Invading the Mediterranean Sea: biodiversity patterns shaped by human activities

Katsanevakis, Stelios; Coll, Marta; Piroddi, Chiara; Steenbeek, Jeroen; Lasram, Frida Ben Rais; Zenetos, Argyro; Cardoso, Ana Cristina

doi:10.3389/fmars.2014.00032

Cited by 231 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…This first Mediterranean record of C. nigri is from a busy Maltese harbour which caters for dockyards, oil platform servicing, transhipment activities and berthing of large marine vessels including cruise-liners and super-yachts. Like elsewhere in the region (Galil, 2006;Katsanevakis et al, 2014), such maritime activity can be considered as the main vector in the introduction of alien species. This new record of alien species, follows others from areas that are characterized by intensive marine activity in Malta, such as the first Mediterranean records of Stegastes variabilis, Lutjanus fulviflamma and Abudefduf hoefleri (Vella et al, 2015a(Vella et al, , b & 2016a.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to these, there are non-native tropical Epinephelinae species, including six Indo-Pacific Epinephelus species, E. malabaricus, E. coioides, E. merra, E. fasciatus, E. geoffroyi and E. areolatus, that were first recorded in 1966 (Heemstra and Randall 1993), 1969(Ben-Tuvia and Lourie 1969Heemstra and Golani 1993), 2004(Lelong 2005, 2011 (Bariche and Heemstra 2012), 2015 (Golani et al, 2015) and 2015 (Rothman et al, 2016) respectively. Additionally, another two Atlantic species, Cephalopholis taeniops, first noted in 2002 (Ben Abdallah et al, 2007), and Mycteroperca fusca, reported in 2010 (Heemstra et al, 2010) were also found in the Mediterranean Sea. The increase in new records of non-native Epinephelinae species in this region follows the trend noted for a number of other tropical fish groups (Golani 2010;Golani 2013;Vella et al, 2015aVella et al, , b & 2016a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Vella

Darmanin

2016

Mar Biodivers Rec

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Background: Non-native marine species, including tropical eastern Atlantic fish species are on the increase in Malta, with shipping activities being the main vector for the movement of these alien species from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean Sea. This calls for cooperation and collaboration between various sea-users and researchers to ensure continuous monitoring of coastal biodiversity. Methods: Research methods involving local fishermen cooperation in monitoring efforts to identify and track populations of alien species in the Central Mediterranean has led to new records for the genus Cephalopholis (Perciformes: Serranidae) in Malta. Morphological characteristics, meristic counts and mitochondrial DNA sequences from specimens of both species sampled from Maltese waters were analysed to confirm their species identify accurately, essential for tracking their respective population expansions in the Mediterranean. Results and conclusion: Results from this study have led to confirmation of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Günther, 1859), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the establishment of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828) in Maltese waters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Vella

Darmanin

2016

Mar Biodivers Rec

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“…In recent years, the lake was characterized by a consistent decrease in biodiversity of the zooplankton community (Zagami & Brugnano, 2013), and by the introduction of potentially invasive species (e.g., the polychaete Linopherus canariensis; Cosentino & Giacobbe, 2011). The whole area of the Strait of Messina is mostly impacted by the alien species introduced by shipping activities (Katsanevakis et al, 2014). However, in this case, the introduction of P. marinus by means of ballast waters or by attachment to ship hulls must be excluded because the lake is shallow and non-navigable, but could be due to aquaculture, which is extensively carried out in the lake.…”

Section: Establishment Of Pseudodiaptomus Marinus In Italian Watersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spreading factors of a globally invading coastal copepod

Sabia

Zagami²,

Mazzocchi

et al. 2015

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most affected areas by alien invasions, which are continuously increasing due to the intense human activities and environmental changes that favor the introduction of species previously unable to colonize the basin. This is the case of the copepods of the genus Pseudodiaptomus, first described in the Indian Ocean and considered as one of the most resistant to unfavorable conditions but never recorded in the Mediterranean until 2011 though present in adjacent seas. Pseudodiaptomus marinus, in particular, is common in shallow marine-brackish waters and is one of the species often found in ballast waters and in aquaculture plants. Native of Japan, it has started spreading since 1950s, and its populations have established in several harbors, eutrophic inlets, and lagoons along the coasts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the last few years, P. marinus has been increasingly reported in European Seas (Mediterranean Sea and North Sea).In this article, we review the invasion history of this species with a special emphasis on its records in the Mediterranean Sea, and its occurrence and establishment in Sicilian waters. We also compare the biological traits and population dynamics of P. marinus with those of other representative of the genus and discuss about the possible mechanisms of introduction in new environments. The aim of this work is to understand the reasons of successful invasion of P. marinus and the environmental and biological factors that may lead to its further biogeographic expansion.

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“…In the last decades the Mediterranean Sea has experienced a dramatic increase in the frequency of introduction and rate of expansion of alien species (Galil, 2000;Rilov & Galil, 2009;Katsanevakis et al, 2014). Arthropods epitomize this on-going invasion process: in 2008, the CIESM Atlas of Exotic Species listed 70 alien species; three years later, Galil (2011) listed 106 species, while Nunes et al (2014) counted 242 species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The trophic position of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 in the food web of Parila Lagoon (South Eastern Adriatic, Croatia): a first assessment using stable isotopes.

et al. 2016

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The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is to date widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea, where is recognized as an Invasive Alien Species. Noticeably, while records of its occurrence are increasing, quantitative information on its functional role in the benthic food webs of invaded coastal habitats are scarce.Here, carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures were measured in C. sapidus and other representative taxa of the benthic flora and fauna sampled in summer in the Parila Lagoon, a coastal basin located in the Neretva River estuary area (Croatia). d15N values of individual blue crab specimens were used to calculate their trophic position (TP) , using the filter feeder mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis as the isotopic baseline. In general, the isotopic signature of C. sapidus was comparable with those characterizing invertebrate and fish predators (e.g., Hexaplex trunculus, Gobius niger). An average trophic position of 3.73 was estimated for the blue crab population. However, a considerable inter-individual variation was observed in TP values, significantly related with the size of the specimens. Interestingly, a hump-shaped quadratic polynomial resulted the best fitting model for the data, characterized for small-size individuals by a positive body size-TP relationship, leveling or even turning negative for larger adult crabs. The interplay between environmental factors and ontogenetic diet shifts in determining the trophic position of the blue crab and, ultimately, its ecological impact on the benthic community of the Parila Lagoon is discussed.

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Invading the Mediterranean Sea: biodiversity patterns shaped by human activities

Cited by 231 publications

References 45 publications

Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Spreading factors of a globally invading coastal copepod

The trophic position of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 in the food web of Parila Lagoon (South Eastern Adriatic, Croatia): a first assessment using stable isotopes.

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