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Recent global trade disruptions, due to blockage of the Suez Canal and cascading effects of COVID-19, have altered the movement patterns of commercial ships and may increase worldwide invasions of marine non-indigenous species. Organisms settle on the hulls and underwater surfaces of vessels and can accumulate rapidly, especially when vessels remain stationary during lay-ups and delays. Once present, organisms can persist on vessels for long-periods (months to years), with the potential to release propagules and seed invasions as ships visit ports across the global transportation network. Shipborne propagules also may be released in increasing numbers during extended vessel residence times at port or anchor. Thus, the large scale of shipping disruptions, impacting thousands of vessels and geographic locations and still on-going for over two years, may elevate invasion rates in coastal ecosystems in the absence of policy and management efforts to prevent this outcome. Concerted international and national biosecurity actions, mobilizing existing frameworks and tools with due diligence, are urgently needed to address a critical gap and abate the associated invasion risks.

The introduction of non-native species is among the main direct drivers of biodiversity change. Off the Israeli coast 445 non-native species were recorded thus far, more than anywhere in the Mediterranean Sea. The number of recorded introductions has been rising inexorably, tripling since the 1970s. Nearly all have been introduced through the ever-enlarged Suez Canal. Worldwide there is no other vector of marine bioinvasions that delivers as high a propagule supply for so long to a certain locale. Once established, the non-native species are unlikely to be contained or controlled and their impacts are irreversible. The Canal-introduced species form prominent micro-communities and biological facies in most littoral habitats, some have been documented to displace or reduce populations of native species, alter community structure and food webs, change ecosystem functioning and the consequent provision of goods and services—profound ecological impacts that undermine the goals of sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean Sea.These species have been spreading throughout the Mediterranean Sea while the Israeli shelf serves as a hotspot, beachhead, and dispersal hub. Their spatial and temporal spread has advanced concurrently with successive enlargements of the Suez Canal, rise in mean seawater temperature, and prevalence, duration, and severity of marine heat waves increase. The invasion poses a challenge to the environmental ethics and policies of the Mediterranean countries. As signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity these countries are required to prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species (Article 8(h)), and ensure that the environmental consequences of their policies that are likely to have significant adverse effects on biological diversity are taken into account (Article 14.1). The present Egyptian government is in a position to reduce future introductions. Egypt announced the development of 35 desalination plants, of which the first 17 plants will add 2.8 million m3 daily capacity. It is suggested that an environmental impact assessment evaluates the environmental and economic consequences of utilizing the brine effluents from the large-scale desalination plants constructed in the vicinity of the Suez Canal to restore the salinity barrier once posed by the Bitter Lakes.

Lophoura edwardsi, a rarely recorded deep-water parasitic copepod, is reported for the first time from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. We document its incidence of infection in hauls made between 20...

Este artículo contiene 20 páginas, 1 figura, 4 tablas., A major historical challenge for the management of anthropogenic introductions of species has been the absence of a globally standardised system for species nomenclature. For over a decade, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has provided a taxonomically authoritative classification and designation of the currently accepted names for all known marine species. However, WoRMS mainly focuses on taxonomy and does not specifically address species introductions. Here, we introduce the World Register of Introduced Marine Species (WRiMS), a database directly linked to WoRMS that includes all introduced marine species, distinguishing native and introduced geographic ranges. Both the WoRMS and WRiMS contents are continually updated by specialists who add citations of original species descriptions, key taxonomic literature, images and notes on native and introduced geographic distributions. WRiMS editors take responsibility for assessing the validity of species records by critically evaluating if a species has been introduced to a region, erroneously identified and/or potentially naturally present in a region but previously unnoticed. WRiMS currently contains 2,714 introduced species. The amount and quality of the information entered depend on the availability of experts to update its contents. Because WRiMS is global and it combines species taxonomic and geographic information with links to other resources and expertise, it is currently the most comprehensive standardised database of marine introduced species. In addition, WRiMS forms the basis for a future global early warning system of marine species introductions., WRiMS came about through funding from the University of Auckland, Census of Marine Life’s OBIS funding, and EMODnet Biology (to Mark Costello), and LifeWatch Belgium (from VLIZ). We acknowledge the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) who, as part of the Belgian contribution to LifeWatch, provided funding to organise the second WRiMS workshop held at VLIZ, in Oostende, Belgium, during the 23rd–25th of April 2018.

