scholarly journals Alien and cryptogenic Foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea: A revision of taxa as part of the EU 2020 Marine Strategy Framework Directive

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
RUTA STULPINAITE ◽  
ORIT HYAMS-KAPHZAN ◽  
MARTIN R. LANGER
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Benthic Foraminifera ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Marine Invasions ◽  
Vectors Of Introduction ◽  
The Mediterranean

The human-mediated translocation of marine alien species beyond their natural ranges started as early as people began navigating the sea and is of growing concern to nature conservation. The Mediterranean Sea is among the most severely affected areas by biological invasions, a phenomenon that has been fostered by the opening and recent extension of the Suez Canal, the transport and release of ballast water, aquaculture and aquarium trade, ichthyochory and other active or passive dispersal mechanisms. The increase of marine invasions has stimulated considerable research, but for some important groups, in particular microorganisms, data are still limited. In this paper we have reviewed the current status of marine alien foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea. Our survey includes a comrephensive taxonomic revision of previously recognized alien taxa, and new information obtained from the fossil record and from molecular studies. Our survey and reexamination of alien benthic foraminifera yielded a total of 43 validly recognized species and two species of cryptogenic taxa and reduces the number of previous recordings. The revised list includes both larger symbiont-bearing and smaller benthic foraminifera, including 16 hyaline-perforate, 3 agglutinated and 24 porcelaneous taxa. The vast majority of alien foraminifera recorded so far have become established in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea, indicative for translocation and introduction via the Suez Canal pathway. Only one species, Amphistegina lobifera, causes significant ecological impacts and fulfills the criteria to be considered as an invasive alien. This species is a prolific carbonate producer, and displays extreme forms of ecosystem invasibility with capabilities to reduce native diversity and species richness. The proliferation and rates of recently observed range extensions, track contemporary sea surface temperature increases, provide strong support for previous species distribution models, and corroborate findings that rising water temperatures, global climate change and the extension of climate belts are major drivers fueling the latitudinal range expansion of larger symbiont-bearing and smaller epiphytic foraminifera. Intensified efforts to study alien foraminifera on a molecular level, in dated cores and in ballast water are required to trace their source of origin, to identify vectors of introduction and to verify their status as true aliens.

Radiocarbon dating of individual foram tests show that alleged Lessepsian species are of Holocene age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo G. Albano ◽  
Anna Sabbatini ◽  
Jonathan Lattanzio ◽  
Jan Steger ◽  
Sönke Szidat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Sediment Depth ◽  
The Mediterranean

<p>The Lessepsian invasion – the largest marine biological invasion – followed the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 (81 years BP). Shortly afterwards, tropical species also distributed in the Red Sea appeared on Mediterranean shores: it was the dawn of what would become the invasion of several hundred tropical species. The time of the Suez Canal opening coincided with an acceleration in natural history exploration and description, but the eastern sectors of the Mediterranean Sea lagged behind and were thoroughly explored only in the second half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. Many parts are still insufficiently studied today. Baseline information on pre-Lessepsian ecosystem states is thus scarce. This knowledge gap has rarely been considered by invasion scientists: every new finding of species belonging to tropical clades has been assumed to be a Lessepsian invader.</p><p>We here question this assumption by radiocarbon dating seven individual tests of miliolids – imperforated calcareous foraminifera – belonging to five alleged non-indigenous species. Tests were found in two sediment cores collected at 30 and 40 m depth off Ashqelon, on the Mediterranean Israeli shelf. We dated one <em>Cribromiliolinella milletti </em>(core at 40 m, 20 cm sediment depth), three <em>Nodophthalmidium antillarum </em>(core at 40 m, 35 cm sediment depth), one <em>Miliolinella </em>cf. <em>fichteliana </em>(core at 30 m, 110 cm sediment depth), one <em>Articulina alticostata </em>(core at 40 m, 35 cm sediment depth) and one <em>Spiroloculina antillarum </em>(core at 30 m, 110 cm sediment depth). All foraminiferal tests proved to be of Holocene age, with a median calibrated age spanning between 749 and 8285 years BP. Only one test of <em>N. antillarum</em> showed a 2-sigma error overlapping the time of the opening of the Suez Canal, but with a median age of 1123 years BP. Additionally, a thorough literature search resulted in a further record of <em>S. antillarum</em> in a core interval dated 1820–2064 years BP in Turkey.</p><p>Therefore, these foraminiferal species are not introduced, but native species. They are all circumtropical or Indo-Pacific and in the Mediterranean distributed mostly in the eastern sectors (only <em>S. antillarum</em> occurs also in the Adriatic Sea). Two hypotheses can explain our results: these species are Tethyan relicts that survived the Messinian salinity crisis (5.97–5.33 Ma) and the glacial periods of the Pleistocene in the Eastern Mediterranean, which may have never desiccated completely during the Messinian crisis and which may have worked as a warm-water refugium in the Pleistocene; or they entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea more recently but before the opening of the Suez Canal, for example during the Last Interglacial (MIS5e) high-stand (125,000 years BP) when the flooded Isthmus of Suez enabled exchanges between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific fauna. The recognition that some alleged Lessepsian invaders are in fact native species influences our understanding of the invasion process, its rates and environmental correlates.</p>

scholarly journals The Enlargement of the Suez Canal and Introduction of Non-Indigenous Species to the Mediterranean Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bella Galil ◽  
Ferdinando Boero ◽  
Simona Fraschetti ◽  
Stefano Piraino ◽  
Marnie Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Non Indigenous Species

Tintinnids (Ciliophora: Choreotrichia) of the Suez Canal and their transmigration process between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-462
Author(s):  
Hamed A. El-Serehy ◽  
Fahad A. Al-Misned ◽  
Nasser S. Abdel-Rahman ◽  
Khaled A. Al-Rasheid
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
The Mediterranean

