The invasive seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis erodes the habitat structure and biodiversity of native algal forests in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract Invasive seaweeds are listed among the most relevant threats to marine ecosystems worldwide. Biodiversity hotspots, such as the Mediterranean Sea, are facing multiple invasions and are expected to be severely affected by the introduction of new non-native seaweeds in the near future. In this study, we evaluated the consequences of the shift from the native Ericaria brachycarpa to the invasive Asparagopsis taxiformis habitat at shallow rocky shores of Favignana Island (Egadi Islands, MPA, Sicily, Italy). We compared algal biomass and species composition and structure of the associated epifaunal assemblages in homogenous and mixed stands of E. brachycarpa and A. taxiformis. Results showed that the biomass of primary producers is reduced by 90% in the A. taxiformis invaded habitat compared to the E. brachycarpa native habitat. The structure of the epifaunal assemblages displayed significant variations among homogenous and mixed stands. The abundance, species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the epifaunal assemblages decreased by 89%, 78% and 40%, respectively from homogenous stands of the native E. brachycarpa to the invasive A. taxiformis. Seaweed biomass was the structural attribute better explaining the variation of epifaunal abundance, species richness and diversity. Overall, our results suggest that the shift from E. brachycarpa to A. taxiformis habitat would drastically erode the biomass of primary producers and the associated biodiversity. We hypothesize that a complete shift from native to invasive seaweeds can ultimately lead to bottom-up effects in rocky shore habitats, with negative consequences for the ecosystem structure, functioning and the services provided.

Download Full-text

Towards the valorization of the invasive seaweeds Caulerpa cylindracea and Asparagopsis taxiformis in the Mediterranean Sea: applications for in vitro plant regeneration and crop protection

Journal of Applied Phycology ◽

10.1007/s10811-018-1640-x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 1403-1413 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nuria Alburquerque ◽

Lydia Faize ◽

Mohamed Faize ◽

Maria Dolores Nortes ◽

Jaime Bernardeau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Regeneration ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Crop Protection ◽

In Vitro Plant Regeneration ◽

Asparagopsis Taxiformis ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

In Vitro Plant

Download Full-text

Impoverished mobile epifaunal assemblages associated with the invasive macroalga Asparagopsis taxiformis in the Mediterranean Sea

Marine Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.07.016 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 141 ◽

pp. 44-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Carlos Navarro-Barranco ◽

Marta Florido ◽

Macarena Ros ◽

Pablo González-Romero ◽

José Manuel Guerra-García

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Asparagopsis Taxiformis ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Epifaunal Assemblages

Download Full-text

The invasive species Asparagopsis taxiformis (Bonnemaisoniales, Rhodophyta) on Andalusian coast (Southern Spain): Reproductive stages, new records and invaded communities

Acta Botanica Malacitana ◽

10.24310/abm.v33i0.6963 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 33 ◽

pp. 5-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

María Altamirano ◽

Antonio Román Muñoz ◽

Julio De la Rosa ◽

Agustín Barrajón-Mínguez ◽

Agustín Barrajón-Domenech ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

New Record ◽

New Records ◽

First Record ◽

Southern Spain ◽

Strait Of Gibraltar ◽

Asparagopsis Taxiformis ◽

Invasive Seaweed ◽

Exotic Invasive

ABSTRACT. The invasive species Asparagopsis taxiformis (Bonnemaisoniales, Rhodophyta) on Andalusian coasts (Southern Spain): reproductive stages, new records and invaded communities. The present study provides new records from Andalusian coasts of the exotic invasive seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan. These records demonstrate that A. taxiformis has rapidly and widely expanded its distribution range in this region, from Almería to Cádiz (Strait of Gibraltar). The latter locality may represent the western geographical limit of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. Spermatangial heads and cystocarps were observed in the collected gametophytes. Additionally, we report the first record of the tetrasporophytic stage, Falkenbergia hillebrandii (Bornet) Falkenberg from the Andalusian coast, although tetraspores were not encountered in these samples. Consequently, information on the affected communities and arguments for considering A. taxiformis as an invasive species in the Andalusian coast are provided.Key words. Asparagopsis taxiformis, Bonnemaisoniales, distribution, Falkenbergia hillebrandii, invasive species, Mediterranean Sea, new record, reproductive stage, RhodophytaRESUMEN. La especie invasora Asparagopsis taxiformis (Bonnemaisoniales, Rhodophyta) en las costas andaluzas (Sur de España): fases reproductivas, nuevas citas y comunidades invadidas. El presente trabajo aporta nuevas citas para las costas andaluzas de la especie exótica invasora de macroalga Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan. Estas citas muestran que la especie ha aumentado ampliamente su área de distribución de manera rápida en esta región, desde Almería hasta Cádiz (Estrecho de Gibraltar). Esta última localidad representaría el límite occidental de la especie en el mar Mediterráneo. En las muestras recogidas de gametofitos se pudieron observar ramas espermatangiales y cistocarpos. Se aporta la primera cita del estadio tetrasporofítico, Falkenbergia hillebrandii (Bornet) Falkenberg en las costas andaluzas, aunque no se observaron tetrásporas en estas muestras. Se informa sobre las comunidades afectadas y se dan argumentos para considerar a A. taxiformis invasora en las costas andaluzas.Palabras clave. Asparagopsis taxiformis, Bonnemaisoniales, distribución, especie invasora, estadio reproductivo, Falkenbergia hillebrandii, mar Mediterráneo, nueva cita, Rhodophyta

Download Full-text

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Using Invasive Caulerpa cylindracea Sonder

Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.4194/1303-2712-v21_9_04 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (09) ◽

pp. 451-463

Author(s):

Yesim Yilmaz Abeska ◽

Levent Cavas

Keyword(s):

Experimental Data ◽

Silver Nanoparticles ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Invasive Seaweed ◽

Vis Spectroscopy ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

New Perspective ◽

Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽

Aqueous Conditions

Caulerpa cylindracea is an invasive seaweed in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we propose an alternative method to utilise the biomass of C. cylindracea to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). UV-VIS spectroscopy, FT-IR and X-ray diffraction were used in characterization steps. The results show that optimum conditions such as time, initial concentration of AgNO3 and temperature were found to be 240 min, 0.1 M AgNO3 and 85˚C, respectively. The measured particle size of the synthesized AgNPs were 22 nm. Since AgNPs were encapped by the secondary metabolites of C. cylindracea, the synthesized AgNPs showed stable solubility in aqueous conditions. The experimental data related to synthesis of AgNPs were modelled by using artificial neural network (ANN). Agitation time and rate, temperature, pH, concentration of AgNO3 and extract were chosen as input and absorbance values were chosen as output. ANN modelling study exhibited that Bayesian regularization backpropagation, scaled conjugate gradient backpropagation and Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation algorithms better modelled the experimental data compared to studied 11 backpropagation algorithms. In conclusion, biomass of invasive seaweeds can be used to synthesize AgNPs for commercial use and this will bring a new perspective to utilisation of the biomass of invasive seaweeds. A possible economical value may create a stress on the spread of these alien species in the Mediterranean Sea.

Download Full-text