Unpublished Mediterranean records of marine alien and cryptogenic species
KATSANEVAKIS S.; POURSANIDIS D.; HOFFMAN R.; RIZGALLA J.; ROTHMAN S.B.-S.; LEVITT-BARMATS Y.; HADJIOANNOU L.; TRKOV D.; GARMENDIA J.M.; RIZZO M.; BARTOLO A.G.; BARICHE M.; TOMAS F.; KLEITOU P.; SCHEMBRI P.J.; KLETOU D.; TIRALONGO F.; PERGENT C.; PERGENT G.; AZZURRO E.; BILECENOGLU M.; LODOLA A.; BALLESTEROS E.; GEROVASILEIOU V.; VERLAQUE M.; OCCHIPINTI-AMBROGI A.; KYTINOU E.; DAILIANIS T.; FERRARIO J.; CROCETTA F.; JIMENEZ C.; EVANS J.; RAGKOUSIS M.; LIPEJ L.; BORG J.A.; DIMITRIADIS C.; CHATZIGEORGIOU G.; ALBANO P.G.; KALOGIROU S.; BAZAIRI H.; ESPINOSA F.; BEN SOUISSI J.; TSIAMIS K.; BADALAMENTI F.; LANGENECK J.; NOEL P.; DEIDUN A.; MARCHINI A.; SKOURADAKIS G.; ROYO L.; SINI M.; BIANCHI C.N.; SGHAIER Y.-R.; GHANEM R.; DOUMPAS N.; ZAOUALI J.; TSIRINTANIS K.; PAPADAKIS O.; MORRI C.; ÇINAR M.E.; TERRADOS J.; INSACCO G.; ZAVA B.; SOUFI-KECHAOU E.; PIAZZI L.; BEN AMOR K.O.; ANDRIOTIS E.; GAMBI M.C.; BEN AMOR M.M.; GARRABOU J.; LINARES C.; FORTI? A.; DIGENIS M.; CEBRIAN E.; FOURT M.; ZOTOU M.; CASTRIOTA L.; DI MARTINO V.; ROSSO A.; PIPITONE C.; FALAUTANO M.; GARCÍA M.; ZAKHAMA-SRAIEB R.; KHAMASSI F.; MANNINO A.M.; KTARI M.H.; KOSMA I.; RIFI M.; KARACHLE P.K.; YAPICI S.; BOS A.R.; BALISTRERI P.; RAMOS ESPLÁ A.A.; TEMPESTI J.; INGLESE O.; GIOVOS I.; DAMALAS D.; BENHISSOUNE S.; HUSEYINOGLU M.F.; RJIBA- BAHRI W.; SANTAMARÍA J.; ORLANDO-BONACA M.; IZQUIERDO A.; STAMOULI C.; MONTEFALCONE M.; CERIM H.; GOLO R.; TSIOLI S.; ORFANIDIS S.; MICHAILIDIS N.; GAGLIOTI M.; TA?KIN E.; MANCUSO E.; ?UNEC A.; CVITKOVI? I.; FILIZ H.; SANFILIPPO R.; SIAPATIS A.; MAVRI? B.; KARAA S.; TÜRKER A.; MONNIOT F.; VERDURA J.; EL OUAMARI N.; SELFATI M.; ZENETOS A.;
Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for
assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive
potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first
records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend
to remain unpublished, buried in scattered repositories or in the personal databases
of experts. Through an initiative to collect, harmonize and make such unpublished
data for marine alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea available, a
large dataset comprising 5376 records was created. It includes records of 239 alien
or cryptogenic taxa (192 Animalia, 24 Plantae, 23 Chromista) from 19 countries
surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of records, the most reported Phyla in
descending order were Chordata, Mollusca, Chlorophyta, Arthropoda, and Rhodophyta.
The most recorded species was Caulerpa cylindracea, followed by Siganus luridus,
Magallana sp. (cf. gigas or angulata) and Pterois miles. The dataset includes
records from 1972 to 2020, with the highest number of records observed in 2018.
Among the records of the dataset, Dictyota acutiloba is a first record for the
Mediterranean Sea. Nine first country records are also included: the alga Caulerpa
taxifolia var. distichophylla, the cube boxfish Ostracion cubicus, and the cleaner
shrimp Urocaridella pulchella from Israel; the sponge Paraleucilla magna from
Libya and Slovenia; the lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus from Cyprus; the bryozoan
Celleporaria vermiformis and the polychaetes Prionospio depauperata and
Notomastus aberans from Malta.
2020 - Journal article
BioInvasions Records 9 (2020): 165–182. doi:10.3391/bir.2020.9.2.01
Keywords: distribution, citizen science, invasive alien species, geo-referenced records, Mediterranean Sea, non-native species, Non-indigenous species