Can Citizen Science Survey Non-indigenous Fish Species in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea?

Abstract

Engaging non-scientists to survey ecosystems, a process known as citizen science has been adopted worldwide. For the first time, this was applied to monitor fish assemblages in the Kas Peninsula, Turkey, an area known for its important Lessepsian fish populations. For 3 years (2004, 2007 and 2010), fish assemblages were surveyed using underwater visual census by transect method. A total of 29 species was observed, seven of which were Lessepsian species. Results show a significant increase in the Lessepsian species over the study period. In 2004, they represented 34% of the total abundance, increasing to >61% in 2010. Differences were observed in the progression of populations between two invasive herbivores, Siganus rivulatus and Siganus luridus (Siganidae), and two native herbivores, Sparisoma cretense (Scaridae) and Sarpa salpa (Sparidae). The siganids were recorded each year in all sites, whereas S. cretense was regularly observed in fewer numbers, while S. salpa was rarely censused. Abundance of Siganus spp. increased threefold in 6 years while abundances of S. cretense and S. salpa remained stable. S. rivulatus was the most abundant among the four species. Its competitive superiority may be due to its greater adaptability to fluctuating environmental conditions and biological traits, e.g. rapid growth, earlier sexual maturity, high fecundity. Because siganids are herbivorous, their presence can strongly impact algal ecosystems. It is then important to follow their spreading at a large scale, but this can be challenging due to the limited number of scientists. Adopting citizen science can thus be a useful strategy to monitor the spread of invasive species in the Mediterranean.

The silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) reaches Italian waters

“…Our actual capacity to monitor non‐indigenous fishes in the Mediterranean Sea is still limited (Azzurro, ), however new efforts are being made to increase the chances of detection and promote awareness among the local communities (i.e. Azzurro et al., ; Zenetos et al., ; Bodilis et al., ). We hope that these new appearances of L. sceleratus in Italian waters may be taken into serious consideration to accelerate the realization of action plans at the national, European and Mediterranean levels.…”

Catch and discardfish species of trawl fisheries in the Iskenderun Bay (Northeastern Mediterranean) with emphasis on lessepsian and chondricthyan species

“…Recently, we captured 27 Lessepsian fish species in Iskenderun Bay. Until now, over 50 Lessepsian fish species are known in Turkish Seas (Bilecenoglu et al, 2002;Erguden et al, 2012;Dalyan et al, 2012;Bodilis et al, 2014). In the 1980s, S. undosquamis and E. klunzingeri formed the highest biomass at the rate of 23 % and 14 % of total catch in the Levantine Sea (Gucu et al, 2010).…”

Can citizen science contribute to the evidence-base that underpins marine policy?

“…Frequency relates to the abundance of marine citizen science programmes in these areas categorised as high, medium and low using expert judgement by the authors. sharks [51], rays [52], dolphins [53], seabirds [54], fish [55,56], crabs [57] sponges [58], coral [59], plankton [60], seagrass [61,62], rocky reefs [63,64], coral reefs [65,66], invasive species [67], subtidal habitats [68], fisheries [69], nutrients [70], pollution [21], litter [71,72], oceanographic data [73], marine protected areas [74], beach profiling [75], and coastal protection [76]. The number of citizen science projects [15] and the numbers of publications including volunteer data in the marine field have increased rapidly over the past 30 years (see Fig.…”