery and bioeconomy

Seagriculture, which can provide offshore grown macroalgae biomass would play a significant role in bioeconomy. Nevertheless, seagriculture development has been hindered by the lack of laboratory photobioreactors that enable fundamental and pilot scale macroalgae research. In this work, a macroalgae photobioreactor (MPBR) was developed and integrated into the building. The MPBR operation was demonstrated for 6months with cultivation of Cladophora sp., Ulva compressa and Ulva rigida green macroalgae species isolated from 3 sites at the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The growth rate, protein, ash, specific energy density, rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, glucose, galactose and glucuronic acid content of the cultivated species were quantified. The maximum accumulated energy rates were 0.033WhL−1d−1 for Cladophora sp., 0.081WhL−1d−1 for U. compressa and 0.029WhL−1d−1 for U. rigida. This work provides a detailed design of an indoor, urban photobioreactor for cultivation, maintenance and energy balance analysis of macroalgae biomass for biorefinery.

Pre-Quaternary divergence and subsequent radiation explain longitudinal patterns of genetic and morphological variation in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus

BackgroundMany animal and plant species in the Middle East and northern Africa have a predominantly longitudinal distribution, extending from Iran and Turkey along the eastern Mediterranean coast into northern Africa. These species are potentially characterized by longitudinal patterns of biological diversity, but little is known about the underlying biogeographic mechanisms and evolutionary timescales. We examined these questions in the striped skink, Heremites vittatus, one such species with a roughly longitudinal distribution across the Middle East and northern Africa, by analyzing range-wide patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and multi-trait morphological variation.ResultsThe striped skink exhibits a basic longitudinal organization of mtDNA diversity, with three major mitochondrial lineages inhabiting northern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean coast, and Turkey/Iran. Remarkably, these lineages are of pre-Quaternary origin, and are characterized by p-distances of 9–10%. In addition, within each of these lineages a more recent Quaternary genetic diversification was observed, as evidenced by deep subclades and high haplotype diversity especially in the Turkish/Iranian and eastern Mediterranean lineages. Consistent with the genetic variation, our morphological analysis revealed that the majority of morphological traits show significant mean differences between specimens from northern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean coast, and Turkey/Iran, suggesting lineage-specific trait evolution. In addition, a subset of traits exhibits clinal variation along the eastern Mediterranean coast, potentially indicating selection gradients at the geographic transition from northern Africa to Anatolia. The existence of allopatric, morphologically and genetically divergent lineages suggests that Heremites vittatus might represent a complex with several taxa.ConclusionsOur work demonstrates that early divergence events in the Pliocene, likely driven by both climatic and geological factors, established the longitudinal patterns and distribution of Heremites vittatus. Subsequent radiation during the Pleistocene generated the genetic and morphological diversity observed today. Our study provides further evidence that longitudinal diversity patterns and species distributions in the Middle East and northern Africa were shaped by complex evolutionary processes, involving the region’s intricate geological history, climatic oscillations, and the presence of the Sahara.

THE EGYPTIAN ROLE IN ULLAZA DURING THE SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C

Egypt had an extremely vital role in the Eastern Mediterranean coast since the beginning ofthe third millennium BC, allowing Egypt to control and impose its political and ideologicaldomination on the surrounding cities to obtain the products that Egypt lacked. Thus, many ofthe names of the Syrian cities were mentioned in the Egyptian records, including the city andport of Ullaza. Because of its strategic location and economic wealth, Ullaza became thefocus of the forces that competed Egypt in its domination, including the Mittani, Hittites, andKingdom of Amurru during the second millennium BC.

Short-term effects of SWRO desalination brine on benthic heterotrophic microbial communities

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination discharge brine-waste as part of the process with immediate (short-term) and chronic (long-term) impacts to marine coastal environment. Brine-waste is often denser than the receiving environment, therefore sinks and flows as a saline plume in adjacency to the sea floor. We suggest that the saline flow over the bottom may impose an osmotic stress, and alter benthic heterotrophic microbial diversity, activity and growth. In this study, we examined the short-term (48h) effects of different salinities on benthic heterotrophic bacteria attached to the sediment at the eastern Mediterranean coast. To this end, 12 cylinders were filled with sediment and incubated in full darkness with rising salinities ranging from 2% to 20% over the ambient levels. During the summer experiments, heterotrophic bacterial abundance has reduced by 60% at salinity levels >5% above the ambient concentration. Further, bacterial cell specific activity significantly increased following high salinity scenarios. Our experimental results provide the first scientifically-based data on the immediate effects of SWRO brine over benthic heterotrophic bacteria. However, we stress that long-term studies are imperative at the outfall of operating desalination facilities to determine the chronic effects of brine on benthic bacteria.