COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Excellent Opportunity to Study the Effects of Trawling Disturbance on Macrobenthic Fauna in the Shallow Waters of the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Central Mediterranean Sea).

This study describes for the first time in the central Mediterranean Sea the effects of bottom trawling on macrobenthic fauna in tidal channels of the Kneiss Islands in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia. Following a BACI protocol, two control stations (protected by artificial reefs) and two trawled stations (impacted stations) were sampled during a period with the absence of bottom trawling activity (the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period from March to May 2020) and during a trawled period. Although bottom trawling had no impact on sediment composition, this anthropogenic activity reduced the concentration of dissolved oxygen and had a noticeable effect on water column turbidity.

Redescription of Ptychobothrium belones (Dujardin, 1845) (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea) from needlefishes (Beloniformes: Belonidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

The bothriocephalidean tapeworm Ptychobothrium belones (Dujardin, 1845) Lönnberg, 1889 is redescribed on the basis of new materials collected from the intestine of the Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus imperialis (Rafinesque) (Beloniformes: Belonidae) off Tunisia in the central Mediterranean Sea. This species is characterised by a laterally compressed hexagonal to fan-shaped scolex with an apical disc and two well-developed bothria, an oval ovary and numerous testes arranged in lateral and median fields. The typical diagnostic feature of P.

Ecological status assessment and non-indigenous species in industrial and fishing harbours of the Gulf of Gabès (central Mediterranean Sea).

Port Biological Baseline Surveys (PBBS) are standardized surveys of the indigenous and non-indigenous marine biodiversity within harbour activities. They provide a baseline for monitoring changes in the structure and function of harbour communities. This study conducted in 12 fishing and industrial harbours from January to December 2018 was the first initiative of a Port Baseline Survey aimed to assess the impact of biological invasions in harbours of the Gulf of Gabès (GG), Tunisia.

Macrobenthic communities in the tidal channels around the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia.

A yearlong seasonal survey was carried out during 2016-2017 at 26 stations representing four tidal channels of the north-western part of the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia). The area studied (characterized by a maximum tidal range of 2.3 m) was subjected to diverse anthropogenic pressures: from the phosphate industry and its metallic pollution, unauthorized bottom trawling in shallow water (known locally as 'Kiss'), and organic pollution from the nearby urbanized areas.

Response of benthic macrofauna to multiple anthropogenic pressures in the shallow coastal zone south of Sfax (Tunisia, central Mediterranean Sea).

Anthropogenic activities including coastal industries, urbanization, extensive agriculture and aquaculture as well as their cumulative impacts represent major sources of perturbation of marine coastal systems. Macrobenthic communities are useful ecological indicators for monitoring the health status of marine environments (or polluted environments). The present study reports, for the first time, the response of benthic macrofauna sampled during two years survey (2015-2016) to multiple anthropogenic pressures on the coastal zone south of Sfax (Tunisia).

Structure of the benthic macrofauna of an anthropogenic influenced area: Skhira Bay (Gulf of Gabès, central Mediterranean Sea).

Skhira Bay located in the Gulf of Gabès, on the southeastern coast of Tunisia, is an important area in terms of its dense vegetation coverage, wide continental shelf, and fisheries resources. However, this area with a typically micro-tidal range is subject to intensive anthropogenic pressures: soft bottom trawling, chemical pollution from phosphoric acid production, and shipping activity. The present study is the first investigation of the structure of the benthic macrofauna on this part of the Tunisian coast.

Lessepsian migration and parasitism: richness, prevalence and intensity of parasites in the invasive fish compared to its native congener in Tunisian coastal waters.

Background: Parasites can play various roles in the invasion of non-native species, but these are still understudied in marine ecosystems. This also applies to invasions from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, the so-called Lessepsian migration. In this study, we investigated the role of parasites in the invasion of the Lessepsian migrant in the Tunisian Mediterranean Sea.

Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of Macvicaria obovata (Digenea: Opecoelidae), a parasite of Sparus aurata(Pisces: Teleostei) from the Gulf of Gabès, Mediterranean Sea.

The ultrastructural organization of the spermatozoon of the digenean Macvicaria obovata (Opecoelidae) is described by transmission electron microscopy. Alive digeneans were collected from the digestive tract of Sparus aurata (Teleostei, Sparidae), caught from the Gulf of Gabès in Chebba, Tunisia (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). The male gamete of M.

Species of Philometra (Nematoda, Philometridae) from fishes off the Mediterranean coast of Africa, with a description of Philometra rara n. sp. from Hyporthodus haifensis and a molecular analysis of Philometra saltatrix from Pomatomus saltatrix.

Two gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda, Philometridae) were recorded for the first time from marine perciform fishes off Tunisia and Libya: Philometra rara n. sp. from the rare, deep-water Haifa grouper Hyporthodus haifensis (Serranidae) off Libya and Philometra saltatrix Ramachandran, 1973 from the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix (Pomatomidae) off Tunisia.

Triloculotrema euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea, Monocotylidae) from the nasal tissues of the blackspotted smooth-hound Mustelus punctulatus (Carcharhiniformes, Triakidae) from off Tunisia.

Triloculotrema euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea, Monocotylidae, Merizocotylinae) is described from the nasal tissues of the blackspotted smooth-hound Mustelus punctulatus collected from the coastal marine waters off Tunisia.

Axinoides euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea: Axinidae) from the gills of the needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) (Belonidae) off Tunisia, with an updated list of hosts and localities for Axinoides spp.

A new axinid monogenean species, Axinoides euzeti n. sp. from the gills of the Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) off the Tunisian coast is described.

Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus (Monogenea, Diplectanidae), a parasite of deep-sea groupers (Serranidae) occurs transatlantically on three congeneric hosts (Hyporthodus spp.), one from the Mediterranean Sea and two from the western Atlantic.

Little is known of the diversity of the monogenean parasites infesting deep-sea groupers, and there is even less information available about their geographic distributions within the ranges of their hosts. To improve our understanding of these host-parasite relationships we conducted parasitological evaluations of the deep-water Haifa grouper Hyporthodus haifensis from the southern Mediterranean off Tunisia and Libya. We collected more than one species of diplectanid monogeneans from this host, but among these only one dominant species was abundant.

Species of Pseudorhabdosynochus (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) from Groupers (Mycteroperca spp., Epinephelidae) in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic Ocean, with Special Reference to the 'Beverleyburtonae Group' and Description of Two New Species.

Pseudorhabdosynochus Yamaguti, 1958 is a species-rich diplectanid genus, mainly restricted to the gills of groupers (Epinephelidae) and especially abundant in warm seas. Species from the Mediterranean are not fully documented. Two new and two previously known species from the gills of Mycteroperca spp.

First detailed data on metazoan parasites of the rare species short beaked garfish Belone svetovidovi (Teleostei: Belonidae) from Tunisian coast, Central Mediterranean Sea.

Forty five specimens of the short beaked garfish Belone svetovidovi, a rare belonid species largely confused with the garfish Belone belone from Tunisian coast Sea were examined for metazoan parasite. Nine metazoan parasites species were identified: one monogenean (Axine sp.), 4 digeneans (Lecithostaphylus retroflexus, Tergestia acanthocephala, Aponurus laguncula and Condylocotyla pilodora metacercaria), one copepod (Bomolochus bellones), one isopod (Irona nana), one acanthocephalan (Telosentis exiguus) and one nematod Hysterotylacium sp.

Sclerodistomoides pacificus Kamegai, 1971 (Sclerodistomoididae Gibson & Bray, 1979) and Tetrochetus coryphaenae Yamaguti, 1934 (Accacoeliidae Odhner, 1911), two rarely reported digeneans from Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) (Belonidae), and a list of helminth parasites of Tylosurus acus (Lacépède).