A new genus, Liusius, is established for the East Asian leucosiid crab Leucosia longimaculata Chen & Fang, 1991. The new genus differs from Leucosia s. str. and allied genera in having the shaft of the male first gonopod coiled eight times on its axis, bearing a distal setose lobe topped by a digitate process, and prominently swollen female vulvae opening distad. The molecular phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA supports the morphological observations. The species is redescribed and illustrated.

Of the 452 multicellular non-indigenous species (NIS) recorded off the Israeli Mediterranean coast, nearly 90% are considered to have been introduced through the Suez Canal (Erythraean NIS). The Israeli shelf serves as an important way station and breeding ground for Erythraean NIS, with 260 and 91 species already recorded in the greater Levant Sea and Central Mediterranean, respectively. The positive relationship between time since first record and spread indicates that Erythraean NIS populations may not be at equilibrium and are likely to spread further. Thus, the greater NIS numbers recorded in the past half century augur a sizable invasion debt. A review of the policy of the State of Israel concerning marine NIS, as reflected in recent official documents and regulations, reveals how these enhance their establishment, proliferation and spread in Israeli waters and in waters under the jurisdiction of other Mediterranean States. The continued role of the enlarged Suez Canal as corridor for invasion, and the increasing temperature of Mediterranean seawater, portend unceasing propagule pressure and likely rising establishment success of species not yet introduced. Recognition that factors driving the introduction and establishment of marine NIS are increasing, and the large-sized accrued invasion debt, impel us to urge the Contracting Parties to Barcelona Convention to undertake prevention and control measures to curb marine introductions into the Mediterranean Sea.

Large blooms of Rhopilema nomadica, a highly venomous rhizostamatid scyphozoan species introduced to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, have become ubiquitous in the summer and winter months along the Israeli coasts since the mid-1980s. This species has since spread across the eastern Mediterranean and was sighted as far west as Tunisia and Sardinia. For the past 12 years, we have studied changes in the mitochondrial COI haplotypes diversity of R. nomadica to investigate small scale fluctuactions of genetic diversity and to reveal possible genetic structuring of the fast spreading invader in the Eastern Mediterranean. The 1091 COI sequences analysed, revealed a highly diverse population displaying 89 haplotypes, 46 of which appeared as singletons, low frequency haplotypes. All the specimens analysed throughout the period belong to a single unstructured population. Though lacking data from the source population in the Red Sea, the high within-population diversity and the high diversity of COI haplotypes support the hypothesis of multiple introductions events, or an open corridor with a continuous influx of propagules. Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fst negative values and the increased numbers of COI singletons from early to late sampling periods, have verified that the Israeli population is characterized by a rapid expanding population. Further research is needed for the evaluation of COI diversity and patterns in R. nomadica populations across the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, as well as any correlation of the high variability between COI locus and phenotypic diversity.

