Marine alien species in Greek Seas: Additions and amendments by 2010

Abstract

An update of the inventory of alien marine species from the coastal and offshore waters of Greece is presented. Records were compiled based on the existing scientific and grey literature, including the HCMR database of Greek alien species (ELNAIS), technical reports, scientific congresses, academic dissertations, websites, and unpublished/personal observations. 47 species were added to the inventory, including 34 invertebrates, one vertebrate (fish), three plants, eight protozoa, and one cyanobacterium. With the new records, the inventory of alien marine species of Greece now includes a total of 237 species (33 macrophytes, 131 invertebrates, 42 vertebrates, two bacteria and 29 protozoans). Among these, the presence of the gastropod Hypselodoris infucata, the bivalves Dendrostrea frons and Septifer forskali and the chondrichthyan Rhizoprionodon acutus is reported here for the first time. Based on molecular analysis, the occurrence of Bulla arabica in Greek waters is confirmed, and the suggestion that previous records of Bulla ampulla in the Mediterranean should be considered as misidentification of B. arabica is further supported. The acclimitization status of earlier records was revised in the light of new data, and thus the fish Enchelycore anatina, Seriola fasciata and Tylerius spinosissimus, the red algae Hypnea cornuta and Sarconema scinaioides, the scyphomedusa Cassiopea andromeda, the cephalopod Sepioteuthis lessoniana, the nudibranch Chromodoris annulata and the bivalves Gastrochaena cymbium and Pseudochama corbieri were upgraded from casual records to established populations. The increased rate of introductions of warm water species confirms previous findings, which link the rate of introduction in the eastern Mediterranean to climate change.