20
th
century, was wiped out by an abrupt event which occurred at that time in the
Central Mediterranean Sea.
This region actually experienced a catastrophic earthquake in 1908, with an epicentre
off the coast of Messina (northeastern Sicily). This event is known to have generated
tsunami waves that reached the coast of Malta (Mottershead et al., 2017).
The consequent shift in sediments grain size and the sudden burial of Posidonia
oceanica, as observed in our cores, likely created an unsuitable habitat for A. lobifera
that is known to prefer vegetated bottoms with coarser substrata (Guastella et al., 2019).
The reappearance of the species in Marsamxett samples can be dated around the 1940s,
hence after a considerable lag-time after the first failed invasion.
In conclusion, the analysis of historical records preserved in sediment cores
radiometrically dated allows to reconstruct the invasion dynamics of alien species and
to detect possible early failed invasions, leading to a better understanding of biological
invasion mechanisms.
Bibliography
AHNELT H. (2016) - Translocations of tropical and subtropical marine fish species into the
Mediterranean. A case study based on Siganus virgatus (Teleostei: Siganidae). Biologia 71:
952-959.
ALBANO P.G., GALLMETZER I., HASELMAIR A., TOMASOVYCH A., STACHOWITSCH
M., ZUSCHIN M. (2018) - Historical ecology of a biological invasion: the interplay of
eutrophication and pollution determines time lags in establishment and detection. Biol.
Invasions, 20: 1417–1430.
BARICHE M., KAZANJIAN G., AZZURRO E. (2014) - A lag of 25 years: evidence from an
old capture of Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 from Lebanon (Mediterranean Sea). J.
Appl. Ichthyol., 30: 535–536.
BERNER, R. A. (1971) - Principles of Chemical Sedimentology. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.
240
CARLTON J.T., ELDREDGE L.G. (2009) - Marine bioinvasions of Hawaii. The introduced and
cryptogenic marine and estuarine animals and plants of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop
Museum Bulletins in Cultural and Environmental Studies 4, Bishop Museum Press,
Honolulu, 202 pp.
DELDICQ N., ALVE E., SCHWEIZER M., ASTEMAN I.P., HESS S., et al. (2019) - History of
the introduction of a species resembling the benthic foraminifera Nonionella stella in the
oslofjord (Norway): morphological, molecular and paleo-ecological evidences. Aq. Invasions,
14(2): 182-205.
GUASTELLA, R., MARCHINI, A., CARUSO, A., COSENTINO, C., EVANS, J., Weinmann A.
E., Langer M. R., Mancin N. (2019) - “Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and
knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci., 225: 106234.
HOTTINGER L., HALICZ E., REISS Z. (1993) - Recent Foraminifera from the Gulf of Aqaba,
Red Sea. Dela SAZU, Ljubljana, 179 pp., 230 plates.
MOTTERSHEAD D.N., BRAY M.J., SOAR P.J., FARRES P.J. (2014) - Extreme wave events
in the Central Mediterranean: geomorphic evidence of tsunami on the Maltese Islands.
Zeitschrift Geomorphol., 58(3): 385-411.
PETERSEN K.S., RASMUSSEN K.L., HEINEMELER J., RUD N. (1992) - Clams before
Columbus? Nature, 359(6397): 679.
PRAZERES M., MORARD R., ROBERTS T.E., DOO S.S., JOMPA J., et al. (2020) - High
dispersal capacity and biogeographic breaks shape the genetic diversity of a globally
distributed reef-dwelling calcifier. Ecol. Evol., 10: 5976–5989.
SCHÖNFELD J., ALVE E., GESLIN E., JORISSEN F., KORSUN S., SPEZZAFERRI S.,
members of the FOBIMO group (2012) - The FOBIMO (FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring)
2nd Mediterranean Symposium on the Non-Indigenous Species (Genoa, Italy, 22-23 September 2022)
54
th
century, was wiped out by an abrupt event which occurred at that time in the
Central Mediterranean Sea.
This region actually experienced a catastrophic earthquake