The first record of the African Sergeant, Abudefduf hoefleri (Perciformes: Pomacentridae), in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Background: Alien fish species are increasing in the Mediterranean Sea, urging closer monitoring of coastal habitats and biodiversity towards achieving timely assessment and management. Among the alien fish species found in Maltese waters there are members of the Abudefduf genus. Methods: Research work undertaken with the cooperation of fishermen allows for additional monitoring effort to record the presence of alien species and their possible impacts. One such alien fish specimen collected from Maltese waters in January 2014 was studied through morphological, meristic and genetic analyses. Mitochondrial DNA barcoding analyses were undertaken to confirm the species' identity given that the specimen found belonged to the genus Abudefduf which is composed of a number of congeners that have similar morphological characters. Results and conclusion: This research led to the identification of the first record of the African Sergeant, Abudefduf hoefleri (Steindachner 1881) (Perciformes: Pomacentridae), in the Mediterranean Sea. This alien tropical species is native of the East Atlantic and may aggressively compete with native Mediterranean reef species for territories and resources.

Why the damselfish Chromis chromis is a key species in the Mediterranean rocky littoral – a quantitative perspective

“…According to Deidun & Castriota (), two Abudefduf species have been regularly observed, the Atlantic Sergeant major Abudefduf saxatilis (L. 1758), recorded in Tarragona, Spain (Azzurro et al ., ) and Valletta, Malta; as well as the Indo‐Pacific sergeant Abudefduf vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1825), recorded from three localities: the Gulf of Naples in the lower Tyrrhenian Sea, the north coast of Israel and the Gulf of Genoa in the Ligurian Sea. On 4th January 2014 a specimen of the east African species Abudefduf hoefleri (Steindachner 1881) was caught in shallow coastal waters close to Delimara, Malta (Vella et al., ) and identified using mitochondrial DNA barcoding. Chrysiptera cyanea (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) was collected from the Gulf of Trieste, north Adriatic Sea (Lipej et al., ) and Stegastes variabilis (Castelnau 1855), a herbivorous damselfish, was caught on Senglea waterfront, Malta (Vella et al., ), on 15 September 2013.…”

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

“…PCR amplifications were carried out for Cytb, COI and 16S using the primers sets as described in Vella et al, (2016a, b), and for the 12S using H1478 and L1091 primers (Kocher et al, 1989). PCR amplifications were carried out following the amplification protocols described in Vella et al, (2016a). PCR products were purified and sequenced via ABI3730XL sequencer using both the forward and reverse primers.…”

Mob rulers and part-time cleaners: two reef fish associations at the isolated Ascension Island

“…These behaviours, although superficially similar, are fundamentally distinct from the one we report here for the African sergeant A. hoefleri : (1) the mobs we recorded were unrelated to divers’ presence, as shown by their occurrence on remote filming; (2) they did not feed continually over a particular area, but rather for 10–20 s and then moving away; and (3) the darkened, not bluish, colour and vigorous swimming movements with both the pectoral and caudal fins were conspicuous. The dark colour of mobbing individuals sharply contrasts with the intense blue colouration of African sergeants observed alone (Vella et al , 2016).…”