Paraskevi K. Karachle Hellenic Centre for Marine Research Greece

the Mediterranean Sea name Latin mediterraneus "inland" or "in the middle of the land" medius="middle" terra="land" area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 sq mi), average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) deepest point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) www.writeopinions.com

main characteristics high temperatures: 12 C (winter)-25 C (summer) high salinity microtidal: tidal range typically less than 50 cm oligotrophy poor in nutrients, low primary production and phytoplankton biomass increases from west to east rich biodiversity, particularly in the coastal zone, highly diverse and with a high rate of endemism biological invasions: high numbers of introduced species impacts on the Mediterranean ecology local & endemic species

warming up (EEA, 2006) Sea surface temperature change (in C), 1982-2003 (from EEA, 2006) Sea surface temperature in the Aegean Sea. Top: August 1985, bottom: August 2005 (from Theocharis, 2010)

Strait of Gibraltar namejebel Tariq (Tariq's mountain) Tariq ibn Ziyad muslim General that conquered Visigothic Hispania in 711-718 A.D. ancient world Pillars of Hercules αἱ Ἡράκλειοι στῆλαι narrowest point14.3 km; 8.9 mi depth300-900 metres (980-3,000 ft)

Suez Canal man-made opening length193 km width at water level300/365 m maximum depth21m cross sectional area4500/4800 m 2 7.5% of the world sea trade and ~2/3 of the oil consumed in Europe transit through the canal

history of the canal first countryegypt Connection of the Mediterranean sea to the Red Sea via the River Nile and its branches Senausert III, Pharaoh of Egypt (1874 B.C.) abandoned to silting and reopened several times The canal of Sity I The canal of Nkhaw The canal of Darius I The canal of Ptolemy II The canal of the Romans (Emperor Trajan) The canal of Amir El Moemeneen 1310 B.C. 61 B.C. 510 B.C. 285 B.C. 117 B.C. 640 A.D. http://www.rafimar.com/homepage/suez_canal.html

the final opening Suez Canal Company started at the location of Port Said on 25 April 1859 Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps (19 November 1805 7 December 1894) open to shipping on 17 November 1869 influx of species from the Red Sea Lessepsian migration

the evolution (from Katsanevakis et al., 2012) (from wikipedia, 2018) August 15 th 2015new Suez canal (a parallel canal in the middle part)

the last frontiers Bitter lakes hypersaline natural lakes salinity gradually equalised with Red Sea Aswan dam (9 January 1960-21 July 1970) reduction of freshwater inflow and deposit of natural nutrient-rich silt in the E Mediterranean less natural dilution of Mediterranean salinity lower levels of natural turbidity

aliens in numbers 986 alien species in the Mediterranean 775 eastern Mediterranean 249 central Mediterranean 190 Adriatic Sea 308 western Mediterranean (from Zenetos et al., 2012)

aliens in numbers increasing number by 2-3 species/year macrophytes, molluscs & polychaetes 3-4 species/year crustaceans 6 species/year fish approximately 100 new entries since 2012 one new entry every two weeks (from Zenetos et al., 2012)

aliens in numbers corridors (mainly Suez) 533 species Lessepsian species decline westwards shipping direct introduction 12 species most likely pathway (ballasts or fouling) 300 species probable pathway 100 species aquaculture with certainty 20 species accidentally as contaminants of imported species >50 species (mostly macroalgae) aquarium trade 18 (from Zenetos et al., 2012)

aliens in the ESENIAS area www.esenias.org

aliens in the ESENIAS area (from Karachle et al., 2017a)

the fish immigrants 152 fish species 148 bony fish 4 cartilaginous fish BathyDemersal; 2 BathyPelagic; 1 Benthopelagic; 11 Demersal; 41 Reef-accossiated; 82 Pelagic; 14 habitat

the fish immigrants Pacific; 4 Atlantic; 17 Circumtropical; 3 Indo-Pacific & Red Sea; 128 origin Invasive; 3 Questionable; 1 Casual; 66 Pathway Species N Corridors 100 Corridors/Shipping 5 Escape from confinement: Aquaculture / mariculture 5 Release 10 Release/Corridor 2 Release/Shipping 15 Shipping 7 Transport-Stowaway: Ship/boat ballast water 1 Unaided 3 Unknown 4 Established; 81 establishment status

