The role of social media in compensating for the lack of field studies: Five new fish species for Mediterranean Egypt

Abstract

In the Mediterranean Sea, where biological invasions constitute a serious threat, the combination of citizen science and social networks amplified the power of proper field studies, recording species that would have otherwise presumably passed unnoticed. Based on data collected on several Facebook groups, we hereby first report the presence of five fish taxa (Kyphosus sp., Heniochus intermedius, Pomacanthus imperator, Pomacanthus maculosus and Abudefduf sp.) new for the Mediterranean Egypt, revise their distribution in the Mediterranean Sea and discuss their possible introduction pathways. Finally, we provide some considerations on the potentiality of social media for citizen science projects.

Keywords: Facebook groups; Lessepsian immigrants; citizen science; nonindigenous species; social networks.