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Unexpected high molluscan diversity in a submarine cave in the Eastern Mediterranean

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Abstract

Marine caves are abundant throughout the Mediterranean Sea, but most studies have focused on those occurring in its western part so far. However, the few studies covering the Eastern Mediterranean showed that its caves are characterized by high diversity. We here describe the molluscan assemblage of the Kakoskali submarine cave in northwestern Cyprus, a shallow water cave characterized by the occurrence of large biostalactites. To avoid any destructive sampling in such a delicate environment, we used death assemblages from cave sediments (that can faithfully represent the composition of nearby living assemblages) sampled across a gradient from the inner chamber to nearby Posidonia patches outside the cave. Inside the cave, we found 217 species, 38% of the molluscan fauna currently known from Cyprus; sampling saturation was 0.99 and the estimated diversity at perfect coverage was 258 (+ 17%) species. One species has never been reported from Cyprus previously (Austronucula perminima) and another one is a first record for the entire Eastern Mediterranean (Hyalogyra zibrowii). We also report an unidentified Pyramidellidae which has eluded all identification efforts. In the cave, we found only five (2%) non-indigenous species represented by 50 individuals (1%). The Posidonia patches outside the cave hosted 143 species with a coverage of 0.98 and an estimated 180 (+ 26%) species at perfect coverage. The high diversity here recorded highlights the important role played by caves as biodiversity reservoirs. Additionally, this diversity is higher than the one described from Western Mediterranean caves inspected with comparable methods, contributing to questioning the magnitude of the west to east decreasing diversity gradient in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Acknowledgements

Our gratitude goes in particular to Louis Hadjioannou and Antonis Petrou from ENALIA for their participation in the field work and encouragement to study Kakoskali’s singular ecology. We thank Martin Zuschin and Christian Baal for their support and assistance at the University of Vienna. We express our gratitude to the Reviewers of the Journal Marine Biodiversity for their constructive comments during the revision process. These helped us to improve the quality of our manuscript.

Funding

The study was performed in the framework of the project “Historical ecology of Lessepsian migration” funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) P28983-B29 (PI: P.G. Albano). DDF was supported by the Erasmus + Traineeship Programme and CJ by ENALIA’s research program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Davide Di Franco & Paolo G. Albano

  2. Department of Marine Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Davide Di Franco

  3. Institute for Ecology, Diversity and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Davide Di Franco

  4. Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre (ENALIA), Acropoleos St. 2, Aglanjia 101, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Carlos Jimenez

  5. Energy, Environment and Water Research Center (EEWRC) of The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Carlos Jimenez

  6. Department of Animal Conservation and Public Engagement, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy

    Paolo G. Albano

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  1. Davide Di Franco
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Correspondence to Davide Di Franco.

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Fieldwork in the cave was conducted according to all applicable local and international laws.

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PGA, DDF, and CJ conceived and designed the study. CJ conducted fieldwork. DDF sorted the samples and identified the species. DDF and PGA analyzed the data. DDF wrote the first draft of the manuscript which was contributed by all co-authors.

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Di Franco, D., Jimenez, C. & Albano, P.G. Unexpected high molluscan diversity in a submarine cave in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mar. Biodivers. 51, 85 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-021-01219-3

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