Search

WOS: 000299017200001, This 2010 review of alien species along the coasts of Turkey represents a total of 400 alien species belonging to 14 systematic groups. The present paper also reports the first findings of Vanderhorstia mertensi in the Aegean Sea (Gokova Bay), Chama adspersa in the Sea of Marmara and Mya arenaria in the Aegean Sea. A total of 124 new alien species was determined within the last 5 years. Mollusca had the highest number of species (105 species), followed by Polychaeta (75 species), Crustacea (64 species) and Pisces (58 species). The highest number of alien species (330 species) were encountered on the Levantine coast of Turkey, followed by the Aegean Sea (165 species), Sea of Marmara (69 species) and Black Sea (20 species). The Suez Canal (66% of the total number of alien species) is the main vector for species introductions to the coasts of Turkey, followed by the shipmediated transport (30%). The majority of species (306 species, 76% of total number of species) have become established in the area, while 59 species are classified as casual (15%), 23 species as questionable (6%) and 13 species as cryptogenic (3%). One new alien species was introduced to the coasts of Turkey every 4 weeks between 199:1 and 2010. The majority of aliens were found on soft substratum (198 species) in shallow waters (0-10 m) (319 species). Some species such as Caulerpa racemosa, Amphistegina lobifera, Amphisorus hemprichii, Rhopilema nomadica, Mnemiopsis leidyi, Hydroides spp., Ficopomatus enigmaticus, Charybdis longicollis, Rapana venosa, Asterias rubens, Siganus spp. and Lagocephalus sceleratus show a highly invasive character, and have great impacts both on the prevailing ecosystems and humans.

WOS: 000288831000015, The state-of-art on alien species in the Mediterranean Sea is presented, making distinctions among the four subregions defined in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive: (i) the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMED); (ii) the Central Mediterranean Sea (CMED); (iii) the Adriatic Sea (ADRIA); and (iv) the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMED). The updated checklist (December 2010) of marine alien species within each subregion, along with their acclimatization status and origin, is provided. A total of 955 alien species is known in the Mediterranean, the vast majority of them having being introduced in the EMED (718), less in the WMED (328) and CMED (267) and least in the Adriatic (171). Of these, 535 species (56%) are established in at least one area. Despite the collective effort of experts who attempted in this work, the number of introduced species remains probably underestimated. Excluding microalgae, for which knowledge is still insufficient, aliens have increased the total species richness of the Mediterranean Sea by 5.9%. This figure should not be directly read as an indication of higher biodiversity, as spreading of so many aliens within the basin is possibly causing biotic homogenization. Thermophilic species, i.e. Indo-Pacific, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Tropical Atlantic, Tropical Pacific, and circum(sub)tropical, account for 88.4% of the introduced species in the EMED, 72.8% in the CMED, 59.3% in the WMED and 56.1% in the Adriatic. Cold water species, i.e. circumboreal, N Atlantic, and N Pacific, make up a small percentage of the introduced species, ranging between 4.2% and 21.6% and being more numerous in the Adriatic and less so in the EMED. Species that are classified as invasive or potentially invasive are 134 in the whole of the Mediterranean: 108 are present in the EMED, 75 in the CMED, 53 in the Adriatic and 64 in the WMED. The WMED hosts most invasive macrophytes, whereas the EMED has the lion's share in polychaetes, crustaceans, molluscs and fish., SEBI2010 - Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Expert Group 5; EUEuropean Union (EU) [036949]; Italian Ministry for the Environment, The work was initiated under the auspices of the SEBI2010 - Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Expert Group 5: Numbers and costs of invasive alien species.; Further research on the distribution of alien species in the Mediterranean Sea has been carried out in the frame of the Integrated Project 'SESAME' (Southern European Seas: Assessing and Modelling Ecosystem changes: Project no: 036949) funded by the EU [A. Zenetos, I. Siokou and N. Streftaris] and in the frame of the research project The impacts of biological invasions and climate change on the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea' (C.N. Bianchi and C. Morri), an Italy-Israel co-operation funded by the Italian Ministry for the Environment. Special thanks are due to C. Salas Casanova and A. Logan whose constructive criticism and suggestions have improved the manuscript.

WOS: 000273967800012, An individual belonging to the eunicid polychaete species Marphysa disjuncta Hartman, 1961 was collected on muddy substratum at 100 m deep in Fethiye Bay (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean). This species is new to the Mediterranean fauna. It closely resembles to Marphysa bellii a native species, but it lacks compound falcigers and has unidentate subacicular hooks. This species has only been reported from the Eastern and Western Pacific Ocean and could have been introduced to the Mediterranean Sea via ballast waters of vessels., TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [104Y065], We wish to thank our colleagues at the Department of Hydrobiology, Ege University for collecting and sorting benthic material. This study has been financially supported by TUBITAK (Project Number: 104Y065).

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.