'Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre Oy (REABIC)'
Doi
Abstract
Este artículo contiene 45 páginas, 20 figuras, 5 tablas.Biological invasions have become a defining feature of marine Mediterranean
ecosystems with significant impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human
health. We systematically reviewed the current knowledge on the impacts of marine
biological invasions in the Mediterranean Sea. We screened relevant literature and
applied a standardised framework that classifies mechanisms and magnitude of impacts
and type of evidence. Overall, 103 alien and cryptogenic species were analysed, 59 of
which were associated with both negative and positive impacts, 17 to only negative, and
13 to only positive; no impacts were found for 14 species. Evidence for most reported
impacts (52%) was of medium strength, but for 32% of impact reports evidence was
weak, based solely on expert judgement. Only 16% of the reported impacts were based
on experimental studies. Our assessment allowed us to create an inventory of 88 alien
and cryptogenic species from 16 different phyla with reported moderate to high
impacts. The ten worst invasive species in terms of reported negative impacts on
biodiversity include six algae, two fishes, and two molluscs, with the green alga Caulerpa
cylindracea ranking first. Negative impacts on biodiversity prevailed over positive ones.
Competition for resources, the creation of novel habitat through ecosystem engineering,
and predation were the primary reported mechanisms of negative effects. Most cases of
combined negative and positive impacts on biodiversity referred to community-level
modifications. Overall, more positive than negative impacts were reported on ecosystem
services, but this varied depending on the service. For human health, only negative
impacts were recorded. Substantial variation was found among Mediterranean ecoregions
in terms of mechanisms of impact and the taxonomic identity of impacting species.
There was no evidence that the magnitude of impact increases with residence time.
Holistic approaches and experimental research constitute the way forward to better
understanding and managing biological invasions.The present study was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation
(H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and
Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project ALAS –
“ALiens in the Aegean – a Sea under siege”; Project Number: HFRI-FM17-1597; Katsanevakis
et al. 2020b). FaCr was partially funded by the project PO FEAMP CAMPANIA 2014-2020
(DRD n.35 of 15th March 2018). XT obtained partial funding from project MARGECH
(PID2020-118550RB, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) from the Spanish Government. AR
received grants from the University of Catania through “PiaCeRi-Piano Incentivi per la Ricerca
di Ateneo 2020–22 linea di intervento 2”.Peer reviewe