Download Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea

© Wikipedia
To the ancient
Romans, the
Mediterranean
was the centre of
the Earth as they
knew it!
Who lives there?
Where is it?
21 countries have a coastline on
the Mediterranean Sea.
The Mediterranean Sea is off
the Atlantic Ocean and is
almost completely enclosed
by land: on the north by
Europe, on the south by
Africa, and on the east by
Asia. It covers an approximate
area of 2.5 million km2, but
its western connection to the
Atlantic (the Strait of
Gibraltar) is only 14 km wide.
The Mediterranean forests,
woodlands and scrub belong to a
Temperate biome, characterised
by hot, dry summers and mild
and rainy winters. Nearly all of
the rainfall occurs in the winter
and spring rainy season.
The Mediterranean Sea is
connected to the Sea of
Marmara to the east, and to
the Black Sea by the
Dardanelles and the Bosporus
respectively. The Sea of
Marmara is often considered a
part of the Mediterranean
Sea, whereas the Black Sea is
generally not.
The Nile River begins
in Africa and ends at
the Mediterranean Sea.
© US Fed Govt
Interesting
Mediterranean
facts
Africa: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia,
Algeria and Morocco.
Monk Seal
In 500 B.C. the first coin had a picture of a
Mediterranean Monk Seal on it.
The oldest Mediterranean Monk Seal held in captivity
lived for 24 years.
© Peter Dyrynda
© Wikipedia
All regions with Mediterranean
climates have relatively mild
winters, but summer temperatures
are variable depending on the
region. For instance, Athens,
Greece, experiences rather high
temperatures in the summer (48°C
has been measured in Eleusina).
state of Cyprus, Lebanon and
Israel
Interesting facts about some
Mediterranean animals
are the world’s major
communities, sorted according
to their main vegetation and
characterised by adaptations of
creatures to that particular
environment – Aquatic,
Grasslands, Deserts,
Forests and Tundra.
What is the weather
like?
Asia: Turkey, Syria, the island
More than 130 million people live
permanently along its coastline, a
figure that doubles during the
summer tourist season.
Biomes
The man-made Suez Canal in
the southeast connects the
Mediterranean Sea to the Red
Sea.
The word turquoise
was derived from the
beautiful colour of the
Mediterranean Sea on the
southern Turkish coast.
© Jernej Sedmak
Which Biome does the
Med belong to?
Europe: Spain, France, Monaco,
Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia
and
Herzegovina,
Montenegro, Albania, Greece,
and Turkey
Red Coral: Classic and expensive, this is the most valued
coral of all, favoured worldwide for its hardness, beauty and
sanguine hue. Red Coral is found in a number of places, but its
most famous location is the sandy bottom of the Mediterranean,
including the Gulf of Genoa in Italy.
Page 1
Overfishing
Of the 220 million tourists who visit the region every year, over 100
million flock to the Mediterranean beaches.
Around 1.5 million tonnes of fish
are caught in the Mediterranean
each year. Destructive and often
illegal fishing methods such as
bottom-trawling, dynamite use,
long-lining and drift-netting have
depleted fish stocks. Use of drift
nets are also responsible for the
accidental deaths and incidental
catches of whales, dolphins and
marine turtles.
© UNEP
Mass tourism has led to increased waste discharges into the sea, loss of
natural habitats and higher pressure on endangered species.
Mediterranean coastal areas, which account for 30% of international
tourist destinations, are already seriously damaged.
© Greenpeace
Depleted fish stocks are also
reflected in the undersized catch.
83% of all Blue-fin Tuna and
Swordfish caught in the
Mediterranean are undersized.
Marine invasive
species
Thousands of marine species are
transported, either intentionally
or accidentally, from their native
range to “new” areas. These
species are called non-native
species and sometimes referred
to as alien or invasive species.
Introductions and transfer of
non-native marine species to
their new environment mainly
occurs by the transport and
discharge of ballast water, and to
a lesser extent by transport of
fouling organisms on hulls, or
through aquaculture. In addition,
many species are spread through
seawater canals that link
biogeographical waterbodies
(e.g. Suez Canal).