20 15 10 5 0 feeding habits & trophic levels Number of species 2-2.1 Herbivores (H) 2.1-2.2 2.4-2.5 2.5-2.6 Omnivores with preference to plants (OV) 2.6-2.7 2.7-2.8 2.8-2.9 2.9-3 3-3.1 3.1-3.2 3.2-3.3 3.3-3.4 Omnivores with preference to animals (OA) 3.4-3.5 3.5-3.6 3.6-3.7 3.7-3.8 3.8-3.9 3.9-4 4-4.1 Carnivores with preference to fish and decapods (CD) 4.1-4.2 4.2-4.3 4.3-4.4 4.4-4.5 Carnivores with preference to fish and cephalopods(cc) Trophic level CC; 32; 22% CD; 20; 13% H; 7; 5% OV; 7; 5% OA; 82; 55%

first entry Crenidens crenidens (Forsskål, 1775) JE Randall medium sized (L max =30cm) entered in 1882 (Israel)

latest records Chrysiptera hemicyanea (Weber, 1913) J Greenfield Dipterygonotus balteatus (Valenciennes, 1830) JE Randall Deidun et al. (2018) Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 48 (1): 87 91 Abudefduf sexfasciatus (Lacepède, 1801) Barish & Fricke (2018) BioInv Rec 7(1): 79 82 Acanthurus sohal (Forsskål, 1775) D First JE Randall J Jensen Giovos et al. (2018) BioInv Rec 7 (in press)

David & Goliath Silhouetta aegyptia (Chabanaud, 1933) L max =4.3 cm S Montealegre-Quijano Isurus paucus Guitart, 1966 L max =417.0 cm

the sprinter Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 (from Katsanevakis et al., 2013) (from Azzuro et al., 2012)

a lethal delicacy Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) Martin (from Kalogirou, 2013)

a lethal delicacy fugu ("river pig") Japanese delicacy strictly controlled by law restaurant preparation only qualified chefs allowed liver tastiest & most poisonous part banned in Japan in 1984 lethally poisonous tetrodotoxin (TTX)

TTX neurotoxin symptoms dizziness, exhaustion, headache, nausea, or difficulty breathing victim completely paralyzed, conscious and completely lucid until shortly before death death 4 to 6 hours, after consumption (range 20-8h) if survive 24 hoursfully recovery over several days no known antidote, but curable not affected by cooking European legislation (854/2004/EC)

the devil firefish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) G. Kondylatos amongst the most successful marine invaders in the history of aquatic invasions (Albins & Hixon, 2008) may cause deleterious changes in coral-reef ecosystems via predation on native fishes and invertebrates as well as competition with native predators caused significant reductions in the recruitment of native fishes by an average of 79% Lebanon 1991 spreading fast

the devil firefish direct impact on human health impact on local biodiversity and fisheries: under exploration (from Karachle et al., 2017)

the vegeterians Siganus luridus (Rüppell, 1829) JE Randall Siganus rivulatus Forsskål & Niebuhr, 1775 JE Randall

competitors Siganus spp Sarpa salpa JE Randall R Patzner JE Randall

Upeneus spp Mullus spp R Saravanan MA Khalaf

commercial R Saravanan Upeneus pori Upeneus moluccensis MA Khalaf KT Shao Etrumeus golani (ex E. teres)

commercial GV Hermosa Jr Saurida lessepsianus Nemipterus randalli GV Hermosa Jr

the fish immigrants and fisheries resilience: capacity to withstand exploitation Low; 22 Very low; 2 High; 71 Medium; 49 vulnerability: catchability Number of species 50 40 30 20 10 0 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 90-100 Vulnerability

impact on fisheries Lessepsian catches discarded small quantities generally small size of individuals taxon Mediterranean Greece Egypt Palestine Lebanon Cyprus Fish 77 28 34 12 48 27 crustacea 15 11 11 3 11 Cephalopoda 2 1 1 Gastropoda 1 1 1 Echinoderma 2 2 Cnidaria 2 2 (from East Med TD04 (Annex V))

impact on fisheries north Levant Sea & Turkish fisheries catches Saurida lessepsianus & Upeneus moluccensis (from Gücü et al., 2010)

impact on fisheries (from Corsini et al., 2018)

impact on fisheries Boat seine catches 60 50 Number of Species 40 30 20 10 0 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 800 600 Biomass 40 30 400 20 200 10 0 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 0 (from Corsini et al., 2018)

impact on fisheries & fishers net damages Lagocephalus spp. tear nets & cut long lining hooks health problems (poisoning, pain) Hermodice carunculata (fire worms) cilias and give pain mesh clogging Ropilema nomadica fishers leave nets in the sea fouling L Shoval K Turan (from Turan, 2010) R Pillon

impact on fisheries & fishers net damage by Alien Jellyfish extra cost for fishermen Photos: Bayram Ozturk

impact on human health Each summer since the mid 1980s huge swarms of the invading jellyfish, Rhopilema nomadica, Galil, have appeared along the Levantine coast. The species originated in the Red Sea and the East African coast, but entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and have established a Levantine population. Rhopilema nomadica A swimmer stung by Rhopilema nomadica at Yumurtalik (Adana) during fall 2009 (Photograph:Tahir Ozcan).

