Updating the National Baseline of Non-Indigenous Species in Spanish Marine Waters

The introduction of new non-indigenous species (NIS) in Spanish marine waters is addressed under Descriptor 2 of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive. National baseline inventories of NIS have been compiled and updated for the three subregions (Western Mediterranean Sea, WMED; Ba...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diversity
Main Authors: Png-González, Lydia, Comas-González, Robert, Calvo-Manazza, Matías, Follana-Berná, Guillermo, Ballesteros, Enric, Díaz-Tapia, Pilar, Falcón, Jesús, García Raso, J. Enrique, Gofas, Serge, González-Porto, Marcos, López, Eduardo, Ramos-Esplá, Alfonso A., Velasco, Eva María, Carbonell, Ana
Other Authors: Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (España)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/348550
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050630
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85160586091
Description
Summary:The introduction of new non-indigenous species (NIS) in Spanish marine waters is addressed under Descriptor 2 of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive. National baseline inventories of NIS have been compiled and updated for the three subregions (Western Mediterranean Sea, WMED; Bay of Biscay–Iberian Coast, ABI; Macaronesia, AMA) with data from 1800 to 2021. An overall of 574 species were identified with an alien, cryptogenic, crypto-expanding, or debatable status, mostly invertebrates (~65%) and primary producers (~22%). Of 412 alien species, 80.51% were reported in ABI, 67.82% in WMED, and 66.67% in AMA. Cryptogenic species are more abundant in the WMED (25.25%), compared to AMA (19.77%) and ABI (18.46%). ABI harbors more established species (62.56%) than AMA (45.2%) and WMED (43.56%), contrary to casual records (AMA 31.64%, WMED 23.76%, ABI 13.85%). Invasive species are more abundant (14.36%) in WMED. The ‘transport-stowaway’ pathway accounted for 142 (79.33%), 123 (67.58%), and 169 (85.21%) records in WMED, ABI, and AMA, respectively. The second most common pathway was ‘transport-contaminant’ related to mariculture (~10% of the total), prevalently in ABI with 42 species (23.08%). The Canary Islands stand out for species introduced through oil platforms from throughout the world. ‘Unaided’ was a relevant pathway of secondary introduction into the WMED, particularly of Lessepsian species progressing westwards. Temporal trends in newly introduced species show similar behavior among subregions. This research was funded by Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, grant number 11_MM_ESMARES2. The APC was funded by the ESMARES2-C3 project. Peer reviewed