Aliens in the Aegean – a sea under siege (ALAS)

Katsanevakis, Stelios; Tsirintanis, Konstantinos; Sini, Maria; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Koukourouvli, Nikoletta

doi:10.3897/rio.6.e53057

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…under the "First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant", Project ALAS-"Aliens in the Aegean-a Sea under siege", project number: HFRI-FM17-1597 [107]. The surveys in Israel are part of the Israeli Mediterranean National Monitoring Program and supported by the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection.…”

Section: Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Fish and Sea Urchins Drive the Status of Canopy Forming Macroalgae in the Eastern Mediterranean

Nikolaou

Tsirintanis

Rilov

et al. 2023

Biology

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Canopy-forming macroalgae, such as Cystoseira sensu lato, increase the three-dimensional complexity and spatial heterogeneity of rocky reefs, enhancing biodiversity and productivity in coastal areas. Extensive loss of canopy algae has been recorded in recent decades throughout the Mediterranean Sea due to various anthropogenic pressures. In this study, we assessed the biomass of fish assemblages, sea urchin density, and the vertical distribution of macroalgal communities in the Aegean and Levantine Seas. The herbivore fish biomass was significantly higher in the South Aegean and Levantine compared to the North Aegean. Very low sea urchin densities suggest local collapses in the South Aegean and the Levantine. In most sites in the South Aegean and the Levantine, the ecological status of macroalgal communities was low or very low at depths deeper than 2 m, with limited or no canopy algae. In many sites, canopy algae were restricted to a very narrow, shallow zone, where grazing pressure may be limited due to harsh hydrodynamic conditions. Using Generalized Linear Mixed Models, we demonstrated that the presence of canopy algae is negatively correlated with the biomass of the invasive Siganus spp. and sea urchins. The loss of Cystoseira s.l. forests is alarming, and urgent conservation actions are needed.

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Section: Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Fish and Sea Urchins Drive the Status of Canopy Forming Macroalgae in the Eastern Mediterranean

Nikolaou

Tsirintanis

Rilov

et al. 2023

Biology

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“…No. SI2.721917) and "ALAS -ALiens in the Aegean -a Sea under siege" (Katsanevakis et al, 2020c), which was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the "First Call for HFRI Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant".…”

Section: Supplementary Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of macroalgal communities on shallow rocky reefs in the Aegean Sea indicates an impoverished ecological status

SAVIN,

SINI,

XYNOGALA

et al. 2023

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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Mediterranean rocky reefs are undergoing regime shifts, from a structurally complex and diverse state dominated by canopy- forming macroalgae to a degraded one characterised by low-lying turf or encrusting macroalgal species, due to increased anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Using data gathered from 89 sites across the entire Aegean Sea, this study aims to provide the most comprehensive health status assessment of shallow rocky reefs in the area, based on macroalgal community structure. Overall, 2520 benthic images were collected through photoquadrat sampling at 0, 5 and, 15 m depth. Five macroalgal and seven invertebrate morphofunctional groups, along with four substrate categories, were considered for community structure description. Health status was assessed using the reef-EBQI and EEI-c indices. Results indicate turf as the most widespread macroalgal group (36.8% average area cover), followed by encrusting calcareous (16.6%), shrubby (12.7%), articulated calcareous (8.9%), and canopy-forming algae (3.7%). Bare rock also occupied a substantial surface area (9.0%) with highest cover (13.8%) at 5 m. The area cover of canopy-forming algae was particularly low, ranging from 10% at 0 m to 0.1% at 15 m depth, on average. All depths pooled, according to the reef-EBQI index, the ecological status of the Aegean Sea was estimated to be ‘Bad’, mainly due to the bad ecological status of the 5 and 15 m stations. At 0 m depth, the status of the Aegean Sea was ranked ‘Moderate’ according to the reef-EBQI index and ‘Good’ according to the EEI-c index. The results underline the importance of considering a wide depth range when assessing the health status of rocky reef communities.

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“…under the "First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant" (Project ALAS -"ALiens in the Aegean -a Sea under siege"; Project Number: HFRI-FM17-1597; Katsanevakis et al 2020b). FaCr was partially funded by the project PO FEAMP CAMPANIA 2014(DRD n.35 of 15th March 2018.…”

Section: Funding Declarationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for Hyperthermophilic Electrotrophs for the Microbial Electrosynthesis of Organic Compounds

PILLOT¹,

Popall²,

Heussner³

et al. 2022

SSRN Journal

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Aliens in the Aegean – a sea under siege (ALAS)

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Invasive Fish and Sea Urchins Drive the Status of Canopy Forming Macroalgae in the Eastern Mediterranean

Invasive Fish and Sea Urchins Drive the Status of Canopy Forming Macroalgae in the Eastern Mediterranean

Assessment of macroalgal communities on shallow rocky reefs in the Aegean Sea indicates an impoverished ecological status

Screening for Hyperthermophilic Electrotrophs for the Microbial Electrosynthesis of Organic Compounds

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