In this paper, the development of a Web-based GIS system for the monitoring and assessment of the Black Sea is presented. The integrated multilevel system is based on the combination of terrestrial and satellite Earth observation data through the technological assets provided by innovative information tools and facilities. The key component of the system is a unified, easy to update geodatabase including a wide range of appropriately selected environmental parameters. The collection procedure of current and historical data along with the methods employed for their processing in three test areas of the current study are extensively discussed, and special attention is given to the overall design and structure of the developed geodatabase. Furthermore, the information system includes a decision support component (DSC) which allows assessment and effective management of a wide range of heterogeneous data and environmental parameters within an appropriately designed and well-tested methodology. The DSC provides simplified and straightforward results based on a classification procedure, thus contributing to a monitoring system not only for experts but for auxiliary staff as well. The examples of the system's functionality that are presented highlight its usability as well as the assistance that is provided to the decision maker. The given examples emphasize on the Danube Delta area; however, the information layers of the integrated system can be expanded in the future to cover other regions, thus contributing to the development of an environmental monitoring system for the entire Black Sea.

The freshwater bryozoan Pectinatella magnifica (Leidy, 1851) was found for the first time in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta (Poludionniy arm, 45°25.00˝ N, 29°45.25˝ E) in 2005. Since then, it has increased in abundance. Th e greatest colony numbers occurred on both dead and living reed stems in the delta region 1.5-2.0 km upstream from the Black Sea.

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The Fourth International Symposium on “Alien Species in the Holarctic” was convened September 22–28, 2013, by the Russian Academy of Sciences at the I.D. Papanin Institute for the Biology of Inland Waters (IBIW) on the Volga River in Borok (∼355 km north of Moscow). The Organizing Committee spanned five countries (France, People's Republic of China, Poland, Russian Federation, and the United States), with participants (n=150) across the breadth and depth of the Russian Federation, from countries in proximity to it (i.e., Armenia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Siberia, and The Republic of China), and more globally from the United States to Tasmania and Norway to South Africa. This report provides a synopsis of invasive species issues that were discussed at the symposium and, as such, provides an international window for the evaluation of fisheries‐related topics in this part of the globe.