“Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea

Guastella, Roberta; Marchini, Agnese; Caruso, Antonio; Cosentino, Claudia; Evans, Julian; Weinmann, Anna E.; Langer, Martin R.; Mancin, Nicoletta

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2019.05.016

Cited by 21 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…On the basis of the present data, we also revealed that some species, such as Amphistegina lessonii, have only been recently reported in Kuwait [28,58]. Amphisteginids have been reported to extend their geographical distribution in response to increased SST [76,77]. The first record of A. lessonii was found in two stations (15 at 14.6 m water depth and 33 at 22 m water depth), collected in 2000, around the unique island of Umm al Maradim that represents the largest and southernmost coral island in Kuwait [28].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Diversity: An Initial Insight into the Total Foraminiferal Diversity along the Kuwait Coastal Water

et al. 2020

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Kuwait territorial water hosts an important part of national biodiversity (i.e., zooplankton and phytoplankton), but very limited information exists on the overall diversity of benthic foraminifera. On the basis of the integration of publications, reports and theses with new available data from the Kuwait Bay and the northern islands, this study infers the total benthic foraminiferal diversity within Kuwait territorial water. This new literature survey documents the presence of 451 species belonging to 156 genera, 64 families, 31 superfamilies and 9 orders. These values are relatively high in consideration of the limited extension and the shallow depth of the Kuwait territorial water. Kuwait waters offer a variety of different environments and sub-environments (low salinity/muddy areas in the northern part, embayment, rocky tidal flats, coral reef systems, islands and shelf slope) that all together host largely diversified benthic foraminiferal communities. These figures are herein considered as underestimated because of the grouping of unassigned species due to the lack of reference collections and materials, as well as the neglection of the soft-shell monothalamids (‘allogromiids’).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Diversity: An Initial Insight into the Total Foraminiferal Diversity along the Kuwait Coastal Water

et al. 2020

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“…The species has a circumtropical distribution and has also been reported from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, and the Red and the Mediterranean Sea (see Langer, 2018 andFajemila et al, 2020 for biogeographic details). The biogeographic range of A. lessonii is strongly controlled by water temperature and in the Mediterranean Sea (Hollaus & Hottinger, 1997;material collected in 1974) the species has recently reached the coast of Sicily (Guastella et al, 2019). Amphistegina lessonii has established self-maintaining populations, and reaches high abundances in some areas (e.g.…”

Section: Amphistegina Lessonii D'orbigny 1826 1826mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amphistegina lessonii has established self-maintaining populations, and reaches high abundances in some areas (e.g. Central and eastern Mediterranean; Triantaphyllou et al, 2005;Guastella et al, 2019;Hyams-Kaphzan, unpublished). Whether the species has indeed the capability to cause a negative impact on the diversity of native biotas or to modify local habitats requires further study.…”

Section: Amphistegina Lessonii D'orbigny 1826 1826mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alien and cryptogenic Foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea: A revision of taxa as part of the EU 2020 Marine Strategy Framework Directive

2020

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The human-mediated translocation of marine alien species beyond their natural ranges started as early as people began navigating the sea and is of growing concern to nature conservation. The Mediterranean Sea is among the most severely affected areas by biological invasions, a phenomenon that has been fostered by the opening and recent extension of the Suez Canal, the transport and release of ballast water, aquaculture and aquarium trade, ichthyochory and other active or passive dispersal mechanisms. The increase of marine invasions has stimulated considerable research, but for some important groups, in particular microorganisms, data are still limited. In this paper we have reviewed the current status of marine alien foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea. Our survey includes a comrephensive taxonomic revision of previously recognized alien taxa, and new information obtained from the fossil record and from molecular studies. Our survey and reexamination of alien benthic foraminifera yielded a total of 43 validly recognized species and two species of cryptogenic taxa and reduces the number of previous recordings. The revised list includes both larger symbiont-bearing and smaller benthic foraminifera, including 16 hyaline-perforate, 3 agglutinated and 24 porcelaneous taxa. The vast majority of alien foraminifera recorded so far have become established in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea, indicative for translocation and introduction via the Suez Canal pathway. Only one species, Amphistegina lobifera, causes significant ecological impacts and fulfills the criteria to be considered as an invasive alien. This species is a prolific carbonate producer, and displays extreme forms of ecosystem invasibility with capabilities to reduce native diversity and species richness. The proliferation and rates of recently observed range extensions, track contemporary sea surface temperature increases, provide strong support for previous species distribution models, and corroborate findings that rising water temperatures, global climate change and the extension of climate belts are major drivers fueling the latitudinal range expansion of larger symbiont-bearing and smaller epiphytic foraminifera. Intensified efforts to study alien foraminifera on a molecular level, in dated cores and in ballast water are required to trace their source of origin, to identify vectors of introduction and to verify their status as true aliens.

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“…Changes and variability in SST climatological values will impact the definition and probability of occurrence of MHW, as described in [18,19]. Actual observed and projected changes in SST will also affect marine biodiversity [20][21][22], allowing non-native species to colonize new marine areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Warming Mediterranean: 38 Years of Increasing Sea Surface Temperature

2020

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The Mediterranean basin has been classified as a hot-spot for climate change. The Mediterranean Sea plays a fundamental regulatory role in the regional climate. We have analyzed the largest available and complete time series (1982–2019) of blended sea surface temperature (SST) data to study its seasonal cycle and look for a possible warming trend in the basin. From the analysis of the Mediterranean mean SST time series, a new temporal seasonal division is derived that differs from the one used in atmospheric climatology. Then, the SST time series were decomposed into their seasonal and trend components, and a consistent warming trend of 0.035 °C/year was obtained. The nature of this trend has been investigated, indicating a higher warming trend for both maximum and high/summer SST values than for the winter/colder ones. This reinforces the consistency of the SST increase since it is not only based on the presence of extreme values, but on a homogeneous basin global increase of high SST records as well. Although warming is found throughout the Mediterranean basin, the spatial variability found leads to the division of the basin into three distinct subareas regarding warming.

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“Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea

Cited by 21 publications

References 71 publications

Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Diversity: An Initial Insight into the Total Foraminiferal Diversity along the Kuwait Coastal Water

Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Diversity: An Initial Insight into the Total Foraminiferal Diversity along the Kuwait Coastal Water

Alien and cryptogenic Foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea: A revision of taxa as part of the EU 2020 Marine Strategy Framework Directive

A Warming Mediterranean: 38 Years of Increasing Sea Surface Temperature

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