SNAPSHOT OF THE UPPER SLOPE MACRO- AND MEGAFAUNA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA: ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND PROTECTION

The slope faunal assemblages at the southeastern Mediterranean have never been studied though mounting evidence points to the vulnerability of the continental slope biota to anthropogenic disturbance. An introductory investigation of the abundance and bathymetric distribution of the soft-bottom macro- and megafauna on the Levant Sea's upper slope collected 112,440 individuals comprising 119 species at depths ranging from 200 to 570 m. Our results, though preliminary, suggest that the fauna of the upper slope in the southern Levant Sea comprise distinct and unique assemblages, differing in the composition and relative abundance of their taxa from slope habitats elsewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Were climate change to bring about a reduction in the supply of nutrients to the Mediterranean deep-sea floor, assemblage composition and abundance throughout the sea may become more similar to the current Levantine deep-water biota. In view of the vulnerability and low resilience of the soft bottom slope assemblages and the rapid development of extensive offshore gas and oil fields, multi-stressor management at regional level is required to achieve protection for the deep Levantine biota.