Introduced marine macroflora of Lebanon and its distribution on the Levantine coast

Bitar, Ghazi; Ramos‐Esplá, A.A.; Ocaña, Óscar; Sghaier, Yassine Ramzi; Forcada, Aitor; Valle, Carlos; Shaer, Hassan M. El; Verlaque, Marc

doi:10.12681/mms.1993

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…turbinata-uvifera from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, and the South Levantine coast (for details see Verlaque et al, 2015). The species was first reported as C. chemnitzia from Algeria in 2015 based on S. Lamouti's personal communication (Verlaque et al, 2015); from Tunisia in 2016 (Sghaier et al, 2016) and Lebanon (Bitar et al, 2017). Caulerpa chemnitzia is typically considered as a non-aggressive component of the Lessepsian flora (Verlaque et al, 2000).…”

Section: First Documented Sighting Of Caulerpa Chemnitzia (Esper) Jvmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records 2019

et al. 2019

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This paper is a collection of novel distributional records of 20 species belonging to 8 phyla (Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata) from 11 Mediterranean countries, namely, Spain: an additional record of the Canary dentex Dentex canariensis is reported from Spain (Valencia), this is the northernmost record of this species in the Mediterranean; Algeria: the first documented record of Caulerpa chemnitzia is reported from the Algerian coast; France: the first record of the Spotted sea hare Aplysia dactylomela is reported from the eastern coast of Corsica; Italy: the first records of the Lessepsian polychaete Dorvillea similis and the alien bivalve Isognomon legumen are reported from Italian waters while additional records of Mnemiopsis leidyi in the south Adriatic are provided; Libya: the first record of an alien mollusc Crepidula fornicata is reported from Libyan waters; Malta: multiple sightings of gelatinous species Apolemia uvaria, Phacellophora camtschatica and Physophora hydrostatica are reported for the first time from Maltese waters, as well as the first tentative record of the Orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus cfr. coioides; Greece: an occurrence of a rare Bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus is reported from Hellenic Ionian waters, while the first records of the alien Mertens’ prawn-goby Vanderhorstia mertensi, the recently described cyclopoid copepod Oithona davisae and the alien red seaweed Asparagopsis armata are reported from the Aegean Sea. The presence of the micromollusc Euthymella colzumensis is confirmed for Greece; Cyprus: the first record of the red cornetfish Fistularia petimba is reported from Cyprus; Turkey: the first record of the alien jellyfish Marivagia stellata is reported from south-eastern Turkey; Israel: the first records of the sea nettle Chrysaora sp. in the Levant are reported.

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Section: First Documented Sighting Of Caulerpa Chemnitzia (Esper) Jvmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records 2019

et al. 2019

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“…The distribution of alien macroalgae was also extremely patchy ( Figure 4). This included mostly the three Indo-Pacific species, Bitar et al (2017); but first discovered in the Mediterranean in Israel in 2004, Israel et al (2010), and Stypopodium schimperi (already found in Syria in 1979 andin Lebanon in 1991, where it is now highly abundant all along the coast, Bitar et al (2017); first reported in Israel in 1996, Lundberg (1996). Large patches of G. rugosa (found either as monoculture or mixed with native macroalgae) were mainly present at around 10 m depth, dense carpets of C. parvulum were mainly present on deeper slopes (15-20 m deep), and S. schimperi was mainly found in the shallower depths among erect native macroalgae, mostly in the Achziv area.…”

Section: Rock Cover: the Domination Of Turf Paucity Of Brown Algaementioning

confidence: 99%

“…New patches presumably establish as a result of propagules or spores released from drifting algae after storms, and thus, with time, it is expected that these species will spread westward in the Mediterranean (none of them is currently known to have established large populations outside of the studied region). Conversely, why the thermophilic, highly invasive, Caulerpa racemosa and Caulerpa taxifolia, that have 'taken-over' many reefs in much of the Mediterranean including Cyprus (Klein & Verlaque, 2008), have not established on the Israeli reefs (although they have been reported in Lebanon, Bitar et al (2017)) is an enigma. Mienis, Galili, and Rapoport (1993); and again in a 2010 study, Shabtay, Tikochinski, Benayahu, and Rilov (2014) (1983)), now dominate the reef gastropod assemblage.…”