Caulerpa taxifolia
© US Fed Govt
Tourism and population pressure
Oil tanker
Sea pollution
An algal species native to the
Red Sea, Caulerpa taxifolia,
has
spread
round
the
Mediterranean from the French
Riviera, where it first emerged in
the 1980s. It is obliterating
fisheries which depend on sea
grasses and is replacing them
with largely sterile algal beds.
The land-locked waters of the Mediterranean have a very low renewal
rate (80 to 90 years) and so are extremely sensitive to pollution. The
Mediterranean represents less than 1% of the Earth’s total marine
surface, but oil-tanker traffic through this sea accounts for more than
20% of global traffic. Every year, 635,000 tonnes of crude oil are
spilled by vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.
Biodiversity
© Greenpeace
The Mediterranean Sea has an unusually high biodiversity for a
temperate sea and is, in fact one of the richest seas in the world.
It is home to 7.5% of the planet’s marine life species and 18%
of the world’s marine fauna. However, only 1% of the
Mediterranean Sea is protected.
Blue-fin Tuna
Mediterranean Monk Seal
Cetaceans
19 cetacean species are found in
the Mediterranean sea. Eight are
common (Fin Whale, Sperm
Whale, Striped Dolphin, Risso’s
Dolphin, Long-finned Pilot Whale,
Bottle-nose Dolphin, Common
Dolphin, Cuvier’s beaked Whale),
four are occasional (Minke Whale,
Killer Whale, False Killer Whale,
Rough-toothed Dolphin) and six
are ‘accidental aliens’ that were
occasionally sighted in the last
120 years (e.g. Humpback Whale).
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This seal (Monachus monachus) is the only pinniped to be found within the
Mediterranean Sea. It is now very rare and listed as an endangered species. The
only known colonies are in the Alboran Basin and in the Aegean Sea.
ISSUE 3 The Mediterranean and Black Seas
© US Federal Government
80% of the urban sewage produced is discharged untreated. Added to
that are agricultural runoffs containing pesticides, nitrates and
phosphates, which contaminate the sea.
© Google Earth
Countries which share the
Black Sea costline include:
Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria,
Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.
A further 16 countries are in
the catchment area of this
sea. The Crimean peninsula is
a Ukrainian autonomous
republic.
Biomes
are the world’s major
communities, sorted according to
their main vegetation and
characterised by adaptations of
creatures to that particular
environment – Aquatic,
Grasslands, Deserts,
Forests and Tundra.
The Black Sea climate can be
characterised as continental
(i.e., subject to pronounced
seasonal
variations
in
temperature) with cold and
frosty winters and very dry, hot
summers. However, climatic
conditions in some parts of the
basin are controlled to a great
extent by the shoreline relief.
© www.russiablacksea.com
What is the
weather like?
Interesting Black Sea facts
The Black Sea is one of the youngest seas in the world.
Almost a third of the total land area of Europe drains into the Black
Sea through major rivers such as the Danube, Dnieper, and Don.
It has the largest “dead zone”(where no oxygen exists) in the world.
The sea is, in places, more than two kilometres deep, but oxygen is
virtually absent below 250 metres. Below this level, comprising some
90% of the sea’s water, is the largest known volume of lifeless, anoxic
water on the planet. This is essentially a natural phenomenon.
ISSUE 3 The Mediterranean and Black Seas
The thin upper layer of
marine water (up to 150m)
supports the unique
biological life of the Black
Sea ecosystem. The deeper
and more dense water
layers are saturated with
hydrogen sulfide that over
thousands
of
years
accumulated from decaying
organic matter. Only
certain animals are adapted to inhabit these deep-sea waters, e.g. some
protozoa, bacteria and some multi-cellular invertebrates.
© www.greenpeace.com
The Black Sea falls into
three biomes:
steppe, temperate forest,
and Mediterranean forests,
woodlands and scrub.
What lives there?
The diversity of species of Black Sea fauna is approximately three times
lower than that of the Mediterranean Sea.
© www.greenpeace.com
Which Biome does the
Black Sea belong to?
Despite the fact that the
Black Sea biodiversity is
reduced due to a lower
salinity level, and human
activities
such
as
overfishing, pollution and
habitat destruction, the
marine life is still full of
wonders. You can find here
crabs, molluscs and fish
such as gobies, flatfish, red
and golden-grey mullets, stargazer, pipefish and others.