Aim: The introduction of aquatic non-indigenous species (ANS) has become a major driver for global changes in species biogeography. We examined spatial patterns and temporal trends of ANS detections since 1965 to inform conservation policy and management.Location: Global. Methods: We assembled an extensive dataset of first records of detection of ANS (1965–2015) across 49 aquatic ecosystems, including the (a) year of first collection, (b) population status and (c) potential pathway(s) of introduction. Data were analysed at global and regional levels to assess patterns of detection rate, richness and trans-port pathways.Results: An annual mean of 43 (±16 SD) primary detections of ANS occurred—one new detection every 8.4 days for 50 years. The global rate of detections was rel-atively stable during 1965–1995, but increased rapidly after this time, peaking at roughly 66 primary detections per year during 2005–2010 and then declining marginally. Detection rates were variable within and across regions through time. Arthropods, molluscs and fishes were the most frequently reported ANS. Most ANS were likely introduced as stowaways in ships’ ballast water or biofouling, although direct evidence is typically absent.Main conclusions: This synthesis highlights the magnitude of recent ANS detections, yet almost certainly represents an underestimate as many ANS go unreported due to limited search effort and diminishing taxonomic expertise. Temporal rates of detec-tion are also confounded by reporting lags, likely contributing to the lower detection rate observed in recent years. There is a critical need to implement standardized, repeated methods across regions and taxa to improve the quality of global-scale comparisons and sustain core measures over longer time-scales. It will be fundamen-tal to fill in knowledge gaps given that invasion data representing broad regions of the world's oceans are not yet readily available and to maintain knowledge pipelines for adaptive management. Fil: Bailey, Sarah A.. Great Lakes Laboratory For Fisheries And Aquatic Scienc; Canadá Fil: Brown, Lyndsay. Marine Scotland Science; Reino Unido Fil: Campbell, Marnie L.. Deakin University; Australia Fil: Canning-Clode, João. Marine And Environmental Sciences Centre; Portugal Fil: Carlton, James T.. Williams College. Maritime Studies Program; Estados Unidos Fil: Castro, Nuno. Marine And Environmental Sciences Centre; Portugal Fil: Chainho, Paula. Marine And Environmental Sciences Centre; Portugal Fil: Chan, Farrah T.. Great Lakes Institute For Enviromental Research; Canadá Fil: Creed, Joel C.. Universidade do Estado de Rio do Janeiro; Brasil Fil: Curd, Amelia. Ifremer Institut Francais de Recherche Pour L'exploitation de la Mer; Francia Fil: Darling, John. United States Environmental Protection Agency; Estados Unidos Fil: Fofonoff, Paul. Smithsonian Environmental Research Ctr; Estados Unidos Fil: Galil, Bella S.. The Steinhardt Museum Of Natural History; Israel Fil: Hewitt, Chad L.. Murdoch University; Australia Fil: Inglis, Graeme J.. National Institute Of Water & Atmospheric Research Lt; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Keith, Inti. Charles Darwin Foundation; Ecuador Fil: Mandrak, Nicholas E.. University Of Toronto Scarborough; Canadá Fil: Marchini, Agnese. University of Pavia; Italia Fil: McKenzie, Cynthia H.. Fisheries And Ocean Canada. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre; Canadá Fil: Occhipinti‐Ambrogi, Anna. University of Pavia; Italia Fil: Ojaveer, Henn. University of Tartu; Estonia Fil: Pires‐Teixeira, Larissa M.. Universidad de Lisboa; Portugal. Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil Fil: Robinson, Tamara B.. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica Fil: Ruiz, Gregory M.. United States Environmental Protection Agency; Estados Unidos Fil: Seaward, Kimberley. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd.; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Schwindt, Evangelina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina Fil: Son, Mikhail O.. Institute of Marine Biology; Ucrania Fil: Therriault, Thomas W.. Pacific Biological Station; Canadá Fil: Zhan, Aibin. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China

