Evaluating the long term effectiveness of a Mediterranean marine protected area to tackle the effects of invasive and range expanding herbivorous fish on rocky reefs

Dimitriadis, C.; Marampouti, C.; Calò, A.; Di Franco, A.; Giakoumi, S.; Di Franco, E.; Di Lorenzo, M.; Gerovasileiou, V.; Guidetti, P.; Pey, A.; Sini, M.; Sourbès, L.

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106293

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…After the end of the rapid warming period that promotes their arrival, exotic species may either persist indefinitely, even if with highly variable numbers (natural fluctuation model), or abruptly reduce to virtually disappear (boom and bust model) [121]; the latter possibility might be chiefly expectable if the species does not reproduce sexually in the newly colonized area [122]. Should K. vaigiensis become established, the addition of another herbivorous fish species could severely impact the already impoverished macroalgal vegetation of the Ligurian Sea [123][124][125].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Changing Biogeography of the Ligurian Sea: Seawater Warming and Further Records of Southern Species

Azzola,

Bianchi,

Merotto

et al. 2024

Diversity

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Global warming is causing poleward expansion of species ranges. Temperate seas, in particular, are undergoing a process known as ‘tropicalisation’, i.e., the combination of sea-water warming and establishment of southern species. The Ligurian Sea is one of the coldest sectors of the Mediterranean and has thus been characterized by a dearth of warm-temperate species and a comparative abundance of cold-temperate species. This paper uses a time series of sea surface temperature (SST) and new records of thermophilic fish species to reconsider the biogeography of the Ligurian Sea. SST has risen by about 0.7 °C on average between 1948 and 2023, but two phases may be distinguished: a cool one (ended in the mid-1980s) and a warm one (still ongoing); the latter phase shows alternating periods of rapid warming and comparatively stationary temperature. The arrival of thermophilic species coincided with the periods of rapid warming; some of these species were established in the subsequent stationary periods. Heatwaves and climate-related diseases associated with the periods of rapid warming have caused mass mortalities of autochthonous species. Our knowledge on the biogeography of the Ligurian Sea was established during the cool phase; the present situation, however, calls for re-defining the chorological spectrum of the Ligurian Sea biota.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%