The Middle Eastern Biodiversity Network: Generating and sharing knowledge for ecosystem management and conservation

Despite prevailing arid conditions, the diversity of terrestrial and freshwater biota in the Middle East is amazingly high and marine biodiversity is among the highest on Earth. Th roughout the Region, threats to the environment are moderate to severe. Despite the outstanding economic and ecological importance of biological diversity, the capacity in biodiversity-related research and academic education is inadequate. The "Middle Eastern Biodiversity Network" (MEBN), founded in 2006 by six universities and research institutes in Iran, Jordan, Germany, Lebanon and Yemen was designed to fi ll this gap. An integrated approach is taken to upgrade biodiversity research and education in order to improve regional ecosystem conservation and management capacities. A wide range of activities are carried out in the framework of the Network, including capacity building in biological collection management and professional natural history curatorship, developing university curricula in biodiversity, conducting scientifi c research, organising workshops and conferences on Middle Eastern biodiversity, and translating the results of biodiversity research into conservation and sustainable development. Keywords: Middle Eastern biodiversity, nature museums, biodiversity research, biodiversity education, biodiversity conservation, biodiversity network

Društvene mreže omogućuju rano otkrivanje nezavičajnih vrsta: prvi nalaz crvene hame Sciaenops ocellatus (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Sciaenidae) u talijanskim vodama

The red drum Sciaenops ocellatus is a large demersal fish that represents one of the top predators in estuarine environments of its native range. This species is commonly reared in aquaculture facilities, and it has already been reported as non indigenous from several countries. Here we report its first sighting in Italian waters, as well as the second documented occurrence for the Mediterranean Sea. The individual was landed in southern Sicily by artisanal fishery and this unusual observation was immediately shared on Facebook. The importance of considering social networks as tools for NIS detection is briefly discussed in light of the recognized difficulties to properly track biological introductions in the marine environment.Crvena hama, Sciaenops ocellatus, je velika demersalna riba, koja je jedna od najvećih grabežljivaca u estuarijskim okruženjima njezinog prirodnog areala rasprostranjenja. Ova vrsta se obično uzgaja u akvakulturi, a već je zabilježena kao nezavičajna u nekoliko zemalja. U ovom radu utvrđeno je prvo viđenje ove vrste u talijanskim vodama, koje je ujedno druga dokumentirana pojava u Sredozemnom moru. Primjerak je ulovljen tijekom priobalnog ribolova u južnoj Siciliji. Ova neuobičajena pojava je odmah podijeljena na društvenoj mreži (Facebook). Važnost razmatranja društvenih mreža kao alata za otkrivanje nezavičajnih vrsta kratko je raspravljan u svjetlu prepoznatih poteškoća kako bi se pravilno pratili biološki unosi u morski okoliš

New records of the silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) in the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas: early detection and participatory monitoring in practice

5 pages, 3 figuresThe silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789)—an invasive toxic species well established in the eastern Mediterranean—is rapidly expanding through the western Basin and a public campaign was set to inform Italian citizens on the risks associated with its consumption. Both news media and local communities responded rapidly to the initiative generating an increasing flow of information. On 15 April 2016, a new capture of this species (off Briatico, Calabria, Italy at 25 m of depth), was promptly reported to the authors, representing the first documented record of L. sceleratus from the Tyrrhenian Sea. On 7 June 2016, a second specimen was captured at Montebello Ionico in Calabria. This case of early detection is here presented as a successful example of interplay among citizens, researchers, and policy makers: a powerful approach for monitoring the spread of invasive species and reducing their potential impacts through increasing awarenessPeer Reviewe

New alien mediterranean biodiversity records (March 2020)

The current article presents 18 new records from seven Mediterranean countries. These records include one rhodophyte, four nudibranchs, two crustaceans, one stingray and 10 bony fishes. They are grouped by country as follows: Lebanon - first record of the Striped bass Morone saxatilis, the stingray Himantura leoparda, the Areolate grouper Epinephelusareolatusand theSpot-fin porcupinefish Diodon hystrix from various parts of the country; Turkey - first record of the invasive red alga Grateloupia turuturufrom the sea of Marmara (region of Bandırma), the sea slug Goniobranchus obsoletus and the crab Arcania brevifrons from the Gulf of Antalya and the cladoceran Pleopis schmackeri from several locations along the Aegean Sea; Cyprus - first record of the alien sea slug Berthellina citrina from the region of Cape Greco and an observation of a butterflyfishHeniochussp. from the north-eastern side of the island; Greece - first record of the alien sea slug Anteaeolidiella lurana from the region of Heraklion in Crete and the record of the Atlantic spadefish Chaetodipterus faber and the Black surgeonfish Acanthurus cfr gahhmfrom Salamina Island; Slovenia - first record of the alien sea slug Thecacera pennigera from Izola; Italy - first record of the hybrid Striped bass (Morone saxatilis × Morone chrysops) from the northern Tyrrhenian Sea and a first record of the goldfish Carassius auratus from the region of Apulia; Libya - first record of the Red Sea goatfish Parupeneus forsskali and the African surgeonfish Acanthurus monroviae, respectively from the eastern (Al-Tamimi area) and the western shore (Al-Khums area).University Research Board of the American University of Beirut. DDF 103367/23927 y AUB 513071TÜBİTAK (Consejo de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica de Turquía) 114Y238Programa de Investigación e innovación de Horizonte 2020 de la Unión Europea. 730984Ministero dell'Istruzione de Italia (MIUR)ImPrEco Project de la Unión Europea. Interreg ADRION Programme 2014–2020 CUP C69H1800025000

