AUTHOR=Tamburini Marco , Keppel Erica , Marchini Agnese , Repetto Michele F. , Ruiz Gregory M. , Ferrario Jasmine , Occhipinti-Ambrogi Anna 

TITLE=Monitoring Non-indigenous Species in Port Habitats: First Application of a Standardized North American Protocol in the Mediterranean Sea

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.700730

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2021.700730

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Baseline port monitoring for fouling communities is an essential tool to assess non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction and spread, but a standardized and coordinated method among Mediterranean and European countries has not been agreed-upon yet. In this context, it is important to test monitoring protocols that allow for the collection of standardized data, comparable across time and space. Here, for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, we tested a standardized protocol developed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and used now in several countries. The three-year monitoring (2018-2020) was conducted in the Gulf of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea, Italy), with the deployment of a total of 50 PVC panels per year in five different sites (a commercial harbor, three marinas and a site in the proximity of a shellfish farm). A total of 79 taxa were identified, including 11 NIS, ranging from zero to seven NIS for each panel. In comparison with previous surveys, new NIS arrivals were observed in the Gulf of La Spezia: Botrylloides cf. niger, Branchiomma sp., Branchiomma luctuosum, Paraleucilla magna and Watersipora arcuata. At the end of the three-year monitoring, mean number and percent cover of NIS were measured, and both measures differed across the monitoring sites, with higher values in two marinas and in the commercial harbor. Among years, the number of NIS were relatively stable at each monitoring site. The structure of these communities was influenced more by the native and cryptogenic species than by NIS. Moreover, among the monitoring sites, the density of artificial structures was not a reliable predictor or proxy for local NIS abundance. This first application of the SERC method in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrating both pros and cons, including the detection of new NIS in this case study. Further direct comparisons with other NIS monitoring tools are recommended, and additional tests should be promoted to assess its effectiveness in this biogeographical area. A broader application of this and other standard methods in time and space across the Mediterranean basin should be encouraged, providing critical data needed to assess changes in the structure of fouling communities.