Two-way bioinvasion: tracking the neritic non-native cyclopoid copepods Dioithona oculata and Oithona davisae (Oithonidae) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Accelerated anthropogenic changes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) have facilitated the introduction, spread and establishment of invasive copepod species in this region. Here, we report the introduction of two non-native cyclopoid copepods Dioithona oculata and Oithona davisae for the first time in the Israeli coastal waters and describe their temporal variability. The species were identified by morphological characteristics, DNA barcoding and phylogenetic inference. Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis supported the taxonomical identification, nevertheless, showed cryptic speciation within D. oculata, separating the Western Pacific and EMS clades. In the Israeli coastal waters, D. oculata presented a temporally restricted occurrence, appearing from September 2019 to December 2019 (30.0±0.7 – 21.0±1.1 °C) and October 2020 (28.0±0.7 °C). The highest abundances of D. oculata occurred in the autumn (October 2019 and 2020), when the water temperature reached 28.0 °C (7 and 10 ind. m-3, respectively). The lowest abundance occurred in December 2019 (0.35 ind. m-3), when the water temperature decreased to 21.0 °C, indicating that the thermal affinity of D. oculata for warm-temperate conditions, for reproduction and the maintenance of viable populations, has persisted in the introduced range. In contrast, O. davisae appeared almost all year around (17.0±0.5 – 28.0±0.7 °C). This species demonstrated peaks in abundance both in October 2019 and October 2020, when the water temperature reached 28.0 °C (406 and 92 ind. m-3), as well as when the temperature decreased to 17.0 °C (31 ind. m-3, February 2020), confirming its wide eurythermal tolerance. Based on our findings and previous observations, we suggest that D. oculata may have invaded the EMS through the Suez Canal and is now at the onset of its spread in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas O. davisae has been introduced via shipping, likely from the Northeast Atlantic, widely spreading and successfully establishing viable populations across the entire Mediterranean Sea, until the coastal Levantine Sea.

ZOOPLANKTON OF THE NORTH-EASTERN PART OF THE BLACK SEA OFF THE COAST OF TAMAN IN THE SUMMER-AUTUMN PERIOD 2018–2019

The taxonomic composition and quantitative characteristics of zooplankton in the northeastern part of the Black Sea near the Taman coast in the summer-autumn period of 2018–2019 were studied. Zooplankton was represented mainly by eurythermic and thermophilic forms. All the discovered species and taxa are currently typical of the Black Sea, including the invading species: copepods Acartia tonsa, Oithona davisae, and combtails Mnemiopsis leidyi, Beroe ovata. The average number of zooplankton in 2018 ranged from 2.7–15.9 thousand copies/m3, the biomass – 0.02–0.14 g/m3; its indicators in 2019; they were lower, respectively, 2.0–5.6 thousand copies/m3 and 0.02–0.07 g/m3. These indicators were within the values recorded earlier, in 2013–2014. A significant part of the coastal zooplankton is meroplankton, which accounted for 5–69% of the population and 4–47% its biomass. O. davisae dominated amoung copepods. This speciest was leading in numbers in both years except June 2019. Despite the similarity of the taxonomic composition of zooplankton, the dominant species in terms of biomass differed by month in two years.

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF PLANKTONIC COMMUNITIES IN THE COASTAL ZONE OF THE TAMAN PENINSULA (KERCH STRAIT, SEPTEMBER, 2018)

The qualitative and quantitative composition of planktonic societies in the southern part of the Kerch Strait in the coastal zone of the Taman Peninsula in September 2018 was studied. The phytoplankton consisted of 84 species, the average values of its abundance and biomass were 106 ± 22 million cells/m3 and 227 ± 32 mg/m3 respectively. The leading role in its composition was played by Nitzschia tenuirostris (by number) and Proboscia alata (by biomass). Zooplankton was represented by 24 species and taxa, its quantitative indicators were 32.5 ± 3.3 thousand individuals/m3 and 0.24 ± 0.02 g/m3 respectively. The copepod Oithona davisae dominated in terms of numbers, Oithona davisae, Parasagitta setosa, Decapoda and Cirripedia larvae dominated in biomass. An analysis of the composition and structure of planktonic communities showed their low structural diversity and evenness, as well as a stress state due to natural and anthropogenic factors. A close trophic relationship was revealed between the quantitative indicators of copepods and phytoplankton, excluding the dominant microalgae, the shape and size of which prevent them from being grazed.