New Mediterranean biodiversity records (October 2015)

The Collective Article “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article has adopted a country-based classification and the countries are listed according to their geographic position, from west to east. New biodiversity data are reported for 7 different countries, although one species reported from Malta is new for the entire Mediterranean basin, and is presumably also present in Israel and Lebanon (see below, under Malta). Italy: the rare native fish Gobius kolombatovici is first reported from the Ionian Sea, whilst the alien jellyfish Rhopilema nomadica and the alien fish Oplegnathus fasciatus are first reported from the entire country. The presence of O. fasciatus from Trieste is concomitantly the first for the entire Adriatic Sea. Finally, the alien bivalve Arcuatula senhousia is reported for the first time from Campania (Tyrrhenian Sea). Tunisia: a bloom of the alien crab ortunus segnis is first reported from the Gulf of Gabes, where it was considered as casual. Malta: the alien flatworm Maritigrella fuscopunctata is recorded in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, on the basis of 25 specimens. At the same time, web searches include possible unpublished records from Israel and Lebanon. The alien crab P. segnis, already mentioned above, is first formally reported from Malta based on specimens collected in 1972. Concomitantly, the presence of Callinectes sapidus in Maltese waters is excluded since based on misidentifications. Greece: the Atlantic northern brown shrimp Penaeus atzecus, previously known from the Ionian Sea from sporadic records only, is now well established in Greek and international Ionian waters. The alien sea urchin Diadema setosum is reported for the second time from Greece, and its first record from the country is backdated to 2010 in Rhodes Island. The alien lionfish Pterois miles is first reported from Greece and concomitantly from the entire Aegean Sea. Turkey: the alien rhodophyte Antithamnion hubbsii is first reported from Turkey and the entire eastern Mediterranean. New distribution data are also provided for the native fishes Alectis alexandrina and Heptranchias perlo. In particular, the former record consists of a juvenile measuring 21.38 mm total length, whilst the latter by a mature male. Cyprus: the rare native cephalopod Macrotritopus defilippi, and the alien crab Atergatis roseus, sea slug Plocamopherus ocellatus and fish Cheilodipterus novemstriatus are first recorded from the entire country. Lebanon: the alien crabs Actaea savignii and Matuta victor, as well as the alien fish Synanceia verrucosa, are first recorded from the entire country. In addition, the first Mediterranean record of A. savignii is backdated to 2006, whilst the high number of M. victor specimens observed in Lebanon suggest its establishment in the Basin. The Atlantic fishes Paranthias furcifer and Seriola fasciata, and the circumtropical Rachycentron canadum, are also first reported from the country. The P. furcifer record backdates its presence in the Mediterranean to 2007, whilst S. fasciata records backdate its presence in the eastern Mediterranean to 2005. Finally, two of these latter species have been recently ascribed to alien species, but all three species may fit the cryptogenic category, if not a new one, better.peer-reviewe

“New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” (November 2021)

This Collective Article includes records of 29 alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to eight Phyla (Rhodophyta, Ochrophyta, Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata) and coming from 11 countries. Notes published here can be divided into three different categories: occupancy estimation for wide areas, new records for the Mediterranean Sea, and new records of species expanding within the Mediterranean Sea. The first category includes a visual survey held along the coastline of Peloponnese (Greece), which yielded records of 15 species. The second category includes the first Mediterranean records of the Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch (Greece) and of the Arabian monocle bream Scolopsis ghanam (Tunisia). The third category includes new records for countries (Ganonema farinosum in Malta, Cassiopea andromeda in Libya, Cingulina isseli in Greece, Okenia picoensis in Italy, Callinectes sapidus in Slovenia, Charybdis cf. hellerii in Malta, Urocaridella pulchella in Cyprus, Ablennes hians and Aluterus monoceros in Lebanon, and Fistularia petimba in Greece and Lebanon), new records for MSFD areas or regional seas (Septifer cumingii in the Greek Ionian Sea and F. petimba in the Marmara Sea), and confirmation of old, doubtful, or spurious records/statements (Branchiomma luctuosum in Tunisia, Thalamita poissonii in the Saronikos Gulf, and Pterois miles in Albania). Noteworthy, the three new records of F. petimba suggest that it may soon spread further in the Mediterranean Sea, as already happened for its congeneric Fistularia commersonii. Distributional data reported here will help tracing colonization routes of alien species in the basin and may facilitate the development of mitigation measures

“New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea” (October 2021)

“New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea” (October 2021