swimming through aquanis, an alien species database.
INTERNSHIP TEAM:
Agnese marchini
Supervisor and Member of the Editorial Board of AquaNIS
Marta ensesa
IMBRSea Student
Pablo lanza
IMBRSea Student
What is AQUANIS?
AquaNIS, an aquatic non-indigenous and cryptogenic species database.
The system stores and disseminates information on NIS introduction histories, recipient regions, taxonomy, biological traits, impacts, and other relevant documented data. Currently, the system contains data on NIS introduced to marine, brackish and coastal freshwater of Europe and neighbouring regions, but may be extended to other parts of the World.
STUDYING ALIEN SPECIES
Alien species in the
Mediterranean sea,
some cool facts:
777 ALIEN SPECIES inhabit the Mediterranean Sea (AquaNIS, 2020).
But the number is constantly changing...
BECAUSE their classification is not as easy as it seems! Since it is linked to three major types of uncertainty.
Alien species can be MISIDENTIFIED with autoctonous species and viceversa! Therefore uncertain taxonomic identity can create confusion amongst scientists and management problems.
Remember then: Use your microscope and sight, otherwise you may not be right!
Species designation as "alien" requires information about their native range and pathways of introduction. When this information is insufficient, species are designated as CRYPTOGENIC.
And last but not least OCCURENCE of these organisms has to be well supported. Records of alien species must be reliable. Dead individuals and species occuring in transitional environments, or attached to their vectors DO NOT COUNT!
You can read more about uncertainty in Marchini et al., 2015.
PATHWAYS OF INTRODUCTION in the Mediterranean Sea:
Suez Canal (opening in 1869)
Ballast water
Biofouling
Aquaculture activities
Mostly unknown!
MAIN TAXA
Interestingly, molluscs are the main invader taxon of the Mediterranean Sea.
What features do you think make them good invaders? Could it be their pelagic larvae? An attaching life-form to almost any surface? The answer is both, but there are more traits influencing these invasions; high dispersal/reproductive rate and ecological generalization (Cardeccia et al., 2016)
aquanis Case Studies: 2 Alien species in the mediterranean sea
Click on the species name to learn more!
Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836
C. scaura is a benthic caprellid amphipod inhabiting macroalgae and other hard substrates in shallow waters.
This caprellid was first described in Mauritius, although its invasion to the Mediterranean Sea with origin at the Red Sea was due to the Suez Canal opening.
All life stages of this species occur on the benthos. Thus, this species unlikely travels around swimming through the water column, don’t you think? Instead, it attaches to seaweed growing on aquaculture facilities or ship hulls, and they don't even pay for ferry tickets!
Additionally, its reproductive seasonality goes from February to November and they breed several times per year.
Those features make C. scaura a pro invader!
It was first recorded in the Central Mediterranean Sea in 1993 in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Italy), but it's believed to have rapidly spread along the Mediterranean Coasts before that date.
After that, it has been recorded in Tunisia (2000), Spain (2005), Turkey (2005), Greece (2006) and France (2014).
Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel,1923)
F. enigmaticus is a sabellid polychaete inhabiting the subtidal areas in lagoons (brackish water). It builds calcareous tubes forming large reef-like aggregates until 4 m of diameter.
It is commonly believed that F. enigmaticus native range and origin is in the Southern part of Australia, although its invasion to Europe may have been conducted by several lineages.
It has a pelagic larvae, and it reproduces sexually once a year through free spawning and external fertilization. When the larvae is recruited, it inhabits almost any hard substrate (artificial or natural).
In 1992, clear early signs of F. enigmaticus being transported in the vessels' ballast waters were published.
Interestingly, it is thought that its invasion to the Mediterranean Sea occured during the 1st World War!
In 1919, F. enigmaticus is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea in Sardinia (Italy). A few years later, in 1922, France and Spain detect this serpulid's presence as well. Right now almost every country in the Mediterranean Sea has F. enigmaticus reefs growing along their coasts.
Personal reflection:
As you may have noticed already, AquaNIS can provide scientists with great information about alien species. Nevertheless, during my internship with AquaNIS, thorough literature review has revealed to me scientific gaps that are crucial in alien species management. Unless the organism is easily cultured and studied in the lab, few things are known about those alien species' reproduction, larval development, feeding habits, salinity and temperature range, phylogenetics... etc. As you can imagine, guidance to a proper management of those alien species will not occur until those gaps are filled. This fact should encourage young scientists as we are, to keep unraveling the mysteries of the marine ecosystems.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VISITING, LET ME KNOW ANY QUESTION OR DOUBT