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Title: | Symplegma (Ascidiacea : Styelidae), a non-indigenous genus spreading within the Mediterranean Sea : taxonomy, routes and vectors |
Authors: | Ramos Esplá, Alfonso A. Bitar, Ghazi Sghaier, Yassine Ramzi Çinar, Melih Ertan Deidun, Alan Ferrario, Jasmine Ulman, Aylin |
Keywords: | Introduced organisms -- Mediterranean Region Biodiversity -- Mediterranean Region Sea squirts -- Mediterranean Region Chordata -- Mediterranean Region Tunicata -- Mediterranean Region Styelidae -- Mediterranean Region Stolidobranchia -- Mediterranean Region |
Issue Date: | 2020 |
Publisher: | Invasivesnet |
Citation: | Ramos-Esplá, A. A., Bitar, G., Sghaier, Y. R., Çinar, M. E., Deidun, A., Ferrario, J., & Ulman, A. (2019). Symplegma (Ascidiacea: Styelidae), a non-indigenous genus spreading within the Mediterranean Sea: taxonomy, routes and vectors. Aquatic Invasions, 15(1), 44-62, https://doi.org/10. 3391/ai.2020.15.1.04 |
Abstract: | Symplegma is a genus of compound ascidians (Fam. Styelidae) with warm water affinities and distribution in tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The first record of this genus (as S. viride) in the Mediterranean was from 1951 in the Levantine Sea, presumably entering the basin from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Subsequently, it has been expanding its distributional range northward along the Levantine Sea coast, probably following the prevailing surface current direction. Recently, Symplegma has colonized the Aegean, Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, where it is spreading quickly, most likely mediated by shipping (i.e., hull fouling). Some specimens from the Ionian Sea (specifically from Tunisia, Malta) present opaque tunics resembling the Indo-Pacific Symplegma bahraini; however, morphological studies suggest that the genus in the Mediterranean Sea is represented by a single species, Symplegma brakenhielmi. The taxonomy of S. brakenhielmi, as well as its spreading routes and possible introduction vectors are analysed. |
Description: | This study was first presented at the 10th International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions held in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, October 16–18, 2018 (http://www.marinebioinvasions.info). |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/53098 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacSciGeo |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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published Symplegma paper March 2020.pdf | 4.92 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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