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The critically endangered endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis from the Mediterranean Sea suffered a sudden population decline after a mass mortality event in early autumn 2016. Conservation efforts aimed at preventing extinction included safeguarding resistant individuals and implementing a breeding plan to contribute to the repopulation of the species. This study utilized a model combining Lagrangian dispersion and connectivity analyses to pinpoint optimal restocking sites in the Western Mediterranean. Our approach allowed to identify locations capable of sustaining and generating larvae for broader repopulation in key areas of the Western Mediterranean Sea prior to the mass mortality event. Six important repopulation locations from Murcia, Valencia and Balearic Islands were selected for reintroduction efforts. The results obtained in this study show how the network could be self-sufficient and able to self-replenish itself of recruits. Overall, our work can be used to direct the reintroduction of resistant animals in the Western Mediterranean Sea., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The present work, which is the first comparative study of the growth of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis in the western Mediterranean, encompasses 12 populations of this species living in different environments in France and Spain. Two hundred nine shells were processed and used to obtain growth records from the posterior adductor muscle scar. Size-at-age data were fitted to the Von Bertalanffy growth model. Considerable variability in growth parameters and age was detected among the populations. The results show that the only two fan mussel populations remaining in Spain, which live in an estuary and a coastal lagoon, occupy habitats that are optimal for fast growth, but individuals show low longevity, complicating the long-term conservation of the species. Multivariate analyses groups the populations into three groups (SO, EO and LG), and a general model is proposed for each group; the model can be used as an approximation to calculate the ages of individuals living in similar environments., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Although the Panama Canal is one of the major corridors for shipping and potential dispersal of marine invaders in the tropics, little is known about the effect that the Canal has had on the distribution of marine biota. In this study, we (a) document the existence of established populations of the Western Atlantic caprellid amphipod Paracaprella pusilla, Mayer, 1890 for the first time at the Pacific entrance to the Canal, (b) review its distribution in the Pacific Ocean, and (c) evaluate possible mechanisms of introduction. The confirmed distribution of P. pusilla in the Pacific Ocean is limited to Australia, Hawaii, and Panama, despite earlier published reports from Chile and China. Laboratory experiments demonstrated intolerance of P. pusilla to freshwater, causing 100% mortality, and suggest invasion of the Pacific coast of Panama occurred through the Canal via ships' ballast water or by secondary spread via ships (ballast water or hull fouling) from another Pacific region., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effects of the invasive species Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (hereafter C. racemosa) on amphipod assemblages associated with shallow-water rocky habitats were studied. Two habitats located along the SE Iberian Peninsula were compared; invaded and non-invaded. The results showed that growth of C. racemosa affects habitat structure, influencing the species composition and biomass of macroalgae, and detritus accumulation. In turn, such changes in habitat features affected the associated amphipod assemblages with different ecological requirements. However, the species richness of amphipods was relatively high in both habitats, while the species composition of amphipods changed completely. For example, some species such as Ampithoe ramondi and Hyale schmidti did not colonize invaded habitats, while others such as Apocorophium acutum were favoured by the spread of C. racemosa. Habitat invasion by C. racemosa can have an important influence on biotic assemblages, modifying both habitat structure and the associated fauna, with unknown effects on the overall ecosystem.