An updated Checklist of the Mediterranean fishes of Israel, with illustrations of recently recorded species and delineation of Lessepsian migrants

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4956 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-108
Author(s):  
DANIEL GOLANI
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Water Influx ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lessepsian Migrants

This checklist of the Mediterranean fishes of Israel enumerates 469 species which is an addition of 62 species since the previous checklist of 2005. This new checklist includes 58 Condrichthys and 411 Osteicthys species. Most newly-recorded species are of Red Sea origin (Lessepsian migrants)—38 species, 25 species are from previously poorly investigated habitats, mainly deep water, while two species reached the Mediterranean most likely by ballast water and two are aquaculture escapees.                The dramatic increase in the number of Lessepsian migrants (an average of 2.5 species per year) is most likely due to the increased water influx between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, following the recent opening of the new parallel, 72 km, “new canal” and the enlargement of other parts of the Suez Canal. 

scholarly journals Zooplankton of a stressed area in the Damietta coast of the Mediterranean Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wael S. Eltohamy ◽  
Ahmad Alzeny ◽  
Yasmine A. M. Azab
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
June July ◽  
Zooplankton Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Univariate Analyses

The spatial pattern of zooplankton communities at Damietta coast, southeastern Mediterranean was studied to assess the impact of human activities on the abundance and community structure. Twenty-five stations from five different stressed sites were sampled in June-July 2014. Thirty-four zooplankton taxa were recorded, in addition to the larvae of copepods and meroplankton. Copepoda was the most abundant group among which, Oithona nana, Euterpina acutifrons, and Parvocalanus cirrostratus were the most frequent. The calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus trihamatus is a new record for the Mediterranean Sea that may have been introduced via ballast water. Multivariate/Univariate analyses demonstrated that 1) the environmental variables and zooplankton communities represented significant differences among five sites; 2) the spatial variations of community structure were undoubtedly due to land-based effluents; and 3) among all environmental variables, salinity and phytoplankton biomass had the major determining effects on the spatial patterns of zooplankton categories. The results indicates that not only the discharged water makes the Damietta coast at risk, but also the ballast water is not less dangerous. Hence, we emphasize the need for activation of the ballast water management to reduce the risk of future species invasions.

Present Development Phases of the Suez Canal Project

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-465
Author(s):  
Nabil Hilaly
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Nile Delta ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Development Phases ◽  
The Mediterranean

It is recorded that Egypt was the first country to dig a canal to promote world trade; the first canal was dug in the reign of Pharaoh Senusret III (1887–1849 B.C.), to link the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea through the Nile delta. This canal, often abandoned due to silting, was reopened for navigation by later Pharaohs and finally by Amro Ibn El Ass in A.D. 640 after which it remained open for 150 years.

scholarly journals Ballast water-mediated species spread risk dynamics and policy implications to reduce the invasion risk to the Mediterranean Sea

2022 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 113285
Author(s):  
Zhaojun Wang ◽  
Mandana Saebi ◽  
Erin K. Grey ◽  
James J. Corbett ◽  
Dong Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Invasion Risk ◽  
Risk Dynamics ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals First Record of the Lessepsian Migrant Smith's Cardinalfish Jaydia smithi Kotthaus, 1970 (Pisces: Apogonidae) from Syrian Marine Waters

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Firas A. Al-Shawy ◽  
Murhaf M. Lahlah ◽  
Chirine S. Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
First Record ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Environment Changes ◽  
Lessepsian Species ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time

Five individuals of Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi were collected from Ibn-Hani area, Lattakia, Syria on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Their morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported. There are several factors which assisted this specimen to reach this area of the Mediterranean; some of these factors might be the marine environment changes and the ballast water. This study reports that Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi, a member of Lessepsian species was found in Syrian marine waters for the first time.

scholarly journals Invasion of an invader: a case study from the Suez Channel

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasser Geneid ◽  
Amgad El Shaffai
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Fishing Ground ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
The Mediterranean

After the year 1869, a major change in the Mediterranean marine ecosystem occurred. A pathway called Suez Canal was created allowing the passage of alien invasive species from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, which is currently harboring over 900 introduced marine species. About 54% of these established non-native species reached through the Suez Canal. Whilst most of the studies dealing with marine invasive species focused on the Mediterranean, very few were done in the Suez Canal itself. The goal of this study is to review the distribution and current status of two invasive marine plants in the Suez Canal, specifically the Bitter Lakes area. This area was selected because of its special environmental conditions and its importance as a major fishing ground in the entire canal. Visual observations of the marine vegetation in the study sites were carried out starting year 2001. Halophila stipulacea , a tropical seagrass distributed along the coasts of the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, has migrated and is widely found around the Mediterranean. It was recorded in the Suez Canal by the Cambridge Expedition in 1924 and is known to occur in the shallow sandy-muddy bottom areas along its western coast. Since 2000, different studies along the Bitter Lakes have shown total disappearance of seagrass meadows caused by another invader that have replaced the seagrass plants and reached a percentage cover of nearly 100% in some of the studied sites. A new intruder was the green seaweed Caulerpa prolifera, a Mediterranean algal species that was recorded in the Gulf of Suez in 1984, among few species migrated from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. It has rapidly colonized different locations in the Suez Canal replacing H. stipulacea meadows. However, in 2004, a dramatic change took place in the study area where C. prolifera began diminishing allowing the previously found H. stipulacea to inhabit the seafloor. While salinity reduction from hypersaline conditions – due to growing of coastal communities along the Bitter Lakes with more fresh water discharge – may cause the expansion of C. prolifera in the study area, the reasons why it declined and disappeared are still unclear.

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