scholarly journals Additions to the annotated list of marine alien biota in the Mediterranean with special emphasis on Foraminifera and Parasites

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. ZENETOS ◽  
E. MERIC ◽  
M. VERLAQUE ◽  
P. GALLI ◽  
C.F. BOUDOURESQUE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Established Species

The present work is an update of the annotated list (ZENETOS et al., 2006) based on literature up to April 2008. Emphasis is given to ecofunctional/taxonomic groups poorly addressed in the annotated list, such as the foraminiferan and parasites, while macrophytes are critically reviewed following the CIESM Atlas (VERLAQUE et al., in press). Moreover, in this update the bio-geographic area addressed includes the Sea of Marmara.The update yields a further 175 alien species in the Mediterranean bringing the total to 903. As evidenced by recent findings, more and more previously known ‘casual’ aliens, are becoming established. Approximately 100 more species have become well established in the region, raising the number of established species to 496 versus 385 until 2005. In the period from January 2006 to April 2008 more than 80 published papers have resulted in the recording of 94 new aliens, which is interpreted as a new introduction every 9 days, a rate beyond the worst scenario.

scholarly journals Annotated list of marine alien species in the Mediterranean with records of the worst invasive species

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. ZENETOS ◽  
M.E. CINAR ◽  
M.A. PANCUCCI-PAPADOPOULOU ◽  
J.G. HARMELIN ◽  
G. FURNARI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Marine Invasions ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Marine Alien Species ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Available Information

This collaborative effort by many specialists across the Mediterranean presents an updated annotated list of alien marine species in the Mediterranean Sea. Alien species have been grouped into six broad categories namely established, casual, questionable, cryptogenic, excluded and invasive, and presented in lists of major ecofunctional/taxonomic groups. The establishment success within each group is provided while the questionable and excluded records are commented in brief. A total of 963 alien species have been reported from the Mediterranean until December 2005, 218 of which have been classified as excluded (23%) leaving 745 of the recorded species as valid aliens. Of these 385 (52%) are already well established, 262 (35%) are casual records, while 98 species (13%) remain “questionable” records. The species cited in this work belong mostly to zoobenthos and in particular to Mollusca and Crustacea, while Fish and Phytobenthos are the next two groups which prevail among alien biota in the Mediterranean. The available information depends greatly on the taxonomic group examined. Thus, besides the three groups explicitly addressed in the CIESM atlas series (Fish, Decapoda/Crustacea and Mollusca), which are however updated in the present work, Polychaeta, Phytobenthos, Phytoplankton and Zooplankton are also addressed in this study. Among other zoobenthic taxa sufficiently covered in this study are Echinodermata, Sipuncula, Bryozoa and Ascidiacea. On the contrary, taxa such as Foraminifera, Amphipoda and Isopoda, that are not well studied in the Mediterranean, are insufficiently covered. A gap of knowledge is also noticed in Parasites, which, although ubiquitous and pervasive in marine systems, have been relatively unexplored as to their role in marine invasions. Conclusively the lack of funding purely systematic studies in the region has led to underestimation of the number of aliens in the Mediterranean. Emphasis is put on those species that are current or potential threats to the marine ecosystems, namely the Worst Invasive Alien Species providing their record across major groups.

scholarly journals Alien Marine Species in the Mediterranean - the 100 ‘Worst Invasives’ and their Impact

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. STREFTARIS ◽  
A. ZENETOS
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Diffi Cult ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Marine Alien Species ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
The Impact

A number of marine alien species have been described as invasive or locally invasive in the Mediterranean because of their proliferation, and/or their geographical spread and/or impact on native populations. Based on that information and on the documented impact they have on the biodiversity and socioeconomics of the basin, a preliminary list of the 100 ‘worst’ Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in the Mediterranean has been produced and presented in this work along with details on their impact. Emphasis is given to their impact on socioeconomics (fi sheries/aquaculture, health & sanitation, infrastructure & building), documented for 43 species. Such selection of the ‘worst’ IAS was diffi cult and controversial and is expected to attract much attention and scientifi c criticism since not only can the documentation of the impact of IAS be controversial, but also their inventory can be biased towards the effort and resources devoted to the study of the impact of certain species/taxonomic groups. Thus, while marine plants (phytobenthos and phytoplankton) are fairly well studied, less attention has been paid to the impact of vertebrates and even less to invertebrates. Nevertheless, the list highlights the need for continued research on the issue (monitoring aliens and their impact for an integrated ecosystem based management approach over the entire area). The preliminary list can provide the basis for selecting indicator species within the Mediterranean and thus be the common ground to build cooperation about IAS within countries in the region.

The Biology of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Esler ◽  
Anna L. Jacobsen ◽  
R. Brandon Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Type Ecosystems

The world’s mediterranean-type climate regions (including areas within the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia, California, and Chile) have long been of interest to biologists by virtue of their extraordinary biodiversity and the appearance of evolutionary convergence between these disparate regions. Comparisons between mediterranean-type climate regions have provided important insights into questions at the cutting edge of ecological, ecophysiological and evolutionary research. These regions, dominated by evergreen shrubland communities, contain many rare and endemic species. Their mild climate makes them appealing places to live and visit and this has resulted in numerous threats to the species and communities that occupy them. Threats include a wide range of factors such as habitat loss due to development and agriculture, disturbance, invasive species, and climate change. As a result, they continue to attract far more attention than their limited geographic area might suggest. This book provides a concise but comprehensive introduction to mediterranean-type ecosystems. As with other books in the Biology of Habitats Series, the emphasis in this book is on the organisms that dominate these regions although their management, conservation, and restoration are also considered.

scholarly journals Where we Come from and where to Go: Six Decades of Botanical Studies in the Mediterranean Wetlands, with Sardinia (Italy) as a Case Study

Wetlands ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba Cuena-Lombraña ◽  
Mauro Fois ◽  
Annalena Cogoni ◽  
Gianluigi Bacchetta
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Temporary Ponds ◽  
Evolutionary Strategies ◽  
Plant Groups ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Water Saturated

AbstractPlants are key elements of wetlands due to their evolutionary strategies for coping with life in a water-saturated environment, providing the basis for supporting nearly all wetland biota and habitat structure for other taxonomic groups. Sardinia, the second largest island of the Mediterranean Basin, hosts a great variety of wetlands, of which 16 are included in eight Ramsar sites. The 119 hydro- and hygrophilous vascular plant taxa from Sardinia represent the 42.6% and 37.9% of the number estimated for Italy and Europe, respectively. Moreover, around 30% of Sardinia’s bryological flora, which is made up of 498 taxa, is present in temporary ponds. An overview at regional scale considering algae is not available, to our knowledge, even though several specific studies have contributed to their knowledge. In order to find the most investigated research themes and wetland types, identify knowledge gaps and suggest recommendations for further research, we present a first attempt to outline the work that has been hitherto done on plants in lentic habitats in Sardinia. Three plant groups (algae, bryophytes and vascular plants), and five research themes (conservation, ecology, inventory, palaeobotany and taxonomy) were considered. After a literature review, we retained 202 papers published from 1960 to 2019. We found that studies on vascular plants, as plant group, were disproportionately more numerous, and inventories and ecology were the most investigated research themes. Although efforts have recently been made to fill these long-lasting gaps, there is a need for updating the existing information through innovative methods and integrative approaches.

First record of Sphoeroides spengleri (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 1089-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Reina-Hervás ◽  
J.E. García Raso ◽  
M.E. Manjón-Cabeza
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
First Record ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Alboran Sea ◽  
Total Length ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Alborán Sea

The capture of a specimen of Sphoeroides spengleri (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae), 17 December 2000 and 29·7 mm total length, from the Málaga coast (Alborán Sea, western Mediterranean) represents the first record of a new alien species for Mediterranean waters.

scholarly journals Current limitations and future prospects of detection and biomonitoring of NIS in the Mediterranean Sea through environmental DNA

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 151-165
Author(s):  
Francesco Zangaro ◽  
Benedetta Saccomanno ◽  
Eftychia Tzafesta ◽  
Fabio Bozzeda ◽  
Valeria Specchia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Identification Of Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Non Indigenous Species

The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea is currently threatened by the introduction of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS). Therefore, monitoring the distribution of NIS is of utmost importance to preserve the ecosystems. A promising approach for the identification of species and the assessment of biodiversity is the use of DNA barcoding, as well as DNA and eDNA metabarcoding. Currently, the main limitation in the use of genomic data for species identification is the incompleteness of the DNA barcode databases. In this research, we assessed the availability of DNA barcodes in the main reference libraries for the most updated inventory of 665 confirmed NIS in the Mediterranean Sea, with a special focus on the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcode and primers. The results of this study show that there are no barcodes for 33.18% of the species in question, and that 45.30% of the 382 species with COI barcode, have no primers publicly available. This highlights the importance of directing scientific efforts to fill the barcode gap of specific taxonomic groups in order to help in the effective application of the eDNA technique for investigating the occurrence and the distribution of NIS in the Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals Capacity of countries to reduce biological invasions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Latombe ◽  
Hanno Seebens ◽  
Bernd Lenzner ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
Stefan Dullinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Economic Space ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Ecological Predictors ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Education Innovation ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
High Level

AbstractThe extent and impacts of biological invasions on biodiversity are largely shaped by an array of socio-ecological predictors, which exhibit high variation among countries. Yet a global synthetic perspective of how these factors vary across countries is currently lacking. Here, we investigate how a set of five socio-ecological predictors (Governance, Trade, Environmental Performance, Lifestyle and Education, Innovation) explain i) country-level established alien species (EAS) richness of eight taxonomic groups, and ii) country capacity to prevent and manage biological invasions and their impacts. Trade and Governance together best predicted the average EAS richness, increasing variance explained by up to 54% compared to models based on climatic and spatial variables only. Country-level EAS richness increased strongly with Trade, whereas high level of Governance resulted in lower EAS richness. Historical (1996) levels of Governance and Trade better explained response variables than current (2015) levels. Thus, our results reveal a historical legacy of these two predictors with profound implications for the future of biological invasions. We therefore used Governance and Trade to define a two-dimensional socio-economic space in which the position of a country captures its capacity to address issues of biological invasions. Our results provide novel insights into the complex relationship between socio-ecological predictors and biological invasions. Further, we highlight the need for designing better policies and management measures for alien species, and for integrating biological invasions in global environmental scenarios.

scholarly journals Mapping the impact of alien species on marine ecosystems: the Mediterranean Sea case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 694-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Katsanevakis ◽  
Fernando Tempera ◽  
Heliana Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact
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