Numerous new records of tropical non-indigenous species in the Eastern Mediterranean highlight the challenges of their recognition and identification

Albano, Paolo G.; Steger, Jan; Bakker, Piet A.J.; Bogi, Cesare; Bošnjak, Marija; Guy‐Haim, Tamar; Hüseyinoğlu, Mehmet Fatih; LaFollette, Patrick I; Lubinevsky, Hadas; Mulas, Martina; Stockinger, Martina; Azzarone, Michele; Sabelli, Bruno

doi:10.3897/zookeys.1010.58759

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 113 publications

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“…However, according to Zenetos et al (2018) "the contemporary presence in Astypalaia of two taxa belonging to Isognomon Lightfoot, 1786, one of which apparently absent from the Red Sea, seems unlikely", so that the same researchers preferred to ascribe both records to the Red Sea taxon I. legumen "to avoid the inflation of alien molluscan records and pending molecular confirmations". Partially in agreement with this latter opinion, Albano et al (2021) prudentially reported "I. aff. australica (sensu Angelidis and Polyzoulis, 2018)" from Cyprus and Kriti.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…Subsequently, an accurate sorting was carried out under a stereomicroscope, and the selected specimens definitively fixed in 70% or 95% ethanol, depending on their destination for analysis. Shell characters are investigated to propose a morphological identification comparing the shells of the new Mediterranean specimens with shells of previous works (Huber, 2010;Mienis et al, 2016;Micali et al, 2017;Ovalis & Zenetos in Stamouli et al, 2017;Angelidis & Polyzoulis, 2018;Crocetta, 2018;Giacobbe & Renda in Dragičević et al, 2019;Prato & Rubino in Kousteni et al, 2019;Scuderi & Viola, 2019;Marchini et al, 2020;Albano et al, 2021;Bini & Pinasco, 2021;Manousis et al, 2021), and pictures of shell specimens of I. bicolor (AMNH:307896) from Florida Keys (USA) and M. regula (AMNH:319335 and AMNH:319339) from Darwin Harbour, Australia stored at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).…”

Section: Monitoring and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Red circles indicate sequenced specimens in this work -C: Messina, Sicily, Italy; D: Briatico, Calabria, Italy. Green circles indicate reports of bibliography -E: Catania, Sicily, Italy(Scuderi & Viola, 2019); F: Bengasi, Lybia, identified as Malleus regula(Giannuzzi-Savelli et al, 2001); G: Plakias, Creta, Greece, identified as I. aff australica(Albano et al, 2021); H: Astypalaia, Greece, identified as Malleus regula(Angelidis in Lipej et al, 2017) and as I. australica(Angelidis & Polyzoulis, 2018); I: Karpathos, Greece(Micali et al, 2017); J: Dalyan, Iztuzu, Turkey(Ovalis & Zenetos in Stamouli et al, 2017); K: north of Cyprus, Turkey, identified as I. aff australica(Albano et al, 2021); L: Shiqmona, Israel(Mienis et al, 2016); M: Tel Aviv, Israel(Marchini et al, 2020); N: Ashqelon, Israel identified as I. ephippium(Mienis, 2004). Red squares indicate sequenced specimens in this work -1: Mar Piccolo di Taranto, Apulia, Italy; 2: Polis, Cyprus.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mediterranean spreading of the bicolor purse oyster, Isognomon bicolor, and the chicken trigger, Malleus sp., vs. the Lessepsian prejudice

Garzia

Furfaro

Renda³

et al. 2022

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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The introduction rate of alien species in the Mediterranean Sea is rapidly growing, and their taxonomical identification is increasingly challenging. This uncertain identification often leads to an incorrect estimation of the number of alien species, their route of introduction, and their potential negative effects. This is particularly true for some bivalves, which are characterized by high variation in their shells, resulting in uncertain morphological identification. This is the case for two alien bivalves, i.e., an Isognomonidae and a Malleidae species, both characterized by confused historical colonization records in the Mediterranean Sea, misidentifications, and controversial and changing nomenclatures that have insofar negatively affected our knowledge on their geographical distributions. In this respect, molecular approaches provide a strategy that is especially useful when traditional taxonomy fails, and DNA barcoding is a powerful and well-known tool to obtain reliable identifications through efficient molecular markers. In this work, we used the 16S rRNA marker to assess the preliminary identification of Isognomon sp. and Malleus sp. specimens from different localities in the Southern Mediterranean Sea. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods were applied to test the monophyly of the phylogenetic linages and to clarify their taxonomic positions, allowing a complete overview of the colonization and spreading of these two alien bivalves in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, the Isognomon sp. specimens were identified as the Atlantic I. bicolor, highlighting that previously suggested invasive migration patterns, (i.e., the Lessepsian migration), must be reconsidered with stronger critical attention in light of currently occurring global changes.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Monitoring and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mediterranean spreading of the bicolor purse oyster, Isognomon bicolor, and the chicken trigger, Malleus sp., vs. the Lessepsian prejudice

Garzia

Furfaro

Renda³

et al. 2022

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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“…Instead, we observed a considerable increase in taxonomic and functional diversity of the nonindigenous assemblage component, which drove corresponding positive trends in index values of the entire molluscan assemblage. Expected NIS richness rose by 0.55 species per year throughout the study period, consistent with ongoing introductions and the establishment of new Indo‐Pacific taxa in the region (e.g., Albano, Steger, Bakker, et al., 2021; Galil et al., 2021; Guarnieri et al., 2017). The taxonomic diversification went along with a pronounced increase in nonindigenous functional richness (correlation of NIS species richness with NIS functional richness, differenced time series: rho = .83, p < .001), as well as that of the entire regional molluscan assemblage (correlation of NIS species richness with complete assemblage functional richness, differenced time series: rho = .85, p < .001).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Ecological baselines in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea shifted long before the availability of observational time series

Steger,

Bogi,

Lubinevsky

et al. 2024

Global Change Biology

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Native biodiversity loss and invasions by nonindigenous species (NIS) have massively altered ecosystems worldwide, but trajectories of taxonomic and functional reorganization remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of long‐term data. Where ecological time series are available, their temporal coverage is often shorter than the history of anthropogenic changes, posing the risk of drawing misleading conclusions on systems' current states and future development. Focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, a region affected by massive biological invasions and the largest climate change‐driven collapse of native marine biodiversity ever documented, we followed the taxonomic and functional evolution of an emerging “novel ecosystem”, using a unique dataset on shelled mollusks sampled in 2005–2022 on the Israeli shelf. To quantify the alteration of observed assemblages relative to historical times, we also analyzed decades‐ to centuries‐old ecological baselines reconstructed from radiometrically dated death assemblages, time‐averaged accumulations of shells on the seafloor that constitute natural archives of past community states. Against expectations, we found no major loss of native biodiversity in the past two decades, suggesting that its collapse had occurred even earlier than 2005. Instead, assemblage taxonomic and functional richness increased, reflecting the diversification of NIS whose trait structure was, and has remained, different from the native one. The comparison with the death assemblage, however, revealed that modern assemblages are taxonomically and functionally much impoverished compared to historical communities. This implies that NIS did not compensate for the functional loss of native taxa, and that even the most complete observational dataset available for the region represents a shifted baseline that does not reflect the actual magnitude of anthropogenic changes. While highlighting the great value of observational time series, our results call for the integration of multiple information sources on past ecosystem states to better understand patterns of biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene.

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“…Distribution data on marine NIS in the Mediterranean Sea were retrieved from the European Environment Agency/Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (EEA/HCMR) offline database stored in the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) (https://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/easin (accessed on 17 November 2021)), which is continuously updated based on emerging literature regarding new occurrence/records, nomenclatural or taxonomic changes, and updates in the establishment success and alien status of species. For the purposes of this work, we took into account species records detected from 1970 until the end of 2020, and published until November 2021. Notable changes since the last major update on the Mediterranean NIS [15], in addition to new records, include the addition of Foraminifera following Stulpinaite et al [16], the revision of Isopoda following Castelló et al [17], the revision of Polychaeta following Langeneck et al [18] and the revision of Mollusca based on Albano et al [19]. Furthermore, molluscan records based exclusively on empty shells, as well as species records not in the wild, were excluded.…”

Section: Data and Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data-Driven Recommendations for Establishing Threshold Values for the NIS Trend Indicator in the Mediterranean Sea

Galanidi¹,

Zenetos

2022

Diversity

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In the present work, we analysed time series data on the introduction of new non-indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean between 1970 and 2017, aiming to arrive at recommendations concerning the reference period and provisional threshold values for the NIS trend indicator. We employed regression analysis and breakpoint structural analysis. Our results confirm earlier findings that the reference conditions differ for the four Mediterranean subregions, and support a shortening of the reporting cycle from six to three years, with a two-year time lag for the ensuing assessment. Excluding Lessepsian fishes and parasites, the reference period, defined as the most recent time segment with stable mean new NIS values, was estimated as 1997–2017 for the eastern Mediterranean, 2012–2017 for the central Mediterranean, 2000–2017 for the Adriatic and 1970–2017 for the western Mediterranean. These findings are interpreted primarily on the basis of a basin scale temperature regime shift in the late 1990s, shifts in driving forces such as shellfish culture, and as a result of intensified research efforts and citizen scientist initiatives targeting NIS in the last decade. The threshold values, i.e., the three-year average new NIS values during the reference period, are indicative and will ultimately depend on the choice of species and pathways to be used in the calculations. This is discussed through the prism of target setting in alignment with specific management objectives.

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Numerous new records of tropical non-indigenous species in the Eastern Mediterranean highlight the challenges of their recognition and identification

Cited by 16 publications

References 113 publications

Mediterranean spreading of the bicolor purse oyster, Isognomon bicolor, and the chicken trigger, Malleus sp., vs. the Lessepsian prejudice

Mediterranean spreading of the bicolor purse oyster, Isognomon bicolor, and the chicken trigger, Malleus sp., vs. the Lessepsian prejudice

Ecological baselines in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea shifted long before the availability of observational time series

Data-Driven Recommendations for Establishing Threshold Values for the NIS Trend Indicator in the Mediterranean Sea

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