PhD Arthur Decae 2010 - Ghent Ecology - Universiteit Gent
PhD Arthur Decae 2010 - Ghent Ecology - Universiteit Gent
PhD Arthur Decae 2010 - Ghent Ecology - Universiteit Gent
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Indian Ocean and the Strait of Gibraltar would open (probably periodically) to connect the<br />
western Mediterranean with the Atlantic again. The western Mediterranean in this period was<br />
a distinct sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Opening of the Strait of Sicily in time would<br />
renew the connection between the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean Basin. The<br />
familiar geography of the region is now becoming visible although the major peninsulas and<br />
archipelagos as well as the connection between the Black Sea (Bosporus – Dardanelle<br />
connection) still had to develop (Fig. 4).<br />
Fig. 4 Mediterranean in the early Miocene (approx. 20myBP). The western Mediterranean is separated<br />
from the eastern Mediterranean, The Paratethyis is reduced to isolated basins and the European<br />
Continent is taking its final shape. Source: R.Blakey.ucc.nau.edu/<br />
Mediterranean Biodiversity<br />
What is the connection between the above exposé on plate tectonics and the high biodiversity<br />
in the Mediterranean The geological history sketched-out here shows that the Mediterranean<br />
was formed at the crossroads of the African, Asian and European continents (Fig. 3). So, parts<br />
of the native florae and faunae of these three continents are expected to have met and mixed<br />
within the Mediterranean leading to an increase of species richness. Moreover one of the three<br />
contributing continents, Europe, had existed as an extensive archipelago of larger and smaller<br />
islands for many millions of years. In this archipelago the evolution of island endemics must<br />
have been high and the contribution from Europe to the later Mediterranean flora and fauna<br />
must have been particularly rich. This reasoning however only relates to terrestrial<br />
biodiversity. The repeated opening and closing of seaways and the constant formation of<br />
separate aquatic basins both in the Mediterranean and the Paratethys must have had further<br />
effects of the enrichment on the marine flora and fauna of the Mediterranean. These basic<br />
conditions for the development of a particularly rich biodiversity in the Mediterranean have<br />
prevailed throughout the geological formation of the region to our present time. And there is<br />
even more than the historical high diversity of terrestrial and marine biomes in the