Emmanouela Vernadou

@article{daraghmeh_longterm_2025,
title = {A Long-Term Ecological Research Data Set From the Marine Genetic Monitoring Program ARMS-MBON 2018–2020},
author = {Nauras Daraghmeh and Katrina Exter and Justine Pagnier and Piotr Balazy and Ibon Cancio and Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou and Eva Chatzinikolaou and Maciej Chelchowski and Nathan Alexis Mitchell Chrismas and Thierry Comtet and Thanos Dailianis and Klaas Deneudt and Oihane Diaz De Cerio and Markos Digenis and Vasilis Gerovasileiou and José González and Laura Kauppi and Jon Bent Kristoffersen and Piotr Kukliński and Rafał Lasota and Liraz Levy and Magdalena Małachowicz and Borut Mavrič and Jonas Mortelmans and Estefania Paredes and Anita Poćwierz‐Kotus and Henning Reiss and Ioulia Santi and Georgia Sarafidou and Grigorios Skouradakis and Jostein Solbakken and Peter A U Staehr and Javier Tajadura and Jakob Thyrring and Jesus S Troncoso and Emmanouela Vernadou and Frederique Viard and Haris Zafeiropoulos and Małgorzata Zbawicka and Christina Pavloudi and Matthias Obst},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1755-0998.14073
/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Daraghmeh-MolEcoRes-6.pdf},
doi = {10.1111/1755-0998.14073},
issn = {1755-098X, 1755-0998},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-02-05},
urldate = {2025-02-05},
journal = {Molecular Ecology Resources},
pages = {e14073},
abstract = {ABSTRACT

Molecular methods such as DNA/eDNA metabarcoding have emerged as useful tools to document the biodiversity of complex communities over large spatio‐temporal scales. We established an international Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (ARMS‐MBON) combining standardised sampling using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) with metabarcoding for genetic monitoring of marine hard‐bottom benthic communities. Here, we present the data of our first sampling campaign comprising 56 ARMS units deployed in 2018–2019 and retrieved in 2018–2020 across 15 observatories along the coasts of Europe and adjacent regions. We describe the open‐access data set (image, genetic and metadata) and explore the genetic data to show its potential for marine biodiversity monitoring and ecological research. Our analysis shows that ARMS recovered more than 60 eukaryotic phyla capturing diversity of up to textasciitilde5500 amplicon sequence variants and textasciitilde1800 operational taxonomic units, and up to textasciitilde250 and textasciitilde50 species per observatory using the cytochrome
c
oxidase subunit I (COI) and 18S rRNA marker genes, respectively. Further, ARMS detected threatened, vulnerable and non‐indigenous species often targeted in biological monitoring. We show that while deployment duration does not drive diversity estimates, sampling effort and sequencing depth across observatories do. We recommend that ARMS should be deployed for at least 3–6 months during the main growth season to use resources as efficiently as possible and that post‐sequencing curation is applied to enable statistical comparison of spatio‐temporal entities. We suggest that ARMS should be used in biological monitoring programs and long‐term ecological research and encourage the adoption of our ARMS‐MBON protocols.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{skouradakis_mass_2024,
title = {Mass mortality of the invasive echinoid Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778) in Crete, East Mediterranean Sea},
author = {Grigorios Skouradakis and Emmanouela Vernadou and Panayota Koulouri and Thanos Dailianis},
url = {https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/hcmr-med-mar-sc/article/view/36447
https://imbbc.hcmr.gr/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024-Skouradakis-MMS-41.pdf},
doi = {10.12681/mms.36447},
issn = {1791-6763, 1108-393X},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-09-23},
urldate = {2024-09-23},
journal = {Mediterranean Marine Science},
volume = {25},
number = {2},
pages = {480--483},
abstract = {Diadema setosum is an echinoid of Indo-Pacific origin that invaded the Mediterranean Sea in 2006. It is an ecosystem engineer with an important ecological function in its native range, but it can have a detrimental effect on Mediterranean reefs. Recently in 2022 a mass mortality event (MME) affecting this species was recorded in the east Aegean Sea in the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin. We are reporting herein a westward progression of the MME in 2023 affecting established populations in various locations around the island of Crete.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{varamogianni-mamatsi_comparative_2023,
title = {Comparative Chemical Profiling and Antimicrobial/Anticancer Evaluation of Extracts from Farmed versus Wild Agelas oroides and Sarcotragus foetidus Sponges},
author = {Despoina Varamogianni-Mamatsi and Maria João Nunes and Vanda Marques and Thekla I Anastasiou and Eirini Kagiampaki and Emmanouela Vernadou and Thanos Dailianis and Nicolas Kalogerakis and Luís C Branco and Cecília M P Rodrigues and Rita G Sobral and Susana P Gaudêncio and Manolis Mandalakis},
url = {https://imbbc.hcmr.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-Varamogianni-Mamatsi-marinedrugs-62.pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/21/12/612},
doi = {10.3390/md21120612},
issn = {1660-3397},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-12-04},
urldate = {2023-12-05},
journal = {Marine Drugs},
volume = {21},
number = {12},
pages = {612},
abstract = {Marine sponges are highly efficient in removing organic pollutants and their cultivation, adjacent to fish farms, is increasingly considered as a strategy for improving seawater quality. Moreover, these invertebrates produce a plethora of bioactive metabolites, which could translate into an extra profit for the aquaculture sector. Here, we investigated the chemical profile and bioactivity of two Mediterranean species (i.e., Agelas oroides and Sarcotragus foetidus) and we assessed whether cultivated sponges differed substantially from their wild counterparts. Metabolomic analysis of crude sponge extracts revealed species-specific chemical patterns, with A. oroides and S. foetidus dominated by alkaloids and lipids, respectively. More importantly, farmed and wild explants of each species demonstrated similar chemical fingerprints, with the majority of the metabolites showing modest differences on a sponge mass-normalized basis. Furthermore, farmed sponge extracts presented similar or slightly lower antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, compared to the extracts resulting from wild sponges. Anticancer assays against human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116) revealed marginally active extracts from both wild and farmed S. foetidus populations. Our study highlights that, besides mitigating organic pollution in fish aquaculture, sponge farming can serve as a valuable resource of biomolecules, with promising potential in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{varamogianni-mamatsi_uptake_2023,
title = {Uptake of aquaculture-related dissolved organic pollutants by marine sponges: Kinetics and mechanistic insights from a laboratory study},
author = {Despoina Varamogianni-Mamatsi and Thekla I Anastasiou and Emmanouela Vernadou and Nikos Kouvarakis and Eirini Kagiampaki and Nicolas Kalogerakis and Thanos Dailianis and Manolis Mandalakis},
url = {https://imbbc.hcmr.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-Varamogianni-Mamatsi-STEnv-40-preprint.pdf
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969723042249},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165601},
issn = {00489697},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-08-01},
urldate = {2023-08-14},
journal = {Science of The Total Environment},
volume = {899},
pages = {165601},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{rallis_early_2022,
title = {Early Succession Patterns of Benthic Assemblages on Artificial Reefs in the Oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Basin},
author = {Ioannis Rallis and Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou and Marta Florido and Francisco Sedano and Avgi Procopiou and Melina Chertz-Bynichaki and Emmanouela Vernadou and Wanda Plaiti and Panayota Koulouri and Costas Dounas and Vasilis Gerovasileiou and Thanos Dailianis},
url = {https://imbbc.hcmr.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Rallis-jmse-35.pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/620},
doi = {10.3390/jmse10050620},
issn = {2077-1312},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-05-01},
urldate = {2022-05-09},
journal = {Journal of Marine Science and Engineering},
volume = {10},
number = {5},
pages = {620},
abstract = {The colonization of artificial structures by benthic organisms in the marine realm is known to be affected by the general trophic patterns of the biogeographical zone and the prevailing environmental traits at the local scale. The present work aims to present quantitative data on the early settlement progress of macrofaunal benthic assemblages developing on artificial reefs (ARs) deployed at the Underwater Biotechnological Park of Crete (UBPC) in the oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean. Visual census and subsequent image analysis combined with scraped quadrats were used to describe the establishment of the communities and their development over three consecutive campaigns, spanning 5 years post-deployment. Macroalgae consistently dominated in terms of coverage, while sessile invertebrates displayed different patterns over the years. Polychaeta and Bryozoa were gradually replaced by Cnidaria, while Porifera and Mollusca displayed an increasing trend over the years. Motile benthos was mainly represented by Mollusca, while the abundance of Polychaeta increased in contrast to that of Crustacea. For both sessile and motile assemblages, significant differences were observed among the years. The results of this study indicate that ecological succession is still ongoing, and further improvement in the monitoring methodology can assist towards a more accurate assessment of the community composition in complex AR structures.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{varamogianni-mamatsi_multi-species_2022,
title = {A Multi-Species Investigation of Sponges’ Filtering Activity towards Marine Microalgae},
author = {Despoina Varamogianni-Mamatsi and Thekla I Anastasiou and Emmanouela Vernadou and Nikos Papandroulakis and Nicolas Kalogerakis and Thanos Dailianis and Manolis Mandalakis},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/20/1/24},
doi = {10.3390/md20010024},
issn = {1660-3397},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-02-28},
journal = {Marine Drugs},
volume = {20},
number = {1},
pages = {24},
abstract = {Chronic discharge of surplus organic matter is a typical side effect of fish aquaculture, occasionally leading to coastal eutrophication and excessive phytoplankton growth. Owing to their innate filter-feeding capacity, marine sponges could mitigate environmental impact under integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) scenarios. Herein, we investigated the clearance capacity of four ubiquitous Mediterranean sponges (Agelas oroides, Axinella cannabina, Chondrosia reniformis and Sarcotragus foetidus) against three microalgal substrates with different size/motility characteristics: the nanophytoplankton Nannochloropsis sp. (textasciitilde3.2 μm, nonmotile) and Isochrysis sp. (textasciitilde3.8 μm, motile), as well as the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (textasciitilde21.7 μm, nonmotile). In vitro cleaning experiments were conducted using sponge explants in 1 L of natural seawater and applying different microalgal cell concentrations under light/dark conditions. The investigated sponges exhibited a wide range of retention efficiencies for the different phytoplankton cells, with the lowest average values found for A. cannabina (37%) and the highest for A. oroides (70%). The latter could filter up to 14.1 mL seawater per hour and gram of sponge wet weight, by retaining 100% of Isochrysis at a density of 105 cells mL−1, under darkness. Our results highlight differences in filtering capacity among sponge species and preferences for microalgal substrates with distinct size and motility traits.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}