We quantify a large-scale extirpation of native species from the Israeli Mediterranean shelf, a region strongly affected by rapidly changing environmental conditions and the introduction of non-indigenous species, based on an extensive sampling programme of mollusks on intertidal to subtidal soft and hard substrata. We reconstruct historical species richness from shelly death assemblages, quantify the time range they cover with radiocarbon dating, and compare their richness with today’s living assemblage diversity. The median native richness is 50% of the historical richness for the intertidal, but only 8% for the subtidal down to 40 m. Samples from the mesophotic zone show a much higher median of 42%, which is likely an underestimation due to sampling constraints. In contrast, non-indigenous species show assemblages matching the historical richness. Seasonality is very strong: autumn samples, after the summer heat peak, are highly impoverished in native species but enriched in non-indigenous ones. Additionally, a comparison between today’s and historical native species maximum size shows that shallow subtidal native populations are mostly non-reproductive. In contrast, non-indigenous species reach reproductive size. These results suggest that a recent large-scale change in environmental conditions is strongly favoring non-indigenous species and is the main cause behind the shallow subtidal native species decline. Such an environmental factor is likely seawater temperature that plays a greater role in the shallow subtidal than in the cooler mesophotic zone, and affects subtidal species more than intertidal ones, pre-adapted to a climatically extreme environment.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), introduced in June 2008, was adopted to achieve a Good Environmental Status (GES) in the EU's marine waters and to protect resources of socio-economic interest. The MSFD exerts to the marine area over which a Member State exercises jurisdictional rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), including the deep-sea waters, seafloor and sub-seafloor of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). However, currently the MSFD focuses on coastal habitats and the shallow-water seafloor to the detriment of the deeper habitats. Despite the huge dimension of the deep sea (below 200 m of depth) covering more than 65% of the Earth's surface and including >95% of the global biosphere, the relevance of the dark portion of the seas and oceans is still almost completely neglected. Given the important bi-directional links between shallow and deep ecosystems, there is a clear need for extending the implementation of the MSFD into the deep sea, to define a sound ecosystem-based approach for the management and protection of deep-sea ecosystems and attain GES. We assembled data on drivers, anthropogenic pressures and impacts concerning the MSFD descriptors pertaining to the Mediterranean deep sea. We list deep-sea monitoring activities and the main sources providing benchmark conditions, and discuss knowledge and geographic coverage gaps. MSFD descriptors apply to the deep sea as to coastal waters, and ought to be monitored contemporaneously. We provide recommendations for guidelines for future deep-sea monitoring in the Mediterranean Sea., This study has been supported by the DG ENV project IDEM (Implementation of the MSFD to the Deep Mediterranean Sea; contract EU No 11.0661/2017/750680/SUB/EN V.C2). MC and AS-V from University of Barcelona acknowledge support from the Spanish government through Red BAMAR (ref.: CGL2016-81854-REDT), a network on marine litter, and RTD projects NUREIEV (ref. CTM2013-44598-R) and NUREIEVA (ref. CTM2016-75953-C2-1-R) on far-field and near-field impacts of the Portman Bay, SE Spain, coastal submarine mine tailings disposal site. Generalitat de Catalunya autonomous government funding to CRG Marine Geosciences (ref. 2017 SGR 315) within its support scheme to excellence research groups is equally acknowledged.

Observations of previously unrecorded non-native species in the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain), situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, have accelerated since 1980, and increased rapidly in the past 5 years. Four new records of decapod crustaceans have been detected in this region: the African snapping shrimp Alpheus sp., the West African cleaner shrimp Lysmata uncicornis, the Indo-West Pacific giant tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon, and the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus. The introduction and establishment of these species into the coastal waters of this region, the southernmost Atlantic coast of Spain may have been influenced by recent anthropogenic alteration of habitat, particularly estuaries and salt marshes, and by climate change facilitating the spread of warm water biota., This work was partially funded by the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (PID2019-105978RA-I00).

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.

23 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.104791, Harmful invader ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi's expansions in the Eurasian Seas, its spatio-temporal population dynamics depending on environmental conditions in recipient habitats have been synthesized. M. leidyi found suitable temperature, salinity and productivity conditions in the temperate and subtropical environments of the semi-enclosed seas, in the coastal areas of open basins and in closed water bodies, where it created autonomous populations. M. leidyi changes its phenology depending on seasonal temperature regime in different environments. We assessed ranges of sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity and sea surface chlorophyll values, sufficient for M. leidyi general occurrence and reproduction based on comprehensive long-term datasets, contributed by co-authors. This assessment revealed that there are at least two eco-types (Southern and Northern) in the recipient seas of Eurasia with features specific for their donor areas. The range of thresholds for M. leidyi establishment, occurrence and life cycle in both eco-types depends on variability of environmental parameters in their native habitats, T.A. Shiganova performed this study within the framework of State assignment of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation - theme #0149-2019-0010. A.S. Kazmin performed assessment of current advection, contributing to species dispersal within the framework of State assignment of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation - theme #0149-2019-0004

Although the ecological importance and impact of non-indigenous species is increasingly recognised and documented in shallow water ecosystems, their presence beyond the shelf has scarcely been documented. A survey of the upper slope biota of the Mediterranean coast of Israel revealed the presence at 200-m depth of individuals of three Erythraean species, the crocodile toothfish Champsodon nudivittis, Golani’s round herring Etrumeus golanii, and the burrowing goby, Trypauchen vagina. In the past decade several Erythraean species, some newly arrived, some well-established, have been collected on the Levantine lower shelf and upper slope. The species invasion revealed that thermal niche estimations based on the species’ native environment may have underestimated their ability to tolerate lower temperatures. The results reported here suggest that the wide thermal tolerance of some Erythraean species may facilitate their bathymetric and geographic expansion. Their spread to the depths where the unique, diverse and fragile mesophotic ‘animal forests’ occur, bodes ill to these beleaguered communities.

