|
Biodiversity and invasive species of plankton community from the Levantine
Sami Lakkis
Section of Oceanography,Fac. of Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut,Lebanon
Laboratory of Marine Ecology & Plankton, NCMS/LNCSR
P.O.Box 138, Byblos-Jbeil Lebanon; e-mail:slakkis@inco.com.lb
Abstract
The Eastern Mediterranean is the most oligotrophic water bodies in the world's ocean. Although poor in productivity and biomass, the Levantine basin, including the Syro-Lebanese waters is very rich in biodiversity. The plankton community is the best known within the pelagic ecosystem of the Levantine Basin, It is of a Mediterranean temperate type with certain subtropical affinity. Several lessepsian migrants present in thereat are of Indo-Pacific origin.
Taxonomic and ecological studies carried out on the Plankton community at inshore and offshore Lebanese seawaters since 1970, showed a low primary productivity rate, small planktonic biomass contrasting with a high species diversity. To date, about 400 taxa of planktonic microalgae (phytoplankton) have been recorded, including 160 diatoms belonging to 47 genera and 230 dinoflagellates with 35 genera. From those about 10% are considered as invasive or lessespsian migrants.The zooplankton subcommunity comprises all the known Mediterranean groups with 300 microzooplankton species and 600 mesozooplankton, including 175 copepods; 15% of them being lessepsian migrants of Erithrean and Indo-Pacific origin
The spatio-temporal distribution and the abundance of plankton in the Lebanese waters are affected by hydrographic conditions ,namely temperature,salinity, dissolved nutrient concentrations, oxygen, phytoplankton standing crop and current regime. The annual ecological cycle consists of two phases: a cold phase from December to March during
which the species diversity is high with a low abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton.. The warm phase from May to November is marked by a high temperature and salinity , a strong thermocline, and the plankton is poor in quality and quantity. A short and moderate phytoplankton bloom is recorded between April and June, followed directly with an increase in zooplankton abundance
|
|
| New Publications |
|
The Arab Scientists in Cooperation with The High Institute of Marine Research. Publish all the researches abstracts, which presented in The Regional Workshop on Marine Sciences and Natural Resources, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria, 25-26 May 2004.
|
| New Publications |
|
The Arab Scientists in Cooperation with The Egyptian Society for Biological Control of Pests . Publish all the researches abstracts, which presented in The First Arab Conference of Applied Biological Pest Control, Cairo, Egypt, 5-7 April 2004.
|
| Conferences, Fez |
The First International Symposium on Environnement protection for development Biotechnological aspects. Fez, December
15 – 17, 2004.
|
| Conferences, Syria |
|
The Second Syrian-Egyptian conference in the Agriculture and Food.
Agriculture Faculty, Al-Baath university, Homs, Syria. 25-28 April, 05
|
| Conference,Yemen |
|
Current Status of Plant Protection in Yemen and Future Strategy.
Faculty of Agriculture, Sana'a University, Sana'a, yemen. December 18-20/2004
|
| Conferences Canada |
|
The 9th International Conference of the Orthopterists’ Society
Canada, on August 14 19, 2005
|
| Conferences, Egypt |
|
The First Arab Conference on Applications of Biological Control of Pests in Arab Countries
|
| Workshop,Lebanon |
|
New Workshop
Middle-East Academy for Medicine of Ageing
First Annual Middle-East Age & Aging Meeting
8-11 April, 2004
|
| Publications |
Arab Society for Plant Protection (ASPP) in Cooperation with The Arab Scientists
Publish all the researches abstracts, which presented in the Eighth Arab Congress of
Plant Protection, held in Faculty of Agriculture, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, El-beida
City, Libya, October 12-16,2003
|
|
