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Includes bibliographical references. Number of sources in the bibliography: 495. Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Cyprus, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, 2021. The University of Cyprus Library holds the printed form of the thesis. Η αποτυχία παραδοσιακών στρατηγικών διαχείρισης και η εξάντληση σημαντικών θαλάσσιων πόρων σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο έχει οδηγήσει σε αυξημένο ενδιαφέρον προς την οικοσυστημική διαχείριση, μια προσέγγιση περιβαλλοντικής διαχείρισης που αναγνωρίζει και λαμβάνει υπόψη το πλήρες φάσμα των αλληλεπιδράσεων εντός του οικοσυστήματος, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των ανθρώπινων δραστηριοτήτων και όχι μεμονωμένα ζητήματα, είδη ή οικοσυστημικές υπηρεσίες. Βασικά εργαλεία αυτής της προσέγγισης είναι τα οικοσυστημικά μοντέλα που συνυπολογίζουν όλες τις βασικές μεταβλητές σε ένα οικοσύστημα, όπως την αφθονία και τη δομή των πληθυσμών, τα χαρακτηριστικά του κύκλου ζωής τους, τη θήρευση και τον ανταγωνισμό μεταξύ τους και τις περιβαλλοντικές και ανθρωπογενείς επιρροές. Βασικός στόχος αυτής της εργασίας ήταν η ανάπτυξη του πρώτου τέτοιου μοντέλου για το θαλάσσιο οικοσύστημα της υφαλοκρηπίδας της Κύπρου, προκειμένου να περιγραφεί η δομή και η λειτουργία του οικοσυστήματος, να εντοπιστούν σημαντικές ομάδες και είδη οργανισμών και να αξιολογηθούν ο αντίκτυπος των αλιευτικών δραστηριοτήτων και ο ρόλος των ξενικών ειδών. Το μοντέλο χρησιμοποιείται επίσης για την πρόβλεψη της απόκρισης του οικοσυστήματος σε διάφορα σενάρια που σχετίζονται με τη διαχείριση και το περιβάλλον, όπως αλλαγές στην αλιευτική προσπάθεια και παραγωγή ή/και αλλαγές στην αφθονία των εισβλητικών ειδών. Στο μοντέλο ορίζονται συνολικά 40 λειτουργικές ομάδες που κυμαίνονται από παραγωγούς και θρύμματα μέχρι κορυφαίους θηρευτές και όπου είναι δυνατόν, τα ξενικά είδη περιλαμβάνονται σε αποκλειστικά ξενικές ομάδες. Τα απαραίτητα δεδομένα λαμβάνονται από τοπικές έρευνες, στατιστικές αλιείας, δημοσιευμένα στοιχεία από αναλύσεις περιεχομένου στομάχου, άλλη επιστημονική και γκρίζα βιβλιογραφία, καθώς και εμπειρικές εξισώσεις. Λαμβάνονται υπόψη όλες οι αλιευτικές δραστηριότητες στην περιοχή, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της ερασιτεχνικής αλιείας, η οποία αξιολογείται για πρώτη φορά στην Κύπρο μέσω τηλεφωνικών ερευνών. Και οι τρεις υπάρχοντες τύποι ερασιτεχνικής αλιείας περιλαμβάνονται στις έρευνες, η ερασιτεχνική αλιεία με σκάφος, με ψαροντούφεκο και από την ακτή. Το βασικό οικοσυστημικό μοντέλο προβάλλεται στο μέλλον υπό μια σειρά σεναρίων που σχετίζονται με στρατηγικές διαχείρισης της αλιείας και με την αφθονία εισβλητικών ειδών και οι αποκρίσεις του οικοσυστήματος εκφράζονται μέσω μιας σειράς οικολογικών και σχετικών με την αλιεία δεικτών. Εκτός από την αναγκαιότητά τους για το μοντέλο, τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας για την ερασιτεχνική αλιεία υπογραμμίζουν το σημαντικό μέγεθος αυτού του τομέα σε ό,τι αφορά τα αλιεύματα, καθώς και την κοινωνική και οικονομική του σημασία και δείχνουν ότι η ερασιτεχνική αλιεία στην Κύπρο ίσως έχει μέχρι τώρα υποτιμηθεί και ότι θα πρέπει σίγουρα να λαμβάνεται υπόψη κατά την εξέταση μέτρων για τη διαχείριση της αλιείας. Η ανάλυση του μοντέλου δείχνει ότι το παράκτιο θαλάσσιο οικοσύστημα της Κύπρου μοιράζεται κοινά δομικά και λειτουργικά χαρακτηριστικά με άλλα μεσογειακά οικοσυστήματα, ειδικά εκείνα στην ανατολική λεκάνη. Δείχνει επίσης ότι το οικοσύστημα βρίσκεται σε χαμηλό έως ενδιάμεσο αναπτυξιακό στάδιο, με αξιοσημείωτες επιπτώσεις τόσο από την αλιεία όσο και από τα ξενικά είδη. Οι χρονικές προσομοιώσεις αποκαλύπτουν την σταθερότητα του οικοσυστήματος ως προς τα θεμελιώδη χαρακτηριστικά του, όπως το οικολογικό μέγεθος, την τροφική πολυπλοκότητα και την ωριμότητα. Αποκαλύπτουν ωστόσο και τη μεγάλη αβεβαιότητα που μπορεί να εισαγάγει η πολυπλοκότητα του οικοσυστήματος στη διαχείριση της αλιείας και υπογραμμίζει τη σημασία μιας ολιστικής επιστημονικής συμβουλής προς τα κέντρα λήψης αποφάσεων, προκειμένου να αναπτυχθούν σωστά στρατηγικές, να αποφευχθούν συγκρουόμενα ή ανεπιθύμητα αποτελέσματα, να επιτευχθούν οι καθορισμένοι στόχοι ή και να εξηγηθούν αποτυχίες διαχείρισης. Worldwide, failure of traditional management strategies and depletion of important marine resources has led to an increased interest towards ecosystem-based management, an environmental management approach that recognizes and takes into consideration the full array of interactions within the ecosystem, including human activities, rather than single issues, species or ecosystem services in isolation. Essential tools towards this approach are ecosystem models that consider all key variables in an ecosystem, such as population abundance and structure, life history traits, predation and competition between species, and environmental and anthropogenic influences. Main objective of this work was to develop the first such model for the shelf marine ecosystem of Cyprus, in order to describe the structure and functioning of the ecosystem, identify keystone groups and species, evaluate the impact of fishing activities and assess the role of alien species. The model is also used to predict the ecosystem’s response to different environmental and management-related scenarios, such as changes in fishing effort and production and/or changes in the abundance of invasive groups and species. A total of 40 functional groups are defined in the model, ranging from producers and detritus to top predators and when possible, alien species are included in exclusively alien groups. Input data are obtained from local surveys, fishery statistics, published data on stomach content analyses, other scientific and grey literature, as well as empirical equations. All fishing activities in the area are considered, including Marine Recreational Fishing (MRF), which is evaluated for the first time in Cyprus using telephone surveys. All three existing MRF types are included in these surveys, boat fishing, spearfishing and shore fishing. The base ecosystem model is projected into the future under a series of scenarios related to fisheries management strategies and invasive species abundances, and the ecosystem responses are expressed through a series of ecological and fisheries-related indicators. Besides their importance as inputs in the model, the MRF survey results highlight the great magnitude of this sector in terms of catches, as well as its social and economic significance, and indicate that MRF in Cyprus has been underestimated thus far and that it should definitely be taken into account when considering measures for fisheries management. Analysis of the model shows that the coastal marine ecosystem of Cyprus shares common structural and functional characteristics with other Mediterranean ecosystems, especially those in the eastern basin. It also indicates that the ecosystem is at a low to intermediate developmental stage, with noticeable impacts from both fisheries and alien species. Temporal simulations reveal an ecosystem’s resilience in terms of its fundamental traits, such as its ecological size, trophic complexity and maturity. Yet, they also reveal the magnitude of uncertainties that ecosystem’s complexity can introduce to fisheries management and highlight the importance of holistic scientific advice towards managers, in order to correctly develop strategies, avoid conflicting or undesired outcomes, achieve set goals or even explain management failures.

Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are animals and plants introduced accidently or deliberately into the European seas, originating from other seas of the globe. About 800 marine non-indigenous species (NIS)currently occur in the European Union national marine waters, several of which have negative impacts on marine ecosystem services and biodiversity. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 2 (D2), EU Member States (MSs) need to consider NIS in their marine management strategies. The Descriptor D2 includes one primary criterion (D2C1: new NIS introductions), and two secondary criteria (D2C2 and D2C3). The D2 implementation is characterized by a number of issues and uncertainties which can be applicable to the Descriptor level (e.g. geographical unit of assessment, assessment period, phytoplanktonic, parasitic, oligohaline NIS, etc.), to the primary criterion D2C1 level (e.g. threshold values, cryptogenic, questionable species, etc), and to the secondary criteria D2C2 and D2C3. The current report tackles these issues and provides practical recommendations aiming at a smoother and more efficient implementation of D2 and its criteria at EU level. They constitute a solid operational output which can result in more comparable D2 assessments among MSsand MSFD regions/subregions. When it comes to the policy-side, the current report calls for a number of different categories of NIS to be reported in D2 assessments, pointing the need for the species to be labelled/categorised appropriately in the MSFD reporting by the MSs. These suggestions are proposed to be communicated to the MSFD Working Group of Good Environmental Status (GES) and subsequently to the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) of MSFD. Moreover, they can serve as an input for revising the Art. 8 Guidelines.

Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are animals and plants introduced accidently or deliberately into the European seas, originating from other seas of the globe. About 800 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) currently occur in the European Union national marine waters, several of which have negative impacts on marine ecosystem services and biodiversity. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 2 (D2), EU Member States (MSs) need to consider NIS in their marine management strategies. The Descriptor D2 includes one primary criterion (D2C1: new NIS introductions), and two secondary criteria (D2C2 and D2C3). The D2 implementation is characterized by a number of issues and uncertainties which can be applicable to the Descriptor level (e.g. geographical unit of assessment, assessment period, phytoplanktonic, parasitic, oligohaline NIS, etc.), to the primary criterion D2C1 level (e.g. threshold values, cryptogenic, questionable species, etc), and to the secondary criteria D2C2 and D2C3. The current report tackles these issues and provides practical recommendations aiming at a smoother and more efficient implementation of D2 and its criteria at EU level. They constitute a solid operational output which can result in more comparable D2 assessments among MSs and MSFD regions/subregions. When it comes to the policy-side, the current report calls for a number of different categories of NIS to be reported in D2 assessments, pointing the need for the species to be labelled/categorised appropriately in the MSFD reporting by the MSs. These suggestions are proposed to be communicated to the MSFD Working Group of Good Environmental Status (GES) and subsequently to the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) of MSFD. Moreover, they can serve as an input for revising the Art. 8 Guidelines.

Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are animals and plants introduced accidently or deliberately into the European seas, originating from other seas of the globe. About 800 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) currently occur in the European Union national marine waters, several of which have negative impacts on marine ecosystem services and biodiversity. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 2 (D2), EU Member States (MSs) need to consider NIS in their marine management strategies. The Descriptor D2 includes one primary criterion (D2C1: new NIS introductions), and two secondary criteria (D2C2 and D2C3). The D2 implementation is characterized by a number of issues and uncertainties which can be applicable to the Descriptor level (e.g. geographical unit of assessment, assessment period, phytoplanktonic, parasitic, oligohaline NIS, etc.), to the primary criterion D2C1 level (e.g. threshold values, cryptogenic, questionable species, etc), and to the secondary criteria D2C2 and D2C3. The current report tackles these issues and provides practical recommendations aiming at a smoother and more efficient implementation of D2 and its criteria at EU level. They constitute a solid operational output which can result in more comparable D2 assessments among MSs and MSFD regions/subregions. When it comes to the policy- side, the current report calls for a number of different categories of NIS to be reported in D2 assessments, pointing the need for the species to be labelled/categorised appropriately in the MSFD reporting by the MSs. These suggestions are proposed to be communicated to the MSFD Working Group of Good Environmental Status (GES) and subsequently to the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) of MSFD. Moreover, they can serve as an input for revising the Art. 8 Guidelines.

WOS: 000504749700017, This paper is a collection of novel distributional records of 20 species belonging to 8 phyla (Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata) from 11 Mediterranean countries, namely, Spain: an additional record of the Canary dentex Dentex canariensis is reported from Spain (Valencia), this is the northernmost record of this species in the Mediterranean; Algeria: the first documented record of Caulerpa chemnitzia is reported from the Algerian coast; France: the first record of the Spotted sea hare Aplysia dactylomela is reported from the eastern coast of Corsica; Italy: the first records of the Lessepsian polychaete Dorvillea similis and the alien bivalve Isognomon legumen are reported from Italian waters while additional records of Mnemiopsis leidyi in the south Adriatic are provided; Libya: the first record of an alien mollusc Crepidula fornicata is reported from Libyan waters; Malta: multiple sightings of gelatinous species Apolemia uvaria, Phacellophora camtschatica and Physophora hydrostatica are reported for the first time from Maltese waters, as well as the first tentative record of the Orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus cfr. coioides; Greece: an occurrence of a rare Bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus is reported from Hellenic Ionian waters, while the first records of the alien Mertens' prawn-goby Vanderhorstia mertensi, the recently described cyclopoid copepod Oithona davisae and the alien red seaweed Asparagopsis armata are reported from the Aegean Sea. The presence of the micromollusc Euthymella colzumensis is confirmed for Greece; Cyprus: the first record of the red cornetfish Fistularia petimba is reported from Cyprus; Turkey: the first record of the alien jellyfish Marivagia stellata is reported from south-eastern Turkey; Israel: the first records of the sea nettle Chrysaora sp. in the Levant are reported., International Ocean Institute (IOI); Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) [IP-2016-06-5251]; Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia; Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences; GoJelly project-EU Horizon 2020 [774499], Langeneck J. and Tempesti J. are grateful to M. El-Metwally and J. Ferrario for providing Red Sea specimens of D. similis, and to M. Lezzi for his support in the preparation of permanent slides. Deidun A. and Piraino S. wish to thank Mr. Pete Bullen (www.oceanfoto.co.uk), Roy Davidson, Hans Messler, Alexander Ferrante and Lyndsey Bee for making their photographs of the three gelatinous species in caption available to the authors, as well as to the International Ocean Institute (IOI) for sponsoring the Spot the Jellyfish campaign since 2010. Thanks are also due to Andre C. Morandini (Brasil) for supporting advice on P. camtschatica identification. Deidun A. and Zava B. are indebted to the angler Romario Pace for donating the photo of the fish individual reported hereunder. Dragicevic B. and Dulcic J. are thankful to Mr. Nikola Cvitan who provided photographs and videos of the specimen as well as additional information. Their work was partly supported by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) under project IP-2016-06-5251. Tirelli V. and Goruppi A. wish to thank the citizen scientists for providing sightings and photographic material through avvistAPP (Michele Cravati, V. D., Vincenzo Frezza, S. I., R. M., S. M., I. T. and C. V.) and the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia for funding the NOCE di MARE project. Michailidis N. and Manitaras I. thank fishmonger George Karamanos and fisher Christos Efrem for providing the specimen and information on its catch. Edelist D., Kuplik Z., Guy-Haim T. and Angel D. thank Dror Gilat and Inbar Margulis for recording and sharing their observations, and Mark J Gibbons, Andre C Morandini and Stefano Piraino for their useful taxonomic contributions. "Medusot Baam" is funded by the Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, as well as the GoJelly project -EU Horizon 2020 grant No 774499.