Section: Rock Cover: the Domination Of Turf Paucity Of Brown Algaementioning

confidence: 99%

Alien turf: Overfishing, overgrazing and invader domination in south‐eastern Levant reef ecosystems

Rilov

Peleg

Yeruham

et al. 2017

Aquatic Conservation

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Coastal reefs are highly diverse marine ecosystems that in many regions suffer today from growing pressures by human activities. Among the most highly‐stressed are those found in the Levantine basin (south‐eastern Mediterranean Sea). The Levant represents the trailing‐edge of distribution of native species where they are exposed to the most extreme temperature and salinity conditions, and the region is also fast‐warming and exposed to a great many alien species and strong fishing pressure. In this study, the ecological state of reefs in the south‐eastern Levant was assessed quantitatively (including inside a small marine reserve) using current, extensive, survey data with reference to anecdotal historical information on their more pristine past. The results of very extensive subtidal community surveys that were conducted in north Israel indicate that reefs in this area are currently dominated by turf‐forming algae and aliens, and sustain low numbers of top predators. Specifically, it was found that on these Levant reefs: (1) commercial species represent a very small part of the fish assemblage (except inside the reserve); (2) alien species constitute a considerable portion (23–44%) of the fish assemblage (including in the reserve) and 95–99% of epi‐benthic molluscs, including inside the marine reserve; and (3) turf barrens are the dominant substrate cover, while cover of native brown algae canopy is limited to small patches occurring only during winter and spring. These findings suggest that the Levant reefs have been highly transformed by overfishing and alien invasions, and probably also climate change, and that even well managed marine reserves had little effect on alien species presence. From a biogeographic‐conservation perspective, as both warming and bioinvasions continue in the Mediterranean, it is expected that this degraded reef state will gradually advance westward. Alleviating fishing pressure with marine reserves might make the reefs more resilient to these regional pressures, but alien invaders will remain a dominant feature in the system. Therefore, a more realistic conservation target might be the preservation or restoration of ecosystem functions rather than the original native biodiversity.

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“…While native algal forests have been declining in the region (Rilov et al, ), multiple tropical macroalgal species have recently been populating the reefs (Bitar et al, ; Rilov et al, ). Among them is Galaxaura rugosa —a small calcareous, terete, shrubby rhodophyte.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropicalization may invert trophic state and carbon budget of shallow temperate rocky reefs

et al. 2020

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1. Global warming mediates and maintains the tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems. Recent studies have demonstrated that this process causes shifts from algal forests to denuded non-canopy states in temperate reefs. It has been suggested that these changes would incur significant consequences to ecosystem functioning. 2.In this study, we tested how tropicalization affects habitat-provisioning functions and carbon turnover of a shallow reef in the fast-warming and highly invaded southeastern Mediterranean Sea, in-situ. On a single shallow reef, we conducted measurements of these functions in three habitats: dwindling native brown algal (Cystoseira) forest, dominant turf (formed by overgrazing of tropical rabbitfish) and expanding tropical shrubs dominated by red calcifying algae (Galaxaura rugosa).3. Algal forest was an autotrophic net carbon sink and provided habitat for high species diversity and the largest community biomass. The denuded turf was heterotrophic and provided habitat for the lowest species diversity and community biomass. While diversity was as high in tropical shrubs as in the algal forest, it had lower biomass and functioned as a heterotrophic net carbon source. Synthesis.Our study exemplifies possible functional consequences of tropicalization-driven regime shifts on shallow temperate rocky reefs, and how these can invert the net trophic state and carbon balance. K E Y W O R D S algal forests turf shrubs, calcification CaCO 3 dissolution, carbon sink source, ecosystem functioning, in-situ benthic incubation chambers, net community production respiration, regime phase shift, shallow temperate rocky reefs | 845 Journal of Ecology PELEG Et aL.

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Introduced marine macroflora of Lebanon and its distribution on the Levantine coast

Cited by 22 publications

References 21 publications

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records 2019

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records 2019

Alien turf: Overfishing, overgrazing and invader domination in south‐eastern Levant reef ecosystems

Tropicalization may invert trophic state and carbon budget of shallow temperate rocky reefs

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