Two rarely reported digenean parasites are redescribed: Sclerodistomoides pacificus Kamegai, 1971 (Sclerodistomoididae Gibson & Bray, 1979) from the gall bladder and Tetrochetus coryphaenae Yamaguti, 1934 (Accacoeliidae Odhner, 1911) from the digestive tract of the Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) off Tunisia. Sclerodistomoides pacificus and T. coryphaenae represent new host and geographical records for T.

Two gonad-infecting species of Philometra (Nematoda: Philometridae) from groupers (Serranidae) off Tunisia, with a key to Philometra species infecting serranid gonads.

Based on light and scanning electron microscopical studies of nematode specimens (males and mature females) collected from the ovary of groupers (Serranidae, Perciformes) in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia (near Tunis and Sfax), two gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda, Philometridae) are reported: Philometra inexpectata n. sp. from the mottled grouper Mycteroperca rubra and P.

Descriptions of Philometra aenei n. sp. and P. tunisiensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Philometridae) from Epinephelus spp. off Tunisia confirm a high degree of host specificity of gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 in groupers (Serranidae).

Based on light and electron microscopical studies of males and mature females, two new gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae) are described from the ovary of groupers, Epinephelus spp. (Perciformes; Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia (near Sfax): Philometra aenei n. sp.

Pseudorhabdosynochus regius n. sp. (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) from the mottled grouper Mycteroperca rubra (Teleostei) in the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Atlantic.

Pseudorhabdosynochus regius n. sp. is described from the gills of the mottled grouper Mycteroperca rubra caught off Senegal, Tunisia and Libya (type-locality: off Dakar, Senegal).

Total mercury and selenium concentrations in Sarpa salpa and Balistes capriscus and in their respective Digenean endoparasites Robphildollfusium fractum and Neoapocreadium chabaudi from Tunisia.

The present study reports the levels of mercury and selenium in Sarpa salpa and Balistes capriscus collected along the coast of Mahdia and Sfax (Tunisia). The systems constituted by S. salpa and Robphildollfusium fractum and by B.

Meggittina numida n. sp. (Cyclophyllidea: Catenotaeniidae), a parasite of the Shaw's jird Meriones shawi (Duvernoy) (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in Tunisia.

Meggittina numida n. sp. (Cyclophyllidea: Catenotaeniidae: Skrjabinotaeniinae) is described from the small intestine of the Shaw's jird Meriones shawi (Duvernoy) (Rodentia, Muridae, Gerbillinae) trapped in central Tunisia.

Lecithostaphylus tylosuri sp. nov. (Digenea, Zoogonidae) from the digestive tract of the needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei, Belonidae).

Lecithostaphylus tylosuri sp. nov. (Digenea, Zoogonidae) specimen were collected from the digestive tract of Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei, Belonidae) caught off the eastern coast of Tunisia.

Ultrastructural characters of the spermatozoon of the digenean Hypocreadium caputvadum Kacem et al., 2011 (Lepocreadioidea: Lepocreadiidae), an intestinal parasite of Balistes capriscus in Tunisia.

The ultrastructural organization of the spermatozoon of the digenean Hypocreadium caputvadum (Lepocreadioidea: Lepocreadiidae) is described. Live digeneans were collected from Balistes capriscus (Teleostei: Balistidae) from the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). The mature spermatozoon of H.

Lamellodiscus (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) parasites of Dentex macrophthalmus (Teleostei: Sparidae) from the North Atlantic coast of Africa, with a redescription of L. dentexi Aljoshkina, 1984, and description of three new species.

Lamellodiscus dentexi Aljoshkina, 1984, a gill parasite of Dentex macrophthalmus (Bloch), is redescribed based on new material from the northwest coast of Africa (Senegal and Morocco). Three new species of Lamellodiscus Johnston et Tiegs, 1922 from D. macrophthalmus are described, Lamellodiscus toguebayei sp.