ARIANI, A.P. & K.J. WITTMANN, 2015. Ricerche sull'ecologia e la biologia di Diamysis cymodoceae Wittmann & Ariani, 2012, (Crustacea, Mysida) in un bacino salmastro del Golfo di Taranto. Atti della Accademia Pontaniana, Napoli, N.S., LXIII (2014): 79-98.
http://www.accademiapontaniana.it/alp/pages/Atti_Accademia_2014.pdf
Summary. Investigations on the ecology and biology of Diamysis cymodoceae Wittmann & Ariani, 2012 (Crustacea, Mysida) in a brackish pond of the Gulf of Taranto (Italy). – A three-year study was conducted on a population of the recently described mysid species Diamysis cymodoceae in an artificial pond at the coast of the Gulf of Taranto. So far, this is the only known population in Italy, although the species has already been described from a wide distribution range in the eastern Mediterranean. The salinity, pH, and temperature of the pond and one out of the two canals connecting its basin with the sea were studied together with components of the flora and fauna, including mysids, at five sampling stations in 1-4 month intervals. Salinity and temperature varied strongly with season as well as between sampling stations. The preferential distribution of mysids between the main basin and the canal showed a clear seasonal pattern that was characterized by inversions at about the end of winter and in midsummer. Analysis of variance of mysid abundance between samples revealed that the species preferred colder stations at higher ambient temperature versus warmer stations at lower temperature. Salinity and pH had no significant effects on abundance/distribution. The body size of adults was slightly above that known from marine conspecifics elsewhere. Females clearly outnumbered males in the pooled material from the water system (sex-ratio = 0.51; n=318). Reproduction appeared to be roughly continuous. The rarity of larvae at the postnauplioid stage suggests that the liberation of young occurred essentially outside the inspected biotopes.
Mediterranean; distribution; ecology; biology; brackish water; Gulf of Tarent; Italy
Cymodocea nodosa; Diamysis bahirensis; Diamysis camassai; Diamysis cymodoceae; Palaemonetes antennarius; Pseudodiaptomus serricaudatus; Siriella gracilipes; Tanais dulongii