impact on human health B Ozturk

impact on human health

EU regulations EU Regulation No 1143/2014/EU, establishes rules to prevent, minimise and mitigate the adverse impact on biodiversity of the intentional and unintentional introduction and spread within the EU Commission Implementing Regulation 1141/2016 adopting the list of the 37 alien species of Union concern, published on the Official Journal on 14 July 2016 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1263 adopting the list of the 12 alien speciesof Union concern, published on the Official Journal on 12 July 2017 NO MARINE SPECIES INCLUDED

horizon scanning a prioritisation of species an ordered list of species that are likely to arrive establish impact biodiversity within the next decade Species Plotosus lineatus Decapterus russelli Codium parvulum Jaydia smithi Macrorhynchia philippina Matuta victor Galaxaura rugosa Ecteinascidia thurstoni (from Roy et al. 2014)

horizon scanning Species Common name Taxonomic group Plotosus lineatus striped eel catfish Siluriformes, Plotosidae pred IP, Red Sea N Decapterus russelli Indian scad Actinopterygii, Carangidae pred, planktivor IWP N Codium parvulum a green alga Bryopsidales, Codiaceae PP WIP Y Jaydia smithi Smith's Cardinalfish Perciformes, Percoidei Pred CIP, WIP N Macrorhynchia philippina White stinger Cnidaria; Aglaopheniidae pred IP N Matuta victor Moon crab Crustacea, Matutidae omni IP N Galaxaura rugosa a red alga Rhodophyta PP IP N Functional group (see codes) Native distribution (see codes) Already present in EU? (from Zenetos & Karachle, in preparation)

horizon scanning (from Zenetos & Karachle, in preparation)

(Azzuro et al., 2016)

http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ https://www.nobanis.org/ http://www.corpi.ku.lt/databases/index.php/aquanis/ http://www.europe-aliens.org/ http://www.sibm.it/ https://elnais.hcmr.gr/

ESENIAS countries with networks Country Country abbreviations Coastline (km) Albania AL 362 Bosnia & Herzegovina BA 20 Bulgaria BG 354 Greece GR 13,676 Croatia HR 5,835 Italy IT 7,600 Montenegro ME 199 Romania RO 225 Slovenia SL 47 Turkey TR 7,200

TR AL BU SL RO ME GR IT HR Number of Coastline Country experts (in km) Albania (AL) 6 362 Bosnia & Herzegovina (BH) 0 20 Bulgaria (BU) 10 354 Greece (GR) 70 13676 Croatia (HR) 14 5835 Italy (IT) 78 7600 Montenegro (ME) 6 199 Romania (RO) 5 225 Slovenia (SL) 5 47 Turkey (TR) 39 7200 (from Karachle et al., 2017b)

(from Karachle et al., 2017b)

Greece and Italy all areas of expertise Romania solely biodiversity pathways in countries where AS introductions are multivectoral Romania & Bulgaria no experts (from Karachle et al., 2017b)

fish phytobenthos Mollusca all taxa Crustacea various taxa phytoplankton zooplankton others Polychaeta zoobenthos 11 10 18 17 15 15 22 25 37 37 51 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Others: Anthozoa Ctenophora Porifera Ascidia Foraminifera Scyphozoa Bryozoa Hydrozoa Sipuncula (from Karachle et al., 2017b)

citizen scientists 18 of 230 alien species in Greece (8%) were reported for the first time by citizen scientists

Zenetos et al (2015) ELNAIS: A collaborative network on Aquatic Alien Species in Hellas (Greece). Management of Biological Invasions, 6(2), 185 196.

Cost action http://www.cost.eu/cost_actions/ca/ca17122

The Money Song the musical Cabaret (1965 on Broadway, 1972 on film) lyrics by Fred Ebb Money makes the world go round The world go round, the world go round Money makes the world go round It makes the world go round. money is accepted and used all over the world and is an essential part of human activity (from Karachle & Zenetos, 2017)

Number of projects 40 30 20 National (53) EU (36) INTERREG (4) other (16) 10 0 AL MT SL GR TR HR BU IT Country (from Karachle & Zenetos, 2017)

food for thought alien species in the Mediterranean are increasing and fast spreading there is a limited ability of controlling/stopping the introduction of new species potential new-comers could be foreseen through horizon scanning strong networks are need citizen scientists are a valuable source of data acquisition funding is needed to support research

Argyro Zenetos Maria Corsini-Foka Evgenia Lefkaditou

(photo from www.animalutul.ro)