The benthic community of
the Black Sea sandy
bottom is formed by the
underwater
fields
of
Zostera sea-grass.
The rocky bottom habitats
belong to the most diverse
marine life of the Black
Sea,
with
colourful
macroalgae,
blennies,
shrimps and sea anemones. You can also find here organisms which
cover rock surfaces, such as sponges, bryozoans and hydroid colonies.
Page 3
© www.greenpeace.com
The Black Sea is an inland sea
between southeastern Europe
and the Anatolian peninsula
(Turkey). It is ultimately
connected to the Atlantic
Ocean via the Mediterranean
and Aegean Seas and various
straits: the Bosporus Strait
connects it to the Sea of
Marmara, and the Dardenelles
to the Aegean Sea region of
the Mediterranean. These
waters also separate eastern
Europe and western Asia. The
Black Sea is also connected to
the Sea of Azov by the Strait
of Kerch.
© www.goobix.com
Where is it?
One-third of the Black Sea’s fish stocks have been lost
in the past 20 years. Only six of the 26 species
commercially exploited in the 1960s remain in
commercial quantities, with the numbers of sturgeon,
salmon, gray mullet, sprat, horse mackerel and goby all
declining. More than 60 plant and animal species
deemed essential to the Black Sea ecosystem, including
dolphins and seals, are now endangered or extinct.
© www.greenpeace.com
© www.russiablacksea.com
Overfishing
Sea pollution
The Black Sea ecosystem is highly sensitive to anthropogenic impact,
especially eutrophication and pollution.
Human activities
Since the early 1970s, there has been a rapid rise in nutrients, organic
eutrophication and chemical pollution due to transportation,
construction, tourism and the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
In addition, high-intensity gas seeps, gas hydrates, mud volcanoes and
earthquakes are frequent.
Eutrophication is degradation of water quality due to enrichment by
nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which results in
excessive plant (principally algae) growth and decay. Low dissolved
oxygen (DO) in the water is a common consequence.
Marine Protected Areas
Black Sea invasions
© www.greenpeace.com
The six coastal countries surrounding the Black Sea are aiming to
maintain the Black Sea ecosystem in a good ecological state. In order
to do this they are safeguarding the sea and giving it the needed time
to fully recover through the designation of Marine Protected Areas.
A Marine Protected Area is any area of the intertidal or subtidal terrain,
together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical
and cultural features,
which has been
reserved by law or
other effective means
to protect part or all
of the enclosed
environment.
© Image DOP
Both in turn affect the Black Sea biota and biological resources. The
intense marine traffic and offshore exploration of oil and gas constitute
additional sources of marine pollution.
An explosion in the growth
of Mnemiopsis (jellyfish), an
alien species (see picture
below), was witnessed after
it arrived in the ballast
water of ships in the late
1980s.
It
eventually
amounted to more than
90% of the entire biomass
of the Black Sea, and
Black Sea scorpionfish
caused the collapse of the
anchovy and chub mackerel stocks, local oyster fisheries and even the
indigenous jellyfish.
Other invasive species are: jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo),
moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita), Black Sea scorpionfish
(Scorpaena porcus), weever (Trachinus draco), common
stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) and piked dogfish (Squalus
acanthias).
Sea slug
© www.ocean.udel.edu/blacksea
The main source of oil pollution is from rivers and municipal sources
rather than accidental (e.g. oil spills from ships). The Black Sea is not a
major production area for oil; however, it is subject to an increasing
transit trade in crude and refined oil products.
© www.greenpeace.com
This year, 2007, was declared the Year of the Dolphin
Most Black Sea countries banned the hunting of three species of endangered
dolphins in the 1960s, allowing the recovery of their populations in the Black
Sea (i.e. common dolphin, bottlenosed dolphin and common porpoise).
The porpoise species suffered the most from hunting by fishermen for their
valuable blubber.
Unfortunately, thousands of dolphins in the Black Sea still continue to die due
to entanglement in fishermen’s nets. This causes them to suffocate as they are
not able to reach the surface for air.
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ISSUE 3 The Mediterranean and Black Seas
© www.greenpeace.com
Black Sea dolphins