The Mediterranean Sea Made By Luke Sammut Form 3P St. Augustines College

Index Brief History on the Mediterranean Sea. Facts about the Mediterranean Sea. Organisms that are found in the Mediterranean. Brief information about some organisms found in the Mediterranean sea. Pollution in the Mediterranean. The Maltese Islands. References

Brief History About the Mediterranean Sea Before the Mediterranean Sea was created, there was the so called Tethys Sea. This sea was much larger in size than the Mediterranean. The picture below shows the Tethys Sea.

Facts and General Information about the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean is 2,400 km long with a maximum width of 1,600 km; its greatest depth is 4,400 m, off Cape Matapan, Greece. The Mediterranean is then divided into: the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean seas. There are about 400 species of fish found in the Mediterranean.

Some Organisms Found in the Mediterranean Adder Pike Stargazer Sting Ray Moray Eel Barracuda

The Adder Pike This fish varies in length from 10cm to 20cm. The dorsal fin of this fish has five poisonous spines. Its operculum are covered with a poisonous spine. The diagram below shows a typical boney or osseous fish.

The Stargazer The fishs head is quite robust and is found in a cuboid shape. Its eyes are at the top of its head. This is why the name of stargazer is given since it is continually gazing at the stars. Its colours are mainly brown or blackish with yellow. Something interesting about this fish is that it takes a very long time die, even when it is out of the sea. It may live up to 5 hours.

The Sting Ray Most of the species of sting rays found are harmless apart from their huge size. However a few species of sting rays are armed with a tail which has stinging, serrated spines ( this is why they are called sting rays). Some of which are also electric. The picture shows how people usually encounter these organisms and are harmed with the tail.

The Moray Eel Being long and snake-like, it can easily be distinguished from other fish. This fish can grow up to 1 to 2 metres. Its colour is that of a black one with golden spots. Its mouth is equipped with very sharp teeth and when it bites its prey, it is very difficult to get it off. The picture shows the sharp teeth of the moray eel.

The Barracuda The barracudas body is elongated and its mouth is equipped with sharp teeth. The length of the adult Mediterranean barracuda is about half to one metre. Colours vary from black to dark green and sometimes silver. These fish like to be in shoals and are very well known for killing swimmers when they are in large numbers. The picture shows a shoal of barracudas

Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea This sea is frequently used for oil transport and up to one million tons of oil are let out from accidental spills, illegal bunkering and cleaning practices. There is also pollution in river systems such as Po, Ebro and Nile which carry a substantial number of indutrialised wastes. The Mediterranean is almost land-locked making the pollution more sensitive as water renewal takes very long.

The Maltese Islands Malta is approximately located at the centre of the Mediterranean, south-east of Sicily with an area of about 316km 2. Malta is one of the islands that use freshwater resources due to sea pollution in the Mediterranean. It is estimated that by 2025 one out of every 2 countries in the Mediterranean will be using fresh water resources.

References