Using Local Ecological Knowledge to Search for Non-Native Species in Natura 2000 Sites in the Central Mediterranean Sea: An Approach to Identify New Arrivals and Hotspot Areas

Patrizia Perzia; Tiziana Cillari; Giuseppe Crociata; Alan Deidun; Manuela Falautano; Giulio Franzitta; Johann Galdies; Teresa Maggio; Pietro Vivona; Luca Castriota

doi:10.3390/biology12091158

Using Local Ecological Knowledge to Search for Non-Native Species in Natura 2000 Sites in the Central Mediterranean Sea: An Approach to Identify New Arrivals and Hotspot Areas

Biology (Basel). 2023 Aug 23;12(9):1158. doi: 10.3390/biology12091158.

Affiliations

¹ Unit for Conservation Management and Sustainable Use of Fish and Marine Resources, Department for the Monitoring and Protection of the Environment and for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521 (Ex Complesso Roosevelt), Località Addaura, 90149 Palermo, Italy.
² Oceanography Malta Research Group (OMRG), Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malta Tal-Qroqq Campus, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta.
³ Department of Research Infrastructure for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via Giardini Molosiglio, 80133 Naples, Italy.

Abstract

The management of biological invasions is among the most urgent of global challenges and requires a significant monitoring effort to obtain the information needed to take the appropriate decisions. To complement standard monitoring, citizen science is increasingly being used. Within citizen science, the approach of collecting and investigating Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) proved to be useful in the monitoring of non-native species. A LEK survey was carried out in 10 Sicilian and Maltese Natura 2000 sites in order to help in the early detection of non-native species. The survey was addressed to local fishers and SCUBA divers in order to investigate the occurrence of 24 selected marine non-native species and to identify potential hotspot areas of invasion through the use of six indicators: the occurrence of newly introduced nonindigenous species, the cumulative impacts of invasive alien species (CIMPAL) and the relative importance of species on the cumulative impacts (D1, D2, D3, and D4). The respondents confirmed the presence of 22 species since the year 2000 and reported 10 new ones registered in the investigated areas. The highest CIMPAL value was observed in two Sicilian Natura 2000 sites (ITA090028 and ITA040014) and the lowest on the western coast of Malta (MT0000101, MT0000102, MT0000103, and MT0000104) The four top-priority species according to indicators D1-D4 were Caulerpa cylindracea, C. taxifolia, Siganus luridus and S. rivulatus. The study produced a valid and useful scientific output to suggest and address management strategies to monitor the establishment of the non-native species.

Keywords: CIMPAL; Caulerpa spp.; Local Ecological Knowledge; Siganus spp.; citizen science; cumulative impact; marine nonindigenous species.

Grants and funding

C1-3.1-31/Interreg V-A Italia-Malta Project - C1- 3.1-31, HARMONY "Italo-Maltese harmonization for a good state of the environment: integrity of the seabed and interaction with invasive species to preserve the functioning of marine ecosystems".