The biological traits of the sixty-eight most widespread multicellular non-indigenous species (MWNIS) in European Seas: Baltic Sea, Western European Margin of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were examined. Data for nine biological traits was analyzed, and a total of 41 separate categories were used to describe the biological and ecological functions of these NIS. Our findings show that high dispersal ability, high reproductive rate and ecological generalization are the biological traits commonly associated with MWNIS. The functional groups that describe most of the 68 MWNIS are: photoautotrophic, zoobenthic (both sessile and motile) and nektonic predatory species. However, these ‘most widespread’ species comprise a wide range of taxa and biological trait profiles; thereby a clear ”identikit of a perfect invader” for marine and brackish environments is difficult to define. Some traits, for example: “life form”, “feeding method” and “mobility”, feature multiple behaviours and strategies. Even species introduced by a single pathway, e.g. vessels, feature diverse biological trait profiles. MWNIS likely to impact community organization, structure and diversity are often associated with brackish environments. For many traits (“life form”, “sociability”, “reproductive type”, “reproductive frequency”, “haploid and diploid dispersal” and “mobility”), the categories mostly expressed by the impact-causing MWNIS do not differ substantially from the whole set of MWNIS.

Innocenti, Gianna, Stasolla, Gianluca, Mendelson, Moti, Galil, Bella S. (2017): Aggressive, omnivorous, invasive: the Erythraean moon crab Matuta victor (Fabricius, 1781) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Matutidae) in the eastern Mediterranean sea. Journal of Natural History 51 (35-36): 2133-2142, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2017.1363305, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2017.1363305

Resting stages of plankton were sampled in the surficial sediments in the port of Haifa, Israel, on the eve of a major port enlargement project. We recorded the structure of the assemblages and examined their relationship with different environments within the port. Our findings reveal a remarkably high diversity coupled with low density and the highest number of oligotrich ciliate cyst types recorded from marine sediments. Near the eutrophic and highly polluted zone of the Kishon estuary ciliates were more abundant than elsewhere in the port, whereas dinoflagellates' abundance was reduced, and these trends held true both for full and empty cysts. Some harmful or potentially toxic species, such as Scrippsiella acuminata, were widespread in the port. The toxigenic species include Alexandrium minutum, Gymnodinium uncatenatum and Lingulodinium polyedrum. Active cells of the unarmoured, bloom-forming Akashiwo sanguinea were identified in the cultures obtained from the incubated sediments. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sixty-nine specimens of the rare leucosiid crab Merocryptus boletisculpta are reported from Walters Shoal, an isolated seamount in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The species has previously only been known from the type series collected during the R/V Vityaz 1988-1989 expedition. The species is re-described, illustrated, and colour photographs are provided.

This is the second collective paper issued in 2019, currently amalgamates new knowledge on the Mediterranean geographic distributions of 17 species from five phyla (six aliens, three cosmopolitans, two east Atlantic records and six natives). The acknowledged species were reported from ten countries, mentioned here from west to east: Spain : first report of the east Atlantic grouper Cephalopholis taeniops in the western Mediterranean and an inclusion of Pontarachna puntulum and Litarachna communis to the pontarachnid fauna of Spain; Morocco : first record of Solea senegalensis from the Moroccan Mediterranean coast; Algeria : a valid confirmation for the presence of Sardinella maderensis ; Malta : a first record of the Red Sea stomatopod Erugosquilla massavensis ; Italy : a rare observation of the crab Paragalene longicrura from Siciliy and a further integration of the alien brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus to the commercial catch in Sicily; Montenegro : a first record of the Lessepsian bigfin reef squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana from the Adriatic Sea; Turkey : northernmost documentation of the Mediterranean flatworm Prostheceraeus giesbrechtii in the Aegean Sea; Israel : a solid confirmation for the population establishment of both the alien rock shrimp Sicyonia lancifer and two species of angelfish, and a first and deepest record of the crystalline goby Odondebuenia balearica ; Lebanon : first record of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca ; Syria : first records of the crown jellyfish Nausithoe punctate and the smallscale codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus .

