Unpublished Mediterranean records of marine alien and cryptogenic species

Abstract

Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for
\nassessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive
\npotential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first
\nrecords on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend
\nto remain unpublished, buried in scattered repositories or in the personal databases
\nof experts. Through an initiative to collect, harmonize and make such unpublished
\ndata for marine alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea available, a
\nlarge dataset comprising 5376 records was created. It includes records of 239 alien
\nor cryptogenic taxa (192 Animalia, 24 Plantae, 23 Chromista) from 19 countries
\nsurrounding the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of records, the most reported Phyla in
\ndescending order were Chordata, Mollusca, Chlorophyta, Arthropoda, and Rhodophyta.
\nThe most recorded species was Caulerpa cylindracea, followed by Siganus luridus,
\nMagallana sp. (cf. gigas or angulata) and Pterois miles. The dataset includes
\nrecords from 1972 to 2020, with the highest number of records observed in 2018.
\nAmong the records of the dataset, Dictyota acutiloba is a first record for the
\nMediterranean Sea. Nine first country records are also included: the alga Caulerpa
\ntaxifolia var. distichophylla, the cube boxfish Ostracion cubicus, and the cleaner
\nshrimp Urocaridella pulchella from Israel; the sponge Paraleucilla magna from
\nLibya and Slovenia; the lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus from Cyprus; the bryozoan
\nCelleporaria vermiformis and the polychaetes Prionospio depauperata and
\nNotomastus aberans from Malta.

Topics & Concepts