The First Cases of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Post Coronavirus Disease in Children.

To investigate the incidence, characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in children, three cases of SSNHL after COVID-19 infection in children were analyzed. ENT clinical examination of all cases was normal. Only the third child had a first degree left-beating optokinetic nystagmus, compatible with right peripheral vestibulopathy.

Reproductive dynamics of the invasive lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The lionfish Pterois miles invaded the Mediterranean Sea in 2012 and spread fast to the entire eastern basin. This study provides evidence of successful spawning and the first detailed analysis of P. miles ovarian dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea.

Resilience of seagrass populations to thermal stress does not reflect regional differences in ocean climate.

The prevalence of local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity among populations is critical to accurately predicting when and where climate change impacts will occur. Currently, comparisons of thermal performance between populations are untested for most marine species or overlooked by models predicting the thermal sensitivity of species to extirpation. Here we compared the ecological response and recovery of seagrass populations (Posidonia oceanica) to thermal stress throughout a year-long translocation experiment across a 2800-km gradient in ocean climate.

They are here to stay: the biology and ecology of lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea.

The lionfish, Pterois miles, is one of the most recent Lessepsian immigrants into the Mediterranean Sea, and it poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems in the region. This study assesses the basic biology and ecology of lionfish in the Mediterranean, examining morphometrics, reproduction and diet as well as population structure and distribution. The population density of lionfish has increased dramatically in Cyprus since the first sighting in late 2012; by 2018 aggregations of up to 70 lionfish were found on rocky grounds with complex reefs and artificial reefs in depths of 0-50 m.

Tropical seagrass shifts thermal tolerance during Mediterranean invasion.

Exotic species often face new environmental conditions that are different from those that they are adapted to. The tropical seagrass is a Lessepsian migrant that colonized the Mediterranean Sea around 100 years ago, where at present the minimum seawater temperature is cooler than in its native range in the Red Sea. Here, we tested if the temperature range in which can exist is conserved within the species or if the exotic populations have shifted their thermal breadth and optimum due to the cooler conditions in the Mediterranean.

Thermal tolerance of Mediterranean marine macrophytes: Vulnerability to global warming.

The Mediterranean Sea is warming at three times the rate of the global ocean raising concerns about the vulnerability of marine organisms to climate change. Macrophytes play a key role in coastal ecosystems, therefore predicting how warming will affect these key species is critical to understand the effects of climate change on Mediterranean coastal ecosystems. We measured the physiological performance of six dominant native Mediterranean macrophytes under ten temperature treatments ranging from 12 to 34°C to examine their thermal niche, and vulnerability to projected warming in the western Mediterranean up until 2100.

Seagrass recovery after fish farm relocation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Finfish aquaculture has damaged seagrass meadows worldwide as wastes from the farms can kill these habitat-forming plants. In Cyprus, the Mediterranean endemic Posidonia oceanica is at its upper thermal limits yet forms extensive meadows all around the island. Understanding this under-studied isolated population may be important for the long-term survival of the species given that the region is warming rapidly.