Spatio-temporal dynamics of exotic fish species in the Mediterranean Sea: Over a century of invasion reconstructed.

ABSTRACT: With over a thousand of introduced species, the Mediterranean is the most heavily invaded marine region in the world. Yet, the spatio-temporal dynamics of this bioinvasion has never been analysed. Examination of a comprehensive dataset of 4015 georeferenced observations, extracted from the scientific literature, allowed (i) reconstructing the invasion and the introduction and post-introduction dynamics of exotic fish species, (ii) calculating introduction and spread rates, and (iii) investigating the time correlates since introduction. Our analysis encompasses 188 fish species that entered the Mediterranean from 1896 to 2020, including 25 Atlantic species that naturally expanded their range through the Strait of Gibraltar. Cumulative occurrences, reported in 264 distribution maps, document

SUBMITTER: Azzurro E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9826093 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature