Search results for "Lessepsian"

Otolith-based age and growth of the Lessepsian species Fistularia commersonii (Osteichtyes: Fistulariidae) in South of Sicily (Central Mediterranean …

2016

During spring–summer 2013, 23 specimens of the Lessepsian Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 were studied through occasional catches by artisanal and coastal trawler fisheries in the South of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The total lengths (TL, cm, without filament) and weight (W, g) ranged between 69.0 and 104.0 cm and 155 and 798 g, respectively. The estimated sex-combined parameters of the length–weight relationship (k = 9*10–9; b = 3.6) suggested a positive allometry. All pairs of sagittae were examined under a stereomicroscope and the age estimated by counting the complete translucent zones, both as whole and thin sections, with ages from 3 to 5 years. Growth parameters (von Bertalanff…

Abundance patterns at the invasion front: The case of Siganus luridus in Linosa (Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea)

2017

The dusky spinefoot (Siganus luridus) has spread through much of the eastern Mediterranean since its introduction in 1920. In the present study, we monitored the abundance of this invader around the island of Linosa (Strait of Sicily), where the species was first recorded in 2003. Data were periodically collected along two temporal windows, 2005–06 and 2012–15, by both underwater visual census and surface snorkelling. Local ecological knowledge was investigated to gain complementary information. Both approaches highlighted significant proliferation of this tropical invader, with an average abundance of 0.36 individuals per 250m2 across the 0–30-m depth range. Dense aggregations of more than…

First confirmed record of the Lessepsian migrant Pteragogus pelycus Randall, 1981 (Teleostei: Labridae) for the North African coasts

2012

4 pages, 2 figures

Reconstructing Bioinvasion Dynamics Through Micropaleontologic Analysis Highlights the Role of Temperature Change as a Driver of Alien Foraminifera I…

2021

Invasive alien species threaten biodiversity and ecosystem structure and functioning, but incomplete assessments of their origins and temporal trends impair our ability to understand the relative importance of different factors driving invasion success. Continuous time-series are needed to assess invasion dynamics, but such data are usually difficult to obtain, especially in the case of small-sized taxa that may remain undetected for several decades. In this study, we show how micropaleontologic analysis of sedimentary cores coupled with radiometric dating can be used to date the first arrival and to reconstruct temporal trends of foraminiferal species, focusing on the alien Amphistegina lo…

A SMALL INVADER CONQUERS SICILY: AMPHISTEGINA LOBIFERA (FORAMINIFERA: AMPHISTEGINIDAE)

2018

The highly invasive Amphistegina lobifera (Larsen, 1976), a benthic foraminiferal species native to the Red Sea, has colonized the Eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and altered the native community structure. More recently, it has been reported from Malta and the Pelagian Islands within the Sicily channel. Here, we report new records from the southern coasts of Sicily, where we found it abundant both in the soft-bottom sediment and as epiphyt on algae. The occurrence of A. lobifera in Pantelleria and Favignana islands represents the Mediterranean westernmost record of this non-indigenous species.

First colonization of the genus Amphistegina and other alien benthic foraminifera in the Pelagian Islands and in the south-eastern Sicily (central Me…

2013

Identification, cloning and environmental factors modulation of a αβ defensin from the lessepsian invasive mussel Brachidontes pharaonis (Bivalvia: M…

2015

International audience; Immunological effectors of invasive species playing a role in addressing new colonization are still poorly studied. In the present study the cDNA sequence of the defensin from a Lessepsian invasive species, the Red Sea mussel Brachidontes pharaonis, was cloned using RACE method. Defensins are a class of widely known antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), oligopeptides with a broad spectrum of targeted organisms ranging from viruses to parasites. Analysis of BpDef sequence (262 bp) revealed the presence of an ORF coding for 81 amino acids. The full-length amino acid sequence showed the highest similarity to antimicrobial peptides MGD1 and MGD2 sequence from Mytilus galloprovi…

The first colonization of the Genus Amphistegina and other exotic benthic foraminifera of the Pelagian Islands and south-eastern Sicily (central Medi…

2014

Abstract A detailed study of the marine sediments collected on the inner shelf of some of the selected areas of the central Mediterranean Sea has been carried out in order to verify the presence of exotic benthic foraminiferal species. Since 2000, the coastal marine environments of the Pelagian Islands and of Sicily (central Mediterranean) have been increasingly colonized by exotic species (i.e. fishes and algae) originating both from the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. The studied areas (Pelagian Islands and SE Sicily) are located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, they represent an ideal place to understand how exotic species, coming from different Oceans, may have coloniz…

Primeros hallazgos del molusco marino invasor Pinctada radiata (Leach, 1840) (Bivalvia: F. Margaritidae) en la costa valenciana (España)

2021

Se dan a conocer por primera vez diversos hallazgos del molusco bivalvo marino lessepsiano Pinctada radiata en la costa valenciana, concretamente en la costa del Golfo de Valencia (España). Esta especie puede causar efectos negativos sobre el ecosistema, afectando a su biodiversidad autóctona. Se proporcionan datos conquiológicos de la concha y el mapa de distribución geográfica actual de esta especie en la costa valenciana y en el mediterráneo occidental. -- First findings of invasive marine mollusc Pinctada radiata (Leach, 1840) (Bivalvia: F. Margaritidae) on the Valencian coast (Spain). Several findings of the marine Lessepsian bivalve mollusc Pinctada radiata are disclosed for the first…

Occurrence of the lessepsian species Portunus segnis (Crustacea: Decapoda) in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia): First record and new information on its bi…

2015

The alien blue swimming crab, Portunus segnis (Forskal, 1775), an Indo-Pacific species has been recorded in the Southern Mediterranean Sea since decades, even if its occurrence along the Tunisian coasts was not recorded yet. This paper reports the first record of P. segnis in the Gulf of Gabes, south-eastern Tunisia, with few observations on its biology and ecology. Twenty-four females of P. segnis were accidentally caught by local fishermen in October 2014 in shallow sandy areas covered mostly by seagrass and algal beds. Among these 24 individuals, 14 specimens (58.33%) were ovigerous. The mean carapace length (CL) and width (CW) of ovigerous females were 143.0 +/- 5.8 mm and 67.8 +/- 3.6 …