Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Descriptor 2, Non-Indigenous Species, Delivering solid recommendations for setting threshold values for non-indigenous species pressure on European seas

Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are animals and plants introduced accidently or deliberately into the European seas, originating from other seas of the globe. About 800 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) currently occur in the European Union national marine waters, several of which have negative impacts on marine ecosystem services and biodiversity. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 2 (D2), EU Member States (MSs) need to consider NIS in their marine management strategies. The Descriptor D2 includes one primary criterion (D2C1: new NIS introductions), and two secondary criteria (D2C2 and D2C3). The D2 implementation is characterized by a number of issues and uncertainties which can be applicable to the Descriptor level (e.g. geographical unit of assessment, assessment period, phytoplanktonic, parasitic, oligohaline NIS, etc.), to the primary criterion D2C1 level (e.g. threshold values, cryptogenic, questionable species, etc), and to the secondary criteria D2C2 and D2C3. The current report tackles these issues and provides practical recommendations aiming at a smoother and more efficient implementation of D2 and its criteria at EU level. They constitute a solid operational output which can result in more comparable D2 assessments among MSs and MSFD regions/subregions. When it comes to the policy-side, the current report calls for a number of different categories of NIS to be reported in D2 assessments, pointing the need for the species to be labelled/categorised appropriately in the MSFD reporting by the MSs. These suggestions are proposed to be communicated to the MSFD Working Group of Good Environmental Status (GES) and subsequently to the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) of MSFD. Moreover, they can serve as an input for revising the Art. 8 Guidelines

Non-indigenous species refined national baseline inventories : A synthesis in the context of the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Refined baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set per European Union Member State (MS), in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The inventories are based on the initial assessment of the MSFD (2012) and the updated data of the European Alien Species Information Network, in collaboration with NIS experts appointed by the MSs. The analysis revealed that a large number of NIS was not reported from the initial assessments. Moreover, several NIS initially listed are currently considered as native in Europe or were proven to be historical misreportings. The refined baseline inventories constitute a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation, providing an improved basis for reporting new NIS introductions, facilitating the MSFD D2 assessment. In addition, the inventories can help MSs in the establishment of monitoring systems of targeted NIS, and foster cooperation on monitoring of NIS across or within shared marine subregions. Highlights • Refined MSFD baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set in EU. • The inventories are given per EU Member State (MS) and MSFD subregion up to 2012. • The NIS lists provide a basis for reporting new NIS introductions in EU after 2012. • Our work constitutes a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation

Non-indigenous species refined national baseline inventories: A synthesis in the context of the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Refined baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set per European Union Member State (MS), in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The inventories are based on the initial assessment of the MSFD (2012) and the updated data of the European Alien Species Information Network, in collaboration with NIS experts appointed by the MSs. The analysis revealed that a large number of NIS was not reported from the initial assessments. Moreover, several NIS initially listed are currently considered as native in Europe or were proven to be historical misreportings. The refined baseline inventories constitute a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation, providing an improved basis for reporting new NIS introductions, facilitating the MSFD D2 assessment. In addition, the inventories can help MSs in the establishment of monitoring systems of targeted NIS, and foster cooperation on monitoring of NIS across or within shared marine subregions.Henn Ojaveer and Maiju Lehtiniemi wish to acknowledge the project COMPLETE (Completing management options in the Baltic Sea region to reduce risk of invasive species introduction by shipping), co-financed by the European Union's funding Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region (European Regional Development Fund). João Canning-Clode was supported by a starting grant in the framework of the 2014 FCT Investigator Programme (IF/01606/2014/CP1230/CT0001) and wish to acknowledge the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019 granted to MARE

Heteralepas gettysburgensis Lobo & Tuaty-Guerra 2017, sp. nov.

Heteralepas gettysburgensis sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6F9E2643-558E-4799-9FA8- EBAB 9B3D04B9 Figs 2–6 Diagnosis Demarcation between capitulum and peduncle clear. Capitulum wider than capitulo-peduncular junction. Capitulum slightly longer than peduncle, both with folds. Carinal margin thickened. Aperture more than &frac13; and less than ½ height of the capitulum, with crenulated lips. Lips surrounding aperture clearly set off from the surrounding capitulum by a demarcation border. Mandible with four teeth covered by fine setae, as well as its posterior side. Lower margin of the teeth with numerous pectinations: the first tooth with ten, the second, third and fourth ones with five, five and six pectinations, respectively. First maxilla with two strong acuminate teeth of unequal length on the upper angle. Etymology The specific epithet alludes to the location where the specimens were collected: the Gettysburg Seamount, Gorringe Bank, in the Madeira-Tore geologic complex. Material examined Holotype: NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC: located approximately 200 km off the southwestern coast of Portugal, Gettysburg Seamount, Gorringe Bank, Madeira-Tore geological complex, 36º34′42.46″ N, 11º35′49.02″ W, 255 m depth, 28 Aug. 2016 (MB11-000943). Paratypes: NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC: 14 specimens, same data as for holotype (MB11-000944 – MB11-000957). Description The fresh specimens were translucent yellowish, allowing observation of the cirri movement inside the capitulum. Demarcation between capitulum and peduncle clear. Capitulum wider than capitulo- peduncular junction (Fig. 2A–B). Capitulum 1.2 to 1.6 times longer than peduncle, cylindrical. Both peduncle and capitulum with folds. Aperture more than &frac13; and less than ½ of the capitulum height. Lips surrounding the aperture crenulated and clearly set off from the surrounding capitulum by a demarcation border (Fig. 2C–D). Carinal margin thickened. Mandible (Fig. 3A–B) with four teeth covered by fine setae as well as its posterior side. Lower margin of the teeth with pectinations: first tooth with ten, second, third and fourth ones with five, five and six pectinations, respectively (Fig. 3C–F). Distance between first and second tooth 1.5 times that between second and third tooth. Latter distance similar to the distance between third and fourth tooth. First maxilla deeply notched, with two strong acuminate teeth of unequal length on upper angle, numerous setae and short to long spines on the cutting margin. Posterior margin with a dense clump of fine setae. (Fig. 4A–C).Second maxilla with two lobes covered with numerous long serrulate setae, those on posterior lobe longer than those on anterior lobe (Fig. 4D–E). Cirral setation lasiopod. Cirrus I separated from posterior pairs, with unequal rami.Anterior ramus slightly shorter and wider at base than posterior ramus (Fig. 5A–B). Both with numerous setae on upper and lower margins. Base of cirrus I with one filamentous appendage. Cirrus II with anterior ramus slightly shorter than posterior ramus (Fig. 6A). Anterior and posterior rami of cirri III and IV very similar (Fig. 6B–C). Cirri V and VI similar (Fig. 6D and 4C–D, respectively), with inner rami atrophied. Inner ramus of cirrus VI shorter than inner ramus of cirrus V. Caudal appendage slightly longer than pedicel of cirrus VI (Fig. 5E–F). Penis relatively long, annulated, with numerous long and short fine setae distally scattered throughout (Fig. 5G–H). Table 1 displays the measurements, ratios, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation concerning the morphological characters mentioned. Discussion All specimens were collected from the same site, at a depth of 255 m in the northeastern Atlantic. Seven species occur in the Atlantic: H. belli (Gruvel, 1902), H. cantelli Buhl-Mortensen & Newman, 2004, H. cornuta (Darwin, 1851), H. lankesteri (Gruvel, 1900), H. luridas Zevina, 1975, H. microstoma (Gruvel, 1901) and H. segonzaci Young, 2001, of which only three species occur in the east Atlantic (H. cornuta, H. microstoma and H. segonzaci). The new species differs distinctly from H. cornuta due to the absence of conspicuous triangular projections in the capitulum (Fig. 2A–B). The species H. microstoma has a peduncle much longer than the capitulum, being the opposite of our specimens, where the capitulum is slightly longer than the peduncle. The original description by Gruvel (1902) gives an account of the number of articles of cirrus I (inner and outer rami), the inner rami of cirri V and VI and the caudal appendage. All cirri have a greater number of articles than our specimens except the caudal appendage (Table 2). The peduncle of H. segonzaci, from a depth of 2235 m, is three times shorter than the capitulum and the aperture is more than half the length of the capitulum (Young, 2001) while our specimens have an aperture length less than half that of the capitulum, and the rami of cirri III and IV have fewer articles than H. segonzaci. Comparing with the other species recorded from the western Atlantic, H. belli has the capitulum shorter than the peduncle and the cuticle is almost smooth, with some irregular folds (Gruvel, 1902), while our specimens have the capitulum longer than the peduncle and the cuticle with numerous folds. Moreover, in H. bellii the aperture is half as high as the capitulum height (Gruvel, 1902) while in our species it is less than half its height. In H. lankesteri the capitulum is approximately as long as the peduncle (ratio length of capitulum to length of peduncle (C/P) varies from 0.6 to 1.3) (Gruvel, 1900), while in our specimens the ratio varies between 1.2 and 1.6. The cirri rami with a different number of articles and the non-pectinated mandible of H. lankesteri (Gruvel, 1900) also distinguish it from our species (Table 2). Finally, the small size of H. luridas (maximum registered size 9.5 mm), from the Caribbean, and the smaller number of articles of all cirri rami (Zevina, 1975) strongly distinguish it from our specimens (Table 2). Regarding the species outside of the Atlantic, H. japonica Aurivillius, 1892 and H. canci Chan, Tsang & Shih, 2012 are the most similar species externally, probably due to the large morphological variability of H. japonica, unlike the species analyzed in this study (Table 1). However, they have crests on the carinal region of the capitulum, the rami of the cirri have fewer articles than our specimens and the ratio ‘height of aperture/height of capitulum’ is higher (Chan et al., 2009). The teeth of the mandible of H. japonica appear to be without pectinations or might have low pectinations on the lower margins of teeth 1–3, especially 2 and 3 (Buhl-Mortensen & Newman 2004), while the new species exhibits numerous pectinations on the lower margin of the four teeth. Also, the maximum length of the peduncle and capitulum of H. japonica reported by Buhl-Mortensen & Newman (2004) is 11.6 and 3.6 cm respectively, quite distinct from the new species described in this study (1.4 and 1.6 cm, respectively). On the other hand, the sequences of the COI obtained for our specimens had divergences of 16 to 21 % with H. japonica and 16 to 17% with H. canci (Chan et al. 2009). The intraspecific distances obtained for our specimens were 0.3 to 0.7%. Many studies have been carried out using the mitochondrial DNA sequences of the COI-5P, which have confirmed that DNA barcodes (Hebert et al. 2003) are a reliable tool to discriminate species of crustaceans (Lobo et al. 2013, 2016), including cirripedes (Chan et al. 2009). Ratnasingham & Hebert (2013) suggested that 2.2% of average intraspecific distance is a reference threshold for within-species boundaries, which is quite far from the divergences found in this study. In addition, the marker 12S presented divergences approximately of 6.5% and 7.5 %, with the species H. canci and H. japonica, respectively, being within the expected values for barnacle species within the same genus (Chan et al. 2007, 2009). The marker 16S also showed 7 % of genetic divergence with the only specimen of Heteralepas (unidentified) available in public databases (Schiffer & Herbig 2016, GenBank accession KT947465), which is in accordance with the results obtained for other crustaceans (Brasher et al. 1992; Machado et al. 1993). H. adiposa Zevina, 1982 and H. cygnus Pilsbry, 1907, are similar to H. microstoma, but they differ from it in having numerous small calcareous knobs, four mandible teeth, and a great number of caudal segments (Zevina & Kolbasov 2000). Therefore, their diagnostic characters are also distinct from the specimens analyzed in this study. H. mystacophora Newman, 1964 has a smooth capitulum and the superior margins of the second and third teeth of the mandible support several widely spaced spinules (Zullo & Newman, 1964), while the species described here presents a wrinkled capitulum and has spinules in the inferior margin in the four teeth of the mandible. The capitulum of H. nicobarica Annandale, 1909 is indistinctly separated from the peduncle, the aperture height is ¼ of the capitulum height and the peduncle is similar to or longer than the capitulum (Annandale, 1909). Contrarily, the new species presents a clear demarcation between capitulum and peduncle, the aperture height is> &frac13; and <½ of the capitulum height and the peduncle is shorter than the capitulum (see Table 1). In H. rex (Pilsbry, 1907), the capitulum is almost as long as the peduncle, and lips are slightly crenulated or irregularly warty and do not protrude in adults (Pilsbry, 1907). In our specimens the capitulum is slightly longer than the peduncle and the lips are clearly crenulated and protruding. In H. utinomii Newman, 1960, the length of the peduncle is one third of that of the capitulum (Newman, 1960), which distinguishes it from our specimens whose peduncle is only slightly shorter than the capitulum.Published as part of Lobo, Jorge & Tuaty-Guerra, Miriam, 2017, A new deep-sea Cirripedia of the genus Heteralepas from the northeastern Atlantic, pp. 1-14 in European Journal of Taxonomy 385 on pages 3-10, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2017.385, http://zenodo.org/record/113366

A new deep-sea Cirripedia of the genus Heteralepas from the northeastern Atlantic

A new species of the sessile deep-sea barnacle, Heteralepas (Crustacea, Cirripedia), Heteralepas gettysburgensis sp. nov., is described. The specimens were collected at a depth of 225 m at the Gettysburg Seamount on the Gorringe Bank, located in the Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, approximately 200 km off the southwestern coast of mainland Portugal. Extensive morphological and molecular (COI, 12S and 16S) analyses were carried out to separate the species from its nearest congeners with similar geographic distribution, i.e., Atlantic waters

Integrative Taxonomy Reveals That the Marine Brachyuran Crab Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington, 1877) Reached Eastern Atlantic

Pyromaia tuberculata is native to the north-eastern Pacific Ocean and currently established in distant regions in the Pacific Ocean and southwest Atlantic. Outside its native range, this species has become established in organically polluted enclosed waters, such as bays. The Tagus estuary, with a broad shallow bay, is one of the largest estuaries in the west coast of Europe, located in western mainland Portugal, bordering the city of Lisbon. In this study, sediment samples were collected in the estuary between 2016 and 2017. Several adult specimens of P. tuberculata, including one ovigerous female, were morphologically and genetically identified, resulting in accurate identification of the species. The constant presence of adults over a 16-month sampling period suggests that the species has become established in the Tagus estuary. Moreover, their short life cycle, which allows for the production of at least two generations per year, with females reaching maturity within six months after settlement, favours population establishment. Despite being referred to as invasive, there are no records of adverse effects of P. tuberculata to the environment and socio-economy in regions outside its native range. However, due to its expanding ability, its inclusion in European monitoring programmes would indeed be desirable

Learning lessons and moving forward

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission (Grant Number 110661/2018/794607/SUB/ENV.C2 ). Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia ( FCT , Portugal), through the strategic projects , and the project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET - Aquatic Research Network. We are very grateful to all partners of the RAGES (Risk Based Approaches to Good Environmental Status; https://www.msfd.eu/rages/rages.html) consortium for discussions during the development of this work, particularly to Jean-Marc Brignon and Valentin Chapon for their contributions to discussions around the application of the ELECTRE II approach. We are also indebted to the RAGES partners as well as to invited experts that contributed to the NIS lists and to the HS exercise. Finally, we would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their remarks, which improved the quality of this work. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The AuthorsRisk-based Approaches (RBA) are increasingly playing an explicit and important role in a number of environmental regulations across Europe and globally. In this paper, we summarise a generic RBA developed for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and its application to two descriptors of Good Environmental Status (GES) for marine waters, Non-Indigenous Species and Underwater Energy and Noise (Descriptors 2 and 11). We provide an overview of the findings and outcomes emerging from the application, which focus on identifying common advantages as well as common challenges encountered in the application of the RBA. Recommendations are then made, aimed at identifying potential solutions to the common problems, particularly in relation to data and expert-judgement approaches. Further recommendations address the development of governance structures to facilitate the uptake of risk-based approaches at the level of the MSFD common implementation strategy. Finally, some general and specific recommendations are made to effectively embed RBA and enhance regional cooperation for future implementation of the MSFD.publishersversionpublishe

An artificial reef at the edge of the deep: An interdisciplinary case study

Just nearby the largest submarine canyon in Europe - off the western coast of Portugal - is located the Nazare acute accent artificial reef (NAR) deployed in 2010 and the first of its kind in this coast. NAR aimed to improve social and economic resilience of the local communities, mainly by creating a safer and closer area for fishing and to enhance commercially exploitable marine resources. The innovative part of this research lies on the fact that for the first time was developed a multidisciplinary approach for NAR. Scientific evidence from fieldwork shows that in 2015 the reef was already mature and colonized by abundant and diversified macrobenthic assemblages. No evidence of negative impacts of NAR on the soft bottom macrofauna was observed, as assemblage composition in the NAR area and in the vicinity areas is similar. In relation to the primary producers that support the subsequent food chain, there also seems to be a balance between NAR and the surrounding area since phytoplankton was equally abundant throughout the area. Experimental fisheries and underwater visual census results on ichthyofaunal communities in the reef revealed high abundance and low levels of species richness, pouting, Trisopterus luscus Linnaeus, 1758 being the most common fish species found. Concerning NAR socio-economic impact, results from direct site observations (DSOs) showed that only some small-scale fishing vessels were eligible to operate on the NAR area. Thus, comparatively to non-AR areas nearby reef use by fishing vessels differs according to spatial and temporal strata. In what perception was concerned, the NAR has contributed to fish aggregation, though being populated mostly by small fish. Fishers have stated that some factors seemed to have changed after reef deployment. Notwithstanding, the NAR may have been a valuable contribution to an apparently overall socio-economic positive impact on the local fishing community that can be corroborated by the presence of good biological indicators.02PE/2011/GJinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio