New records of introduced species in the Mediterranean Sea (April 2023)

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of consistent and detailed reporting of introduced species is to complement the existing species inventories and serve as a basis for establishing monitoring strategies and other conservation measures. Some of the reports from this article are the first species records for the Mediterranean Sea, namely the green alga Udotea flabellum from the Aegean Sea (Turkey) and the deepbody boarfish Antigonia capros from the Balearic Sea (Spain). In addition, new records of introduced species are included for different seas, namely the moon crab Matuta victor for the Aegean Sea (Greece), the whale shark Rhincodon typus and the lionfish Pterois miles for the Alboran Sea (Spain), the almaco jack Seriola rivoliana for the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), and the hound needlefish Tylosurus crocodilus for the Adriatic Sea (It-aly). Furthermore, reports on first country records are included: the red alga Colaconema codicola from Slovenia, the nudibranch Melibe viridis from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the lionfish Pterois miles from Montenegro, and the goldstripe sardinella Sardinella gibbosa from Syria, which also represents a second record for the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, the occurrence of the sclerac-tinian coral Oculina patagonica was noted in Gulf of Lion (France). Four polychaete species, namely Leodice antennata, Timarete punctata and Branchiomma bairdi, are reported from the vermetid reef habitat and two of them (L. antennata and B. bairdi) are also recorded for the first time in Lebanon. Evidence for established populations of the Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada radiata around the island of Sardinia (Italy) is provided.Emine Sukran Okudan and Inci Tuney Kizilkaya were supported by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change-Directorate General for Protection of Natural Assets. The work of Ana Fortic and Martina Orlando Bonaca was conducted as part of the Slovenian national monitoring of alien species 2021-2023 (Contract No. 2330-21-670002) . The authors thank Leon Lojze Zamuda and Domen Trkov, who helped with the fieldwork, Janja France, who provided photos with the inverted microscope, and Adriano Sfriso for his help in the species identification. Daniele Grech and Daniela Caracciolo were supported by the LIFE PINNA (LIFE20 NAT/IT/001122) Conservation and re-stocking of the Pinna nobilis in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea. The authors would like to thank Benedetto Cristo, Paolo Marras, Andrea Impera and Riccardo Antonello Vargiu for the field support. The collaboration of Paraskevi K. Karachle and Elsa Martinez Jim?nez has been achieved within the framework of the project 4ALIEN: Biology and the potential economic exploitation of four alien species in the Hellenic Seas, funded by NRSF 2017-2020 (MIS (O?S): 5049511) , concerning the update of ELNAIS, the Ellenic Network of Aquatic Invasive Species. Javier Guallart and Antoni Lombarte acknowledge Salvador Rodriguez and Amadeu Ros, skippers of the fishing vessels Verge Loreto Segona and Cap Prin Segon respectively, from Xabia harbour (Spain) , for obtaining and preserving specimenfor study and providing precise data about its capture. Olivera Markovic and Ilija Cetkovic would like to thank Andrej Samardzic who kindly reported the sighting and provided the footage. Andrea Spinelli and Alvaro Garcia De los Rios y los Huertos are grateful to the CECAM divers (Center for Studies and Conservation of Marine Animals of Ceuta) and local fishermen's association of Almadraba Fraymartin for the assistance provided. We are grateful to Juan Carlos Rivas who filmed the R. typus specimen studied. Riccardo Virgili and Fabio Crocetta are grateful to Arturo Facente (Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy) for sharing pictures, data, and the sample of Seriola rivo-liana and were partially funded by the project PO FE-AMP Campania 2014-2020. DRD n. 35 of 15th March 2018. Innovazione, sviluppo e sostenibilit nel settore della pesca e dell'acquacoltura per la regione Campania. Misura 2.51. WP5. Task 5.5. Presenza e distribuzione di specie non indigene del macrozoobenthos e del necton in Campania. Diego Borme, Federica Camisa and Nicola Bettoso acknowledge the fisheries monitoring of a coastal area in the northern Adriatic Sea, carried out within the project PO FEAMP (2014-2020) Misura 1.40-Cod. progetto 071/RBC/20-entitled MITigation and monitoring of the interaction between artisanal fishery, fish fauna, protected species of aquatic birds and benthic habitats included in Natura 2000 sites (MITFISH-N2K). The authors would like to thank Mr Antonio Santopolo of the Cooperativa Pescatori Grado for providing the specimen.Turkish Republic Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change-Directorate General for Protection of Natural Assets; Slovenian national monitoring of alien species 2021-2023 [2330-21-670002]; LIFE PINNA Conservation and re-stocking of the Pinna nobilis in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea [LIFE20 NAT/IT/001122]; NRSF [MIS (O?S): 5049511]; project PO FE-AMP Campania 2014-2020 [35]; project PO FEAMP (2014-2020) Misura 1.40 entitled MITigation and monitoring of the interaction between artisanal fishery, fish fauna, protected species of aquatic birds and benthic habitats included in Natura 2000 sites (MITFISH-N2K) [071/RBC/20

New records of introduced species in the Mediterranean Sea (April 2023)

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of consistent and detailed reporting of introduced species is to complement the existing species inventories and serve as a basis for establishing monitoring strategies and other conservation measures. Some of the reports from this article are the first species records for the Mediterranean Sea, namely the green alga Udotea flabellum from the Aegean Sea (Turkey) and the deepbody boarfish Antigonia capros from the Balearic Sea (Spain). In addition, new records of introduced species are included for different seas, namely the moon crab Matuta victor for the Aegean Sea (Greece), the whale shark Rhincodon typus and the lionfish Pterois miles for the Alboran Sea (Spain), the almaco jack Seriola rivoliana for the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), and the hound needlefish Tylosurus crocodilus for the Adriatic Sea (Italy). Furthermore, reports on first country records are included: the red alga Colaconema codicola from Slovenia, the nudibranch Melibe viridis from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the lionfish Pterois miles from Montenegro, and the goldstripe sardinella Sardinella gibbosa from Syria, which also represents a second record for the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, the occurrence of the scleractinian coral Oculina patagonica was noted in Gulf of Lion (France). Four polychaete species, namely Leodice antennata, Timarete punctata and Branchiomma bairdi, are reported from the vermetid reef habitat and two of them (L. antennata and B. bairdi) are also recorded for the first time in Lebanon. Evidence for established populations of the Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada radiata around the island of Sardinia (Italy) is provided