A small collection of East African leucosiid crabs, preserved in the crustacean collection at the Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze, Italy, was examined. Of these, one, Cryptocnemus grandidieri A. Milne-Edwards 1865, collected in 1864 by Alfred Grandidier in Zanzibar and known only from the single type specimen, is redescribed and illustrated. The others are new to science: one each are included in Leucisca MacLeay, 1838 and Nobiliella Komatsu & Takeda, 2003. These new species are described and illustrated, and their affinities with allied taxa discussed.

Preliminary results of DNA barcoding survey of deep-sea mega-faunal biota are presented, collected by trawl and gillnet off the Israeli coast (SE Mediterranean, depths 700 to 1500 meters) during 2012-2013. 846 organisms were identified to 37 species, mainly fish and decapod crustaceans. The most abundant species were the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus , the cosmopolitan decapod Polycheles typhlops and the bivalve Abra longicallus . Two species were sampled for the first time from the southern Levant- the long armed chiroteuthid squid Chiroteuthis veranyi and the common mora, Mora moro . Four of the 18 fish species and two of the 10 crustacean species were abundant, representing 78% and 61%, respectively, of the organisms collected. Most other species are represented by fewer than 10 individuals. PCR products for the cytochrome c oxidase sub unit I (COI) gene for the 37 species were successfully sequenced. The identified and vouchered individuals are stored at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History (Tel Aviv University, Israel) and their COI sequences were uploaded into the BoLD universal data center as part of the national marine barcoding project. The COI sequences of Acanthephyra eximia, Gryphus vitreus, Galeodea echinophora , Mesothuria intestinalis and Astropecten irregularis, constitute first records of these species in BoLD. When compared to the COI sequences in BoLD, the present results reveal some inconsistency in species identification, an outcome that should be taken into consideration primarily once the taxonomical verifications of collected taxa are elusive. This study is the first step in DNA barcoding of the Levant’s little-known benthic deep-sea fauna.

A flourishing population of the Massawan mantis shrimp, Erugosquilla massavensis, an Erythraean species, is recorded off Sicily, Italy, one year after the very first specimen was collected off the eastern coast of the island. The species is already established as a minor, albeit valuable, fishery resource. Once its population increases, however, it may compete with the native Mediterranean spot-tail mantis shrimp, Squilla mantis. This article presents the results of a joint effort between members of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Comiso and local fishermen to monitor non-indigenous species in Sicilian waters., peer-reviewed

A decade long monitoring programme has revealed a flourishing population of the non-indigenous skeleton shrimp Paracaprella pusilla in the vicinity of outfalls of desalination plants off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The first specimens were collected in 2010, thus predating all previously published records of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. A decade-long disturbance regime related to the construction and operation of the plants may have had a critical role in driving the population growth. University of Palermo FFR 2018

Only few live records of cold-water corals are known from the Aegean and Levant seas, though antipatharians, ceriantharians, zoantharians, gorgonians and pennatulaceans have been recorded from their continental shelf and upper slope. These mesophotic coral communities, including the Corallium rubrum (Linnaeus, 1758) colonies in Crete and southeast Turkey, are already within the depth range of disruptive carnivorous and omnivorous non-indigenous species introduced though the Suez Canal. The recent enlargement of the Suez Canal has raised concern over increasing propagule pressure of deeper living species. In fact, the recently observed “descent” of Erythraean non-indigenous species from the upper to lower continental shelf and upper slope may be also a harbinger of temperature-dependent range expansion, both horizontal and vertical. As mesophotic coral communities in the easternmost Mediterranean have barely been documented, it is impossible to predict the possibility of degradation and loss of native populations, habitats and ecosystem services. However, preliminary studies on impacts of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish on Caribbean mesophotic reef communities suggested a shift in community structure. The spread of non-indigenous species to mesophotic depths requires a concerted effort to map these habitats and study their communities.

After publication of the above mentioned article, previously undisclosed material was made available resulting in an altered population status for the below mentioned species

An unfamiliar scyphozoan jellyfish species has been observed along the Mediterranean coast of Israel since 2003. Morphological characters such as the densely anastomosed radial canals and the stalked cupped appendages on the oral arms identified it as closely allied to Cotylorhiza. Comparison with the type of C. erythraea, collected over a century ago in the Suez Canal, shows close similarity. Molecular analyses based on the mitochondrial barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase sub unit I (COI) and 28S ribosomal DNA support its placement among the Cepheidae. This is the fifth-introduced scyphozoan species recorded along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The presence of sexually mature specimens detected as far back as 2003, and the occurrence of the species in the past summer at sites nearly 90 kms apart, indicate the existence of widespread, established populations.

