Search

CIESM Atlas egzotičnih vrsta bio je prvi pokušaj pružanja opsežnog, po grupama, pregleda nedavnih morskih "useljenika" u Mediteran, koji prolazi kroz drastične i brze promjene svoje biote. Mnoge od ovih novih vrsta su indo-pacifičkog podrijetla koje su dosegle Sredozemno more kroz Sueski kanal, i ti takozvani „lesepsijski“ ili "eritrejski" migranti sada značajno doprinose poglavito bioraznolikosti istočnog bazena Mediteranskog mora. Vrste koje su prodrle iz Crvenog u Sredozemno more nazivaju se „lesepsijskim migrantima“, prema inženjeru Ferdinandu de Lessepsu koji je planirao i nadgledao gradnju Sueskoga kanala. Iako je kanal otvoren u oba smjera, više vrsta migrira u smjeru Mediterana. Tako je do danas u Sredozemnom moru zabilježeno više od 300 morskih organizama različitih taksonomskih skupina. Sa sve većom pozornošću koja se posvećuje ovom fenomenu, sada se sve češće prepoznaju i osvajači drugog podrijetla, osobito iz područja tropskog Atlantika kao posljedica prirodne invazije kroz Gibraltar ili unosa (slučajnog ili namjernog) od strane čovjeka. Od 1869. godine Mediteran nudi otvorena vrata - putem Sueskog kanala -„morskim osvajačima“ iz Indo- Pacifika. Posljedica toga je da niti jedna druga regija svjetskog oceana sada ne stvara takav osjećaj ubrzane biološke promjene na planetarnoj razini kao upravo sam Mediteran. Toliko toga je nagoviješteno u prvom izdanju iz 2002. godine koje je otkrilo bogatu, uglavnom tropsku ihtio-faunu koja je dospjela Mediteran tijekom 20. stoljeća. Iako je predviđeno da će za ažuriranje ovog izdanja biti potrebno mnogo revizija, taj je zadatak ipak podcijenjen. Na kraju se pokazalo da je pet godina bilo potrebito za analizu novih zapisa, provjeru istinitosti izvora, uklanjanje nepouzdanih unosa, reviziju brojnih karata. Rezultat je zapanjujući i zabilježen je samo u jednoj statistici: u 20 godina od prvog izdanja atlasa, daleko više egzotičnih riba (107) dospjelo je u Mediteran nego tijekom čitavog stoljeća koje je prethodilo. To uključuje 43 nova „doseljenika“ koji su uspjeli u uspostavljanju samoodrživih populacija, plus dodatno 64 vrste koje su nedavno viđene barem jednom u svom novom potencijalnom staništu. U drugom izdanju su predstavljene i ilustrirane sve te ribe, plus 80 vrsta "preživjelih" iz prvog izdanja. Ovo brzo širenje rezultat je nekoliko čimbenika, koji se razlikuju od porasta temperature i slanosti mediteranskih voda, što pogoduje aklimatizaciji pristiglih tropskih riba, do značajnog proširenja i produbljivanja Sueskog kanala, kako bi se zadovoljili zahtjevi međunarodnog pomorskog prometa. Iako su neki nedavni dolasci zasigurno dobra vijest za mediteranske riblje tržnice, drugi već imaju značajne ekološke i gospodarske učinke, mijenjajući prirodu i dinamiku lokalne morske mrežice ili predstavljaju nove opasnosti po zdravlje potrošača.

The occurrence of Siganus fuscescens was recorded on March 1st 2020, within the harbour of Gioia Tauro, southern Tyrrhenian Sea (38.44428 N, 15.90459 E). The capture was realized by a recreational fisher and shared through a Facebook group. Here we illustrate this new record and discussed its relevance for Mediterranean bioinvasion research.