The non-indigenous Oithona davisae in a Mediterranean transitional environment: coexistence patterns with competing species

The Venice lagoon (VL) has been recognized as a hot spot of introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS), due to several anthropogenic factors and environmental stressors that combined may facilitate NIS invasions. In the last decades an increasing number of zooplankton NIS have been observed in the VL. This work aims to provide a picture of the annual cycle and distribution of the recently recorded non-indigenous copepod Oithona davisae, considering the coexistence patterns with the congeneric resident Oithona nana. Therefore, zooplankton samplings were carried out monthly from August 2016 to July 2017 at five Long-Term Ecological Research LTER stations in the VL. Oithona davisae showed a persistent occurrence throughout the year with the highest abundances in the warm season and in the inner areas, while the congeneric O. nana, showing a different distribution pattern, resulted more abundant near the inlets of the Lagoon, where O. davisae reached the minimum density. Oithona davisae seems to find local conditions that promote its settlement and distribution, especially in the inner and more trophic lagoon sites. In other European coastal embayments or transitional waters, O. davisae occupied the niche left by the indigenous O. nana or can replace this congeneric species through competitive exclusion mechanisms. Our data indicate that, for now, such species replacement has not occurred in the VL. One of the causes is the extreme variety of habitats and niches offered by this environment allowing a balanced coexistence with O. nana and in general with the resident copepod community.

Ecophysiological and behavioural responses to salinity and temperature stress in cyclopoid copepod Oithona davisae with comments on gender differences

The gender differences in reaction to salinity (3-50) and temperature (6-26°C) stress were studied in the thermophilic cyclopoid copepod Oithona davisae, introduced in the brackish temperate Black Sea since 2001. Both females and males possessed similar salinity tolerance ranges (6–40) irrespective of the salinity change rate, and females displayed a striking osmotic control upon sharp (18-40 and 40-18) salinity shocks. By contrast, the temperature response of males and females were different. Torpidity was recorded at a temperature below 10°C in males collected both in warm and cold seasons, as well as in summer-autumn females whilst in females grown up at the beginning of winter the locomotor parameters were high even at 6°С. The total metabolic rate of summer-autumn and winter females was determined by the level of basal metabolic rate and energy expenditures due to motor activity. In winter females that maintained high activity at low temperature, the total and basal metabolic rates, differing by 2.3 times at all temperatures within the range of 8–28°C, varied in accordance with the temperature coefficient Q10 of about 2, whereas in summer-autumn females at low temperatures total metabolic rate decreased to the basal level. The plasticity of both males and female to wide ranges in abiotic conditions provide an adaptive strategy to sustain the spreading of O. davisae in diverse environments.

Oithona davisae: naturalization in the Black sea, inter-annual and seasonal dynamics, effect on the structure of the planktonic copepod community

Long-term (20032014) routine observations of zooplankton in Sevastopol Bay (the Black Sea) have allowed the naturalization of the invasive copepod Oithona davisae to be studied in the Black Sea coastal waters. Inter-annual and seasonal variability of the species and their impact on the native copepod community have been analyzed. The invasion of O. davisae and their undoubted dominance in terms of abundance were shown to alter the community structure but, at the same time, the abundances of the native species did not decrease, excepting the Black Sea earlier invader Acartia tonsa. A significant decline in A. tonsa numbers over the stages of O. davisae establishment and naturalization provided evidence of competition between the species. O. davisae have been demonstrated to gain competitive advantage over A. tonsa, that ensured their fast dispersal in the Black Sea, acclimatization in the new habitat and the successful competition over native species.

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records 2019

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.

Different-scale changes of abundance and species diversity of metazoan microzooplankton in the coastal zone of the Black sea

The short-term, seasonal, and interannual variations in the abundance and species composition of the Black Sea metazoan microzooplankton have been analyzed at the open coastal area and the mouth of Sevastopol Bay in 2009–2015. Whatever the time scale, the temperature factor played the main role in abundance variations. In particular, the coincidence of two-year periodicities in the sum of active temperatures and the abundance of copepod-invader Oithona davisae at the interannual scale have been demonstrated. Variations of wind speed and direction have been shown to be significant factors in the short-term variations of microzooplankton abundance. The total species diversity of the community was found to depend significantly on the abundance of the invader species.