In a world where invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as one of the major threats to biodiversity, leading scientists from five continents have come together to propose the concept of developing an international association for open knowledge and open data on IAS—termed “INVASIVESNET”. This new association will facilitate greater understanding and improved management of invasive alien species (IAS) and biological invasions globally, by developing a sustainable network of networks for effective knowledge exchange. In addition to their inclusion in the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, the increasing ecological, social, cultural and economic impacts associated with IAS have driven the development of multiple legal instruments and policies. This increases the need for greater co-ordination, co-operation, and information exchange among scientists, management, the community of practice and the public. INVASIVESNET will be formed by linking new and existing networks of interested stakeholders including international and national expert working groups and initiatives, individual scientists, database managers, thematic open access journals, environmental agencies, practitioners, managers, industry, non-government organisations, citizens and educational bodies. The association will develop technical tools and cyberinfrastructure for the collection, management and dissemination of data and information on IAS; create an effective communication platform for global stakeholders; and promote coordination and collaboration through international meetings, workshops, education, training and outreach. To date, the sustainability of many strategic national and international initiatives on IAS have unfortunately been hampered by time-limited grants or funding cycles. Recognising that IAS initiatives need to be globally coordinated and on-going, we aim to develop a sustainable knowledge sharing association to connect the outputs of IAS research and to inform the consequential management and societal challenges arising from IAS introductions. INVASIVESNET will provide a dynamic and enduring network of networks to ensure the continuity of connections among the IAS community of practice, science and management.

The present article is the first to describe the diet of the black anglerfish Lophius budegassa, an opportunistic, non-selective, ambush predator, on the upper slope of the south eastern Mediterranean Sea. The deep-water rose prawn, Parapenaeus longirostris, and the short nose green eye, Chlorophthalmus agassizi, are identified as its main prey items. We used stomach contents as a proxy of prey availability, thus reflecting the local species abundance in the warm, oligotrophic environment of the south eastern Levant. Current models predict increasing temperatures and oligotrophy in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of this study depicting the diet of the Levantine population of L. budegassa, which varies from other Mediterranean populations, could indicate possible Mediterranean-wide shifts in prey distribution and abundance driven by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. In addition, we augment the knowledge regarding the species’ feeding ecology, especially regarding possible sex and size dissimilarity. We propose the use of diet analyses from non-selective predators like L. budegassa as a mean to identify changes in community compositions and differences among communities.

A diverse and abundant fouling community dominated by Lessepsian non-indigenous species was identified on a 13.5-m-long steel buoy stranded on the Israeli coast but originating from Port Said, at the Mediterranean entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt. The molluscan community was sampled quantitatively by scraping. Three quarters of the individuals and more than half of the species were non-indigenous. Among the latter, a mytilid bivalve, Gregariella cf. ehrenbergi, was first recorded in the Mediterranean Sea on the basis of these samples, suggesting that the full consideration of all potential vectors can contribute to non-indigenous species detection. Large floating objects in coastal waters, such as buoys, are particularly suitable for colonization by Lessepsian species because hard substrates, and artificial ones in particular, are highly susceptible to the establishment of non-indigenous species. Moreover, their size and persistence enable the development of abundant and mature fouling communities that can disseminate propagules as eggs and larvae over long distances and for extended periods if detached. This report highlights the potential for large rafting debris as a vector of the spread of non-indigenous biota within the Mediterranean Sea.

The hyperiidean amphipod Brachyscelus rapacoides Stephensen, 1925 is recorded from the scyphozoan jellyfish Rhopilema nomadica Galil, 1990, a new record of association for the genus Brachyscelus, as well as the first record of hyperiid infestation of a non-indigenous scyphozoan host. Because of some past confusion concerning the status of B. rapacoides and the closely related species B. rapax (Claus, 1871) a redescription of B. rapacoides and molecular analysis are provided in order to validate it as a species distinguished from B. rapax.