Il libro è un viaggio alla scoperta dei segreti del mare per i più piccoli. È il racconto di un sogno in cui i due protagonisti della storia, Lisa e Giulio, esplorano l’ecosistema marino a loro vicino. La storia è ambientata nel Golfo di La Spezia, conosciuto come Golfo dei Poeti, ma gli ambienti esplorati dai due bambini sono assimilabili a qualsiasi contesto marino dell’area mediterranea. Oltre alle bellezze del mare e dei suoi abitanti, Lisa e Giulio ne conosceranno anche i problemi, come l’inquinamento e la presenza di plastiche, la sovrapesca, le specie invasive. Gli autori parlano di biologia marina, mescolando elementi fantastici con illustrazioni scientifiche di dettaglio. Compaiono alcuni termini tecnici, che introducono alle parole comunemente utilizzate dagli ‘scienziati del mare’. Per gli autori Occhi di mare dovrebbe essere letta come una storia per conoscere e per meravigliarsi: la scienza e il rispetto dell’ambiente dovrebbero iniziare così nei bambini e bambine, dalla curiosità e dalla meraviglia.

Marine recreational fishers accumulate a vast amount of local ecological knowledge (LEK) during their fishing activity that can be of paramount importance for monitoring how climate change affects fish assemblages. We assessed LEK of recreational fishers to investigate the increase in the abundance of 5 northward-expanding indigenous thermophilic fish species in 2 Mediterranean subregions. We accessed LEK through an online survey completed by 794 re- creational fishers (386 from the Adriatic/Ionian subregion and 408 from the Tyrrhenian/Ligurian subregion). The species perceived to have increased most in abundance were Pomatomus salta- trix (71% of replies) followed by Sphyraena viridensis (58%). The remaining species (Sparisoma cretense, Balistes capriscus and Coryphaena hippurus) ranged between 17 and 25%. Recreational fishers have a stable system of beliefs about meridionalization, which is perceived homogeneously between recreational anglers and recreational spearfishers. Our results indicate that latitude is negatively correlated with meridionalization in the Adriatic/Ionian, but not in the Tyrrhenian/ Ligurian Seas, suggesting that meridionalization of the Adriatic/Ionian Seas could be a process that has temporally lagged with respect to the Tyrrhenian/Ligurian Seas. Our study demonstrates that LEK of recreational fishers can be easily accessed on a large geographical scale and can be useful to monitor changes in the distributions of data-limited species such as those studied here.

Until 2014, the management of invasive alien species has been poorly addressed in Europe. Recently, the Regulation 1143/14 on invasive alien species (IAS) was issued by the European Community. A first list of "IAS of Union Concern" was presented in 2016 and subsequently updated in 2017. The species included in that list are subjected to a number of commercial restrictions, and EU member states are required to control or eradicate them. The inclusion of an IAS in this list is based on the results of a risk-assessment procedure. At present, this list contains 49 IAS, none of which marine. Member states can decide either to adopt the EU list as it is, or to integrate it with additional "IAS of national concern". Italy has opted for the second way and is currently developing its own national list, which may eventually include marine IAS. Italy is a major "first hub" for marine introductions in the Mediterranean Sea, with over 200 multicellular marine alien species reported so far. Italy, with its central position in the Mediterranean Sea, shares several species with the Western European countries, carried by ships or with shellfish stocks, as well as a number of Indo-Pacific species with the Eastern Mediterranean countries, entered through the Suez Canal. Therefore, the roadmap that Italy is currently tracing towards the possible inclusion of marine species in the list of IAS to be managed and controlled, is also relevant for other European and Mediterranean countries. This presentation will show how the process has been organized and conducted, and the preliminary outcomes

Si riportano i primi risultati dell'esercizio di prioritizzazione delle specie aliene dei mari italiani condotto per conto di ISPRA dagli esperti dei singoli gruppi tassonomici iscritti al Gruppo Alloctone della Società Italiana di Biologia Marina

