1. Refined and updated bon-inigenous species baselines for the Mediterranean sea at the national, sub-regional and national level in the context of the Barcelona convention's integrated monitoringa and assessment programme (IMAP)
- Author
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Galanidi, M., Aissi, M., Ali, M., Bakalem, A., Bariche, M., Bartolo, A., Bazairi, H., Beqiraj, S., Bilecenoglu, M., Bugeja, M., Carbonell, A., Castriota, L., Chalabi, A., Cinar, M.E., Dragičević, B., Dulčić, J., El Haweet, A., Farrag, M., Galili, B., Guerin, L., Hyams- Kaphzan, O., Kapedani, R., Kamberi, E., Livi, S., Masse, C., Mavrič, B., Ouerghi, A., Petović, S., Png-Gonzalez, L., Rizzo, M., Romdhane, M.S., Shenkar, N., Shakman, E., Yahyaoui, A., Yokes, M., Zenetos, A., C. Bouafif, A., and Oureghi
- Subjects
Barcelona convention IMAO, NIS Baseline, Mediterranean, trends indicator - Abstract
This work aimed to collect the available material on the presence of marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) in the Mediterranean countries starting with existing national inventories and updating with new species records observed until December 2020 and other taxonomic and status amendments as appropriate. The final outcome is the result of a collaborative process between national and regional experts, involving detailed exchange of information and the building of consensus on the final lists to be used as the baselines for the implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme for the Mediterranean. (IMAP). In total, 1011 non-indigenous species have been found in Mediterranean marine waters, of which 748 are currently considered established. The highest number of species is observed in Israel, Turkey, Lebanon and Italy. Approximately 50 species were categorized as Data Deficient, eitherdue to lack of consensus on their alien status or the validity of their identification. Polychaeta and Foraminifera were the taxonomic groups with the highest number of controversial species.There was a general increase in the yearly rate of new NIS introductions after the late 1990’s, which appears to be slowing down in the last decade. The refined NIS inventories are and important step for the full operationalization of the Common Indicator 6 for alien species in the context of IMAP.
- Published
- 2022