The spaghetti bryozoan Amathia verticillata, formerly known as Zoobotryon verticillatum, was first described in 1822 from Naples, Italy, although this species was already present in 1807 at Cadiz, ...Spain. This ctenostome has long been considered a native species in the Mediterranean Sea but it has recently been suggested to be of Caribbean origin. It is most likely to have been introduced by vessels as hull fouling. This pseudo-indigenous species, i.e. a non-indigenous species (NIS) having been perceived to be native, has been found in several marinas and harbours within the Mediterranean Sea. In November 2014, this bryozoan species was abundant in the La Grande Motte marina on the south coast of France. Several thousand colonies were estimated to be present within this marina attached to the floating pontoon units that supported a floating boardwalk. Of the berthed craft examined, 31% were fouled with this species, and it was occasionally a prominent fouling species. Several macroinvertebrate species were associated with A. verticillata colonies, including some NIS. Paracerceis sculpta, Paranthura japonica and Caprella scaura, that are recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean coast of France. A. verticillata might support their transfer elsewhere by providing a habitat and substrate when attached to vessel hulls.Original Abstract: El briozoo espagueti Amathia verticillata, anteriormente conocido como Zoobotryon verticillatum, fue descrito por primera vez en 1822 en Napoles, Italia, aunque esta especie ya estaba presente en 1807 en Cadiz, Espana. Este ctenostomado ha sido considerado por mucho tiempo como una especie nativa del Mar Mediterraneo, pero se ha sugerido recientemente que es originario del Caribe. Es probable que haya sido introducido incrustado en los cascos de los barcos. Esta especie pseudoindigena, es decir, una especie introducida que ha sido percibida como nativa, se ha encontrado en varios puertos comerciales y deportivos del Mar Mediterraneo. En noviembre de 2014, esta especie de briozoo era abundante en el puerto deportivo de La Grande Motte en la costa sur de Francia. Se estimaron varios miles de colonias presentes en este puerto, adheridas a las unidades de pontones flotantes que sostienen el paseo maritimo flotante. El treinta y uno por ciento de los barcos atracados, examinados en el puerto deportivo, estaban incrustados con esta especie, cuyo aspecto algunas veces fue una sola incrustacion prominente. Varias especies de macroinvertebrados se asociaron con las colonias del A. verticillata, incluyendo algunas especies introducidas que se registran por primera vez en la costa Mediterranea de Francia: Paracerceis sculpta, Paranthura japonica y Caprella scaura. Este briozoo podria ayudar a la transferencia de diferentes macroinvertebrados a otros lugares, pues proporciona un habitat y un substrato cuando esta adherido a los cascos de los barcos.
The human-mediated introduction of marine non-indigenous species is a centuries- if not millennia-old phenomenon, but was only recently acknowledged as a potent driver of change in the sea. We ...provide a synopsis of key historical milestones for marine bioinvasions, including timelines of (a) discovery and understanding of the invasion process, focusing on transfer mechanisms and outcomes, (b) methodologies used for detection and monitoring, (c) approaches to ecological impacts research, and (d) management and policy responses. Early (until the mid-1900s) marine bioinvasions were given little attention, and in a number of cases actively and routinely facilitated. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, several conspicuous non-indigenous species outbreaks with strong environmental, economic, and public health impacts raised widespread concerns and initiated shifts in public and scientific perceptions. These high-profile invasions led to policy documents and strategies to reduce the introduction and spread of non-indigenous species, although with significant time lags and limited success and focused on only a subset of transfer mechanisms. Integrated, multi-vector management within an ecosystem-based marine management context is urgently needed to address the complex interactions of natural and human pressures that drive invasions in marine ecosystems.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The precise number of Okenia taxa inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their general taxonomy, varies according to different specialists. So far, eight valid species have been reported from ...the area: Okenia aspersa (Alder & Hancock, 1845), Okenia cupella (Vogel & Schultz, 1970), Okenia elegans (Leuckart, 1828), Okenia hispanica Valdés & Ortea, 1995, Okenia impexa Er. Marcus, 1957, Okenia leachii (Alder & Hancock, 1854), Okenia mediterranea (Ihering, 1886), and Okenia zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910). Of these, only three (O. elegans, O. hispanica, and O. mediterranea) have their type localities in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the others were described from different biogeographic areas and later included in the Mediterranean biota. We carried out a review on Mediterranean Okenia species through an integrative approach, based on a wide literature search and a morphological and molecular analysis of available type material and samples collected recently. The present study confirmed the presence of O. aspersa, O. elegans, O. hispanica, and O. mediterranea in the Mediterranean Sea, although leaving remaining questions about some of those taxa. The distribution of O. cupella, O. impexa, and O. zoobotryon is limited to the western Atlantic, and of O. leachii to the eastern Atlantic. All specimens previously identified as O. cupella, O. impexa, and O. zoobotryon by different authors in the Mediterranean Sea were repeatedly misidentified. Thus, we describe Okenia problematica sp. nov. and Okenia longiductis sp. nov., from the "Mediterranean" Okenia cupella/impexa and O. zoobotryon. We also consider here Okenia pusilla Sordi, 1974 a nomen dubium and include a redescription of the holotype of O. cupella. A molecular phylogeny, including all the sequenced Okenia species, was performed in order to evaluate the evolutionary relationships of the newly described species with the other congeneric taxa.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Assessment of the ecological and economic/societal impacts of the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) is one of the primary focus areas of bioinvasion science in terrestrial and aquatic ...environments, and is considered essential to management. A classification system of NIS, based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts, was recently proposed to assist management. Here, we consider the potential application of this classification scheme to the marine environment, and offer a complementary framework focussing on value sets in order to explicitly address marine management concerns. Since existing data on marine NIS impacts are scarce and successful marine removals are rare, we propose that management of marine NIS adopt a precautionary approach, which not only would emphasise preventing new incursions through pre-border and at-border controls but also should influence the categorisation of impacts. The study of marine invasion impacts requires urgent attention and significant investment, since we lack the luxury of waiting for the knowledge base to be acquired before the window of opportunity closes for feasible management.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In 2016, Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) was recorded for the first time in the River Adda, one of the main tributaries of the major Italian river, river Po. Here we ...investigate its distribution, population density and size classes distribution in the main course of the river, in the territory of the South Adda Regional Park. Furthermore, we defined its level of invasiveness using two different risk screening methods, in order to obtain a more comprehensive evaluation of its potential impacts: AS-ISK (Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit) and Harmonia+. Finally, we compared the resulting invasiveness level with the output of the GISS (Generic Impact Scoring System) method, also used by IUCN. Our data confirm that the invasive amphipod is well-established in the downstream part of the River Adda, and its distribution seems related to hydrodynamism. Interestingly, its level of invasiveness was evaluated as low by Harmonia+ and high by AS-ISK: this discrepancy is due to different evaluations of environmental and socio-economic impacts of a non-native species carried out by the two methods. Finally, we propose some possible actions to reduce the spreading rate of this invasive amphipod in this area.
The disproportionately low presence of marine species in the list of invasive alien species (IAS) of Union concern of the European Union (EU) Regulation 1143/2014 does not fully acknowledge the ...threat they pose to the EU marine environment.
In this study, the first EU‐scale Horizon Scanning (HS) focusing on marine alien species was performed, aiming to deliver a ranked list of species that should be of high priority for risk assessment (Article 5 of the EU IAS Regulation).
Species absent from or with a limited distribution in EU marine waters were targeted. In total, 363 alien species were initially screened for HS by a panel of experts, including a broad range of taxonomic groups. Species were scored for their likelihood of arrival, establishment, spread, and impact in EU waters.
A consensus workshop ranked 267 species, including a subset of 26 prioritized species. These species are considered to be mainly introduced by shipping (fouling and ballast water), via the Suez Canal, and aquaculture activities. The 26 priority species were also scrutinized in terms of feasibility of their management; 18 of them were suggested for performing risk assessments on the basis of the EU IAS Regulation.
Since biological invasions are dynamic and connected with accelerated globalization and diversified human activities, we recommend HS to be repeated periodically to review the species already listed and assess new ones.
The Mediterranean Sea is home to over 2/3 of the world's charter boat traffic and hosts an estimated 1.5 million recreational boats. Studies elsewhere have demonstrated marinas as important hubs for ...the stepping-stone transfer of non-indigenous species (NIS), but these unique anthropogenic, and typically artificial habitats have largely gone overlooked in the Mediterranean as sources of NIS hot-spots. From April 2015 to November 2016, 34 marinas were sampled across the following Mediterranean countries: Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus to investigate the NIS presence and richness in the specialized hard substrate material of these marina habitats. All macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and identified. Additionally, fouling samples were collected from approximately 600 boat-hulls from 25 of these marinas to determine if boats host diverse NIS not present in the marina. Here, we present data revealing that Mediterranean marinas indeed act as major hubs for the transfer of marine NIS, and we also provide evidence that recreational boats act as effective vectors of spread. From this wide-ranging geographical study, we report here numerous new NIS records at the basin, subregional, country and locality level. At the basin level, we report three NIS new to the Mediterranean Sea (
,
,
aff.
), and the re-appearance of two NIS previously known but currently considered extinct in the Mediterranean (
). We also compellingly update the distributions of many NIS in the Mediterranean Sea showing some recent spreading; we provide details for 11 new subregional records for NIS (
,
and
now present in the Western Mediterranean;
,
,
,
and
now present in the Central Mediterranean, and
,
and
in the Eastern Mediterranean). We also report 51 new NIS country records from recreational marinas: 12 for Malta, 10 for Cyprus, nine for Greece, six for Spain and France, five for Turkey and three for Italy, representing 32 species. Finally, we report 20 new NIS records (representing 17 species) found on recreational boat-hulls (mobile habitats), not yet found in the same marina, or in most cases, even the country. For each new NIS record, their native origin and global and Mediterranean distributions are provided, along with details of the new record. Additionally, taxonomic characters used for identification and photos of the specimens are also provided. These new NIS records should now be added to the relevant NIS databases compiled by several entities. Records of uncertain identity are also discussed, to assess the probability of valid non-indigenous status.
Baseline port monitoring for fouling communities is an essential tool to assess non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction and spread, but a standardized and coordinated method among Mediterranean and ...European countries has not yet been adopted. In this context, it is important to test monitoring protocols that allow for the collection of standardized and directly comparable data, replicated across time and space. Here, for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, we tested a standardized protocol developed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and used now in several countries. The 3-year monitoring survey (2018–2020) was conducted in the Gulf of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea, Italy), with the deployment of a total of 50 PVC panels per year in five different sites (a commercial harbor, three marinas and a site in the proximity of a shellfish farm). A total of 79 taxa were identified, including 11 NIS, ranging from zero to seven NIS for each panel. In comparison with previous surveys, new NIS arrivals were observed in the Gulf of La Spezia:
Botrylloides
cf.
niger
,
Branchiomma
sp.,
Branchiomma luctuosum
,
Paraleucilla magna
, and
Watersipora arcuata
. At the end of the 3-year monitoring, mean richness? and percent cover of NIS were measured, and both measures differed across the monitoring sites, with higher values in two marinas and in the commercial harbor. Among years, richness of NIS was relatively stable at each monitoring site. The structure of the fouling was influenced more by native and cryptogenic species than by NIS. Moreover, among the monitoring sites, the density of artificial structures was not a reliable predictor or proxy for local NIS abundance. This first application of the SERC method in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrates both pros and cons, including the detection of new NIS reported here. Further direct comparisons with other NIS monitoring tools are recommended, and additional tests to assess its effectiveness in this biogeographical area are encouraged. A broader application of this and other standard methods across temporal and spatial scales in the Mediterranean basin should be implemented, providing critical data needed to assess changes in the structure of fouling communities.
The large amount of information available on marine alien species distribution can be synthesized into inventories. These are essential tools for management: they allow for the identification of most ...invasive species and most invaded areas which facilitate management decisions and horizon-scanning initiatives. Here we present an inventory of marine alien amphipods worldwide, with a focus on the quality of available data and on the uncertainty that affects species identity or alien status of amphipod species records. Amphipod records from different world ocean zones were cross-checked and the species with wide disjunct distributions that could be related to human transport were extracted. These were carefully examined for validity of species identification and assessment of alien status. One hundred and five amphipod species were studied. Of these, 55 species are verified aliens at least in one geographical region; the remaining are affected by uncertainty and further investigation is required before they are included in inventories of marine alien species. Many knowledge gaps affect our understanding of the global distribution of marine alien amphipods, as well as many other marine invertebrate groups, and it is possible that our current picture is largely underestimated.
This paper proposes a set of web-based indicators for quantifying and ranking the relevance of terms related to key-issues in Ecology and Sustainability Science. Search engines that operate in ...different contexts (e.g. global, social, scientific) are considered as web information carriers (WICs) and are able to analyse; (i) relevance on different levels: global web, individual/personal sphere, on-line news, and culture/science; (ii) time trends of relevance; (iii) relevance of keywords for environmental governance. For the purposes of this study, several indicators and specific indices (relational indices and dynamic indices) were applied to a test-set of 24 keywords. Outputs consistently show that traditional study topics in environmental sciences such as water and air have remained the most quantitatively relevant keywords, while interest in systemic issues (i.e. ecosystem and landscape) has grown over the last 20 years. Nowadays, the relevance of new concepts such as resilience and ecosystem services is increasing, but the actual ability of these concepts to influence environmental governance needs to be further studied and understood. The proposed approach, which is based on intuitive and easily replicable procedures, can support the decision-making processes related to environmental governance.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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