Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

Abstract

Background: Non-native marine species, including tropical eastern Atlantic fish species are on the increase in Malta, with shipping activities being the main vector for the movement of these alien species from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean Sea. This calls for cooperation and collaboration between various sea-users and researchers to ensure continuous monitoring of coastal biodiversity. Methods: Research methods involving local fishermen cooperation in monitoring efforts to identify and track populations of alien species in the Central Mediterranean has led to new records for the genus Cephalopholis (Perciformes: Serranidae) in Malta. Morphological characteristics, meristic counts and mitochondrial DNA sequences from specimens of both species sampled from Maltese waters were analysed to confirm their species identify accurately, essential for tracking their respective population expansions in the Mediterranean. Results and conclusion: Results from this study have led to confirmation of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Günther, 1859), in the Mediterranean Sea and of the establishment of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828) in Maltese waters.

First record of African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828) (Perciformes, Epinephelidae) in the South-western Atlantic

“…Measurements and meristic counts follow Heemstra and Randall (1993). Data obtained from the specimen of Cephalopholis taeniops of this study matched the measurements and meristic data provided by Heemstra (1991), Ben Abdallah et al (2007, Salameh et al (2009) and Vella et al (2016). Cephalopholis fulva data was obtained from preserved specimens.…”

“…According to Brito et al (2011), the transport via oil platform explains how adult specimens of Cephalopholis taeniops have arrived in the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean Sea. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that oil platforms usually are repaired near the Pai and Mãe islands, circa 10 km from the Cagarras Archipelago (Moraes, personal com- (Heemstra and Randall 1993, Ben Abdallah et al 2007, Salameh et al 2009, Guidetti et al 2010, Brito et al 2011, Vella et al 2016and Engin et al 2016. New record (star).…”

“…Cephalopholis taeniops naturally occurs in the tropical eastern Atlantic, ranging from Western Sahara to Angola and Cape Verde, São Tomé and Principe Islands (Heemstra and Randall 1993). It was recently reported as introduced from several parts of eastern North Atlantic, including the Canary Islands (Brito et al 2011), and Israel, Lampedusa island, Libya, Malta and Turkey, in the Mediterranean Sea (Ben Abdallah et al 2007, Salameh et al 2009, Guidetti et al 2010, Vella et al 2016, Engin et al 2016 (Fig. 3).…”

Safeguarding Marine Biodiversity in a Changing World: Maltese Small-Scale Fisheries and Alien Species

“…Alien species found in Maltese waters and constituting first records in the Mediterranean have been studied and monitored in these waters. Such studies that also involve fishermen's cooperation [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] 5 show some of the alien species caught in Maltese waters. Table 1 shows the habitat preference of these species and the current status of these species in Maltese waters.…”

“…Direct exploitation has been the main cause leading to the inclusion of Epinephelus marginatus as an endangered species within the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species both at global [62] and at Mediterranean level [62] due to serious declines in its population. However, environmental changes in the marine habitats due to climate change, anthropogenic activities and increasing presence of alien species [34,48,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] are posing additional threats to the Serranidae species in the central Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, to ensure effective conservation measures, the genetic identity and phylogenetics of the species around the Maltese Islands were studied to compare these with similar species found elsewhere within and outside the Mediterranean region.…”