Identifying potentially invasive non-native marine and brackish water species for the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman

Global climate change impacts on the potential distribution of typical Trachinotus fishes and early warning assessment of invasions

Marine habitats and ecosystems are increasingly being impacted by global climate change and the global spread of captive breeding. In this study, we focused on five typical Trachinotus species (Trachinotus anak, Trachinotus blochii, Trachinotus mookalee, Trachinotus goreenisi, Trachinotus ovatus) as research subjects. We utilized species distribution models and ecological niche models to predict the present and future potential distribution of these species, as well as to assess ecological niche overlap and evaluate the early warning of invasion by Trachinotus species. T. ovatus stands out with its broad distribution range and high adaptability to different environments. It occupies 1.114% of medium-high suitable areas, spanning 100,147 km2. Our predictions also suggest that T. ovatus would undergo a significant expansion (approximately 55% of the total area) under both past and future environmental scenarios, demonstrating a higher tolerance and adaptability to changes in ambient temperatures. It can be discerned that T. ovatus exhibits strong environmental adaptability, which may potentially lead to biological invasion along the southeastern coast of China. The T. anak, on the other hand, showed a higher expansion trend under high carbon dioxide concentrations (RCP8.5), indicating a certain convergence with carbon dioxide concentration. Our models showed that under future climatic conditions, T. ovatus would become the dominant species, with increased competition with T. mookalee and decreased competition with T. goreenisi, T. mookalee, and T. anak. Based on our findings and the net-pen culture mode of T. ovatus, we identified the hotspot habitat of T. ovatus to be located in the Indo-Pacific convergence zone. However, there is a possibility of an expansion trend towards the southeast coast of China in the future. Therefore, it is crucial to provide an early warning for the potential biological invasion of T. ovatus.

New Records of the Cryptogenic Soft Coral Genus Stragulum (Tubiporidae) from the Eastern Caribbean and the Persian Gulf

The monotypic soft coral genus Stragulum van Ofwegen and Haddad, 2011 (Octocorallia: Malacalcyonacea: Tubiporidae) was originally described from Brazil, southwest Atlantic Ocean. Here, we report the first records of the genus from the eastern Caribbean and the Persian Gulf in the northwest Indian Ocean. We compare the morphological features of specimens, together with molecular data from three commonly used barcoding markers (COI, mtMutS, 28S rDNA) and 308 ultraconserved elements (UCE) and exon loci sequenced using a target-enrichment approach. The molecular and morphological data together suggest that specimens from all three localities are the same species, i.e., Stragulum bicolor van Ofwegen and Haddad, 2011. It is still not possible to establish the native range of the species or determine whether it may be an introduced species due to the limited number of specimens included in this study. However, the lack of historical records, its fouling abilities on artificial substrates, and a growing number of observations support the invasive nature of the species in Brazilian and Caribbean waters and therefore suggest that it may have been introduced into the Atlantic from elsewhere. Interestingly, the species has not shown any invasive behaviour in the Persian Gulf, where it has been found only on natural, rocky substrates. The aim of the present report is to create awareness of this taxon with the hope that this will lead to new records from other localities and help to establish its native range.

Development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for risk screening non-native terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions

Electronic decision-support tools are becoming an essential component of government strategies to tackle non-native species invasions. This study describes the development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for screening terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions: the Terrestrial Animal Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (TAS-ISK). As an adaptation of the widely employed Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), the TAS-ISK question template inherits from the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and related WRA-type toolkits and complies with the ‘minimum requirements’ for use with the recent European Regulation on invasive alien species of concern. The TAS-ISK consists of 49 basic questions on the species’ biogeographical/historical traits and its biological/ecological interactions, and of 6 additional questions to predict how climate change is likely to influence the risks of introduction, establishment, dispersal and impact of the screened species. Following a description of the main features of this decision-support tool as a turnkey software application and of its graphical user interface with support for 32 languages, sample screenings are provided in different risk assessment areas for one representative species of each of the main taxonomic groups of terrestrial animals supported by the toolkit: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, annelids, insects, molluscs, nematodes, and platyhelminths. The highest-scoring species were the red earthworm Lumbricus rubellus for the Aegean region of Turkey and the New Zealand flatworm Arthurdendyus triangulatus for Croatia. It is anticipated that adoption of this toolkit will mirror that of the worldwide employed AS-ISK, hence allowing to share information and inform decisions for the prevention of entry and/or dispersal of (high-risk) non-native terrestrial animal species – a crucial step to implement early-stage control and eradication measures as part of rapid-response strategies to counteract biological invasions.

Invasiveness risks of naked goby, Gobiosoma bosc, to North Sea transitional waters

In recent decades, gobies have dispersed or introduced from the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe in a westerly direction to North American and western European waters. By contrast, the naked goby, Gobiosoma bosc, is the only known gobiid species to have been introduced in an easterly direction from North American to western Europe. The potential invasiveness of G. bosc was assessed using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) for rivers and transitional waters for the western and eastern sides of the North Sea. Using globally-derived thresholds, G. bosc was assessed as low-medium invasiveness risk for both sides of the North Sea under current climate conditions. Under future climate conditions, potential invasiveness will increase for both risk assessment areas. Environmental suitability assessment indicated an increase in environmental suitability for G. bosc on the eastern coastline of the North Sea under climate change scenarios and suitability remained unchanged on the western coastline, reflecting the authors' expectations of invasiveness risk.

A protocol for screening potentially invasive non-native species using Weed Risk Assessment-type decision-support tools

There is increasing use worldwide of electronic decision-support tools to identify potentially invasive non-native species so as to inform policy and management decisions aimed at preventing or mitigating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of biological invasions. This study reviews the analytical approaches used to calibrate scores generated by the Weed Risk Assessment and subsequent adaptations thereof and provides a protocol for: (i) the identification of the assessor(s) who will carry out the screenings; (ii) the definition of the risk assessment area; (iii) the criteria for selection of the species for screening; and (iv) the a priori categorisation of the species into invasive or non-invasive necessary to compute the thresholds by which to distinguish between high-risk and medium-risk non-native species. This analytical approach represents an evidence-based and statistically robust means with which to inform decision-makers and stakeholders about policy and management of potentially invasive species and is expected to serve as a general reference of forthcoming screening applications of Weed Risk Assessment-type toolkits.

Evolving framework of studies on global gulf ecosystems with Sustainable Development Goals

Gulf ecosystems provide many beneficial services to humanity and play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the sustainability of gulf ecosystems has been severely threatened by climatic and anthropogenic stresses. Using network analysis of article records downloaded from Web of Science, we summarize the current research framework of gulf ecosystems via the perspectives of research themes, interdisciplinarity, and international collaborations. Research themes involve nutrient and eutrophication, biodiversity, mangrove and sediment pollution, and ecosystem service and climate change. Nevertheless, these themes usually focus on gulf ecosystems themselves with little consideration of their connectivity with other ecosystems. Interdisciplinarity has remained mostly within natural sciences while international collaborations exist mainly between developed and developing countries and among developed countries. Combined with the SDGs, we propose the future research framework where research themes should consider the impacts of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems on gulf ecosystems at the watershed scale. Interdisciplinarity between natural and social and management sciences needs to be promoted by utilizing the advantages of data sciences. Collaborations with developing countries led by China, Mexico, Brazil, and India need to be strengthened. The evolved research framework could offer decision support for stakeholders to manage gulf ecosystems and achieve the SDGs.

A Risk Screening of Potential Invasiveness of Alien and Neonative Marine Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for Sustainable Management

Biological invasions have posed a major threat to global and regional biodiversity. The Mediterranean Sea, one of the major biodiversity hotspots in the world, has long suffered multiple and frequent invasion events. This paper represents the screening results of the potential invasiveness of 23 introduced marine fish species, which are classified as neonative and alien. To predict the invasiveness potential of species under current and predicted climate conditions, the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) is applied. Thresholds have been constituted to classify low, medium and high-risk species by receiver operative characteristic curve analysis (ROC). The calibrated basic and climate-change threshold assessment scores used to classify species from low, to medium to high risk were computed between 27.5 and 33.0 respectively. Based on these thresholds, under current climatic conditions, 15 species were high risk, while the remaining species were medium risk, and the Chaetodipterus faber and the Holocentrus adscensionis switched from the medium-risk to the high-risk group under future climatic conditions. The highest score belonged to Fistularia petimba, followed by Siganus fuscescens, Abudefduf spp., Acanthurus monroviae and Lutjanus argentimaculatus. This study focused on the species that have not been assessed for their invasiveness potential, and the results can provide important insights into their sustainable management in the future.

A global-scale screening of non-native aquatic organisms to identify potentially invasive species under current and future climate conditions

The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment areas across all six inhabited continents screened 819 non-native species from 15 groups of aquatic organisms (freshwater, brackish, marine plants and animals) using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit. This multi-lingual decision-support tool for the risk screening of aquatic organisms provides assessors with risk scores for a species under current and future climate change conditions that, following a statistically based calibration, permits the accurate classification of species into high-, medium- and low-risk categories under current and predicted climate conditions. The 1730 screenings undertaken encompassed wide geographical areas (regions, political entities, parts thereof, water bodies, river basins, lake drainage basins, and marine regions), which permitted thresholds to be identified for almost all aquatic organismal groups screened as well as for tropical, temperate and continental climate classes, and for tropical and temperate marine ecoregions. In total, 33 species were identified as posing a 'very high risk' of being or becoming invasive, and the scores of several of these species under current climate increased under future climate conditions, primarily due to their wide thermal tolerances. The risk thresholds determined for taxonomic groups and climate zones provide a basis against which area-specific or climate-based calibrated thresholds may be interpreted. In turn, the risk rankings help decision-makers identify which species require an immediate 'rapid' management action (e.g. eradication, control) to avoid or mitigate adverse impacts, which require a full risk assessment, and which are to be restricted or banned with regard to importation and/or sale as ornamental or aquarium/fishery enhancement.

Biopollution by Invasive Marine Non-Indigenous Species: A Review of Potential Adverse Ecological Effects in a Changing Climate

Biopollution by alien species is considered one of the main threats to environmental health. The marine environment, traditionally less studied than inland domains, has been the object of recent work that is reviewed here. Increasing scientific evidence has been accumulated worldwide on ecosystem deterioration induced by the development of massive non-indigenous population outbreaks in many coastal sites. Biopollution assessment procedures have been proposed, adopting criteria already used for xenochemical compounds, adjusting them to deal with alien species invasions. On the other hand, prevention and mitigation measures to reduce biopollution impact cannot always mimic the emission countermeasures that have been successfully applied for chemical pollutants. Nevertheless, in order to design comprehensive water-quality criteria, risk assessment and management strategies, based on scientific knowledge, have been developed in a similar way as for chemical pollution. The Mediterranean Sea is a well-known case of alien species invasion, mainly linked to the opening of the Suez Canal. Non-indigenous species have caused well-documented changes in many coastal ecosystems, favoured by concomitant changes induced by global warming and by the heavy load of nutrients and pollutants by various anthropogenic activities. Naval commercial traffic and leisure boats are among the most active vectors of spread for alien species inside the Mediterranean, and also towards other ocean regions. The scientific evidence gathered and summarized in this review suggests that effective management actions, under a precautionary approach, should be put in place in order to control introductions of species in new areas. These management measures are already established in international treaties and national legislations, but should be enforced to prevent the disruption of the dynamic ecological equilibria in the receiving environment and to control the direct adverse effects of alien species.

Kuwait's marine biodiversity: Qualitative assessment of indicator habitats and species

The tropical waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf have a long history of maritime resource richness. High levels of biodiversity result from the complex matrix of coastal habitats, coral reefs and sea grass beds that characterise the region. Insight into the ongoing health of such habitats and the broader Kuwait maritime environment can be gauged by the status of indicator species found within these habitats. Here we review information on the occurrence, distribution and threats to key marine habitats and associated indicator species to provide an updated assessment of the state of the Kuwait's marine biodiversity. Critical evaluation of historic data highlights knowledge gaps needed inform the focus of future monitoring and conservation efforts. This assessment is designed to evaluate performance against environmental policy commitments, while providing a solid foundation for the design of comprehensive marine ecosystem management strategies.