IMIS

Posidonia meadow in Crete sampled in two seasons in 2017 from 5 to 20 m depth. Organisms on the leaves were collected with a net mounted on a metal frame with a 40 × 20-cm opening. The rhizomes were sampled with air-lift suction sampling. The sampler consisted of a PVC tube with a length and diameter of 100 cm and 8 cm, respectively. A SCUBA cylinder supplied air and was fitted at 10 cm above the mouth of the tube. At its other end, it is attached a removable 0.5-mm mesh nylon bag that could be closed and replaced underwater. Sampling on the rhizomes was carried out on 1-m2 square areas after defoliation in order to enhance collecting efficacy Study Extent : Plakias, SW Crete, Greece Method step description: Net on Posidonia leaves: 60 strokes per replicate (L6 samples) and 20 strokes per replicate (L2 samples). Suction sampling on Posidonia rhizomes: 1 square meter per replicate Project Data: PGA research in the Eastern Mediterranean is in the framework of the project “Historical ecology of Lessepsian migration” (PI: PGA) Title: Historical ecology of Lessepsian migration Funding: Austrian Science Fund (FWF) P28983-B29. Master Student’s fieldwork was supported by the Kurzfristige wissenschaftliche Auslandsstipendien of the University of Vienna, the non-profit organization Mare Mundi and the diving school Dive2gether