7th International Workshop on Marine Technology – Martech Workshop 2016, 26-28 October 2016, Barcelona.-- 3 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Cabled observatories offer new opportunities to monitor species abundances at frequencies and durations never attained before. When nodes bear cameras, these may be transformed into the first sensor capable of quantifying biological activities at individual, populational, species, and community levels, if automation image processing can be sufficiently implemented. Here, we developed a binary classifier for the fish automated recognition based on Genetic Programming tested on the images provided by OBSEA EMSO testing site platform located at 20 m of depth off Vilanova i la Gertrú (Spain). The performance evaluation of the automatic classifier resulted in a 78% of accuracy compared with the manual counting. Considering the huge dimension of data provided by cabled observatories and the difficulty of manual processing, we consider this result highly promising also in view of future implementation of the methodology to increase the accuracy

Based on recent biodiversity studies carried out in different parts of the Mediterranean, the following 19 species are included as new records on the floral or faunal lists of the relevant ecosystems: the green algae Penicillus capitatus (Maltese waters); the nemertean Amphiporus allucens (Iberian Peninsula, Spain); the salp Salpa maxima (Syria); the opistobranchs Felimida britoi and Berghia coerulescens (Aegean Sea, Greece); the dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus (central-west Mediterranean and Ionian Sea, Italy); Randall’s threadfin bream Nemipterus randalli, the broadbanded cardinalfish Apogon fasciatus and the goby Gobius kolombatovici (Aegean Sea, Turkey); the reticulated leatherjack Stephanolepis diaspros and the halacarid Agaue chevreuxi (Sea of Marmara, Turkey); the slimy liagora Ganonema farinosum, the yellowstripe barracuda Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata and the Persian conch Conomurex persicus (south-eastern Kriti, Greece); the blenny Microlipophrys dalmatinus and the bastard grunt Pomadasys incisus (Ionian Sea, Italy); the brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey); the blue-crab Callinectes sapidus (Corfu, Ionian Sea, Greece). In addition, the findings of the following rare species improve currently available biogeographical knowledge: the oceanic pufferfish Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Malta); the yellow sea chub Kyphosus incisor (Almuñécar coast of Spain); the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus and the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey).

This synthesis was drafted by all workshop participants, under the coordination of Ferdinando Boero and with the support of Paula Moschella. Frédéric Briand reviewed and edited the entire volume whose physical production was carried out by Valérie Gollino.

CIESM Workshop Monograph

The grapsid crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853), not previously recorded in the Mediterranean, has been found by underwater observations in several localities of Linosa, Pelagie Islands, (Italy). This presence increases the list of alien Decapods in the Mediterranean, with a form which can be considered a western migrant., No disponible

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.

Background. Rabbitfishes, Siganus rivulatus and S. luridus, are among the most successful invaders in the Mediterranean Sea but population parameters in their new environment are barely known. Fecundity and condition are key parameters of fish populations and their assessment is very important for exotic species; this information is needed to properly evaluate their reproductive and invasive potential. The current is study contributes to fill this gap by exploring fecundity and condition of those two fish species. Materials and methods. About 1000 individuals of Siganus rivulatus and S. luridus were processed from off the Lebanese coasts over a 20-month period. Fecundity and condition index were estimated and compared. Regression analyses tested the dependence of fecundity on fish length, mass, and gonad mass. Results. Fecundity values were assessed for S. rivulatus and for S. luridus: Fabs = 272 043 ± 144 666 (SD), Frel = 2123 ± 808 oocytes · g-1 for S. rivulatus and Fabs = 245 273 ± 164 211, Frel = 1584 ± 627 oocytes · g-1 for S. luridus. The relation between Fabs and gonad mass [g] was y = 14 339x + 59 297 for S. rivulatus and y = 9245x + 62 140 for S. luridus. Condition exhibited a clear seasonal trend for the two rabbitfishes. It increased in spring prior to the reproduction period and again in autumn before the decrease of seawater temperature, and remained low during the cold period. Its values were significantly higher for S. luridus than to S. rivulatus. Conclusion. S. rivulatus displayed a higher fecundity while S. luridus showed a better condition in the Eastern Mediterranean. Gonad mass was the best predictor of fecundity for both species while condition exhibited a clear seasonal trend in both rabbitfishes.