First Record and Massive Spread of Tropical Long-Spined Sea Urchin Diadema antillarum in the Mediterranean Sea (Syrian Coast)

Abstract

The biological structure of the Syrian marine environment still shows a rapid and steady increase in the number of warm water species, many of which have become dominant and invasive. In the latest field data during 2020-2021, the presence of the black sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) was recorded for the first time in several locations in Latakia and Ras al-Bassit coast, and its massive spread at depths of 5-8 m, accompanied by invasive species of macroalgae, sponges, crustaceans and mollusks.. It is noteworthy that this species is one of the most widespread and important species of sea urchins in some tropical areas, and this is the first record in the Mediterranean Sea and the Syrian coast It is important as it prey on macroalgae and has an effective role in the health of some of the most important areas of biodiversity in the world.

Gaining a (tube) foothold – trends and status following two decades of the long-spined echinoid Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778) invasion to the Mediterranean Sea

“…Since the first detection of D. setosum off Kaşpeninsula, Turkey (Yokes and Galil, 2006), evidence for the successful establishment of the species have been accumulating. What was originally anecdotical observations of isolated individuals or small aggregations (Gökoglu et al, 2007;Crocetta et al, 2015;Gökoglu et al, 2016;Gerovasileiou et al, 2017;Bronstein and Kroh, 2018;Galanos and Kritikos, 2019;Katsanevakis et al, 2014a;Nader and Indary, 2011;Turan et al, 2011;Tsiamis et al, 2015;Mytilineou et al, 2016;Yapıcı, 2018), has grown to aggregations of dozens (Bilecenoglu et al, 2019;Katsanevakis et al, 2020;Ammar, 2021) and hundreds (Gül and Aydin, 2021;Vafidis et al, 2021) of individuals.…”

First record of Atlantic Sea anemone (Telmatactis panamensis (Verrill, 1869)) on the artificial reefs of the Syrian coast (Eastern Mediterranean)

“…Many warm-water species were introduced to the Eastern Mediterranean via the Suez Canal Bianchi, (2007), resulting in the "tropicalization" of the Mediterranean Sea (Bianchi and Morri, 2003). Also, some Atlantic species were introduced to the Eastern Mediterranean through various ways such as ballast water or Alien species as a result of the cultivation of marine species or ocean currents (Ammar, 2021). Sea anemones Researches (Latakia, Syria) and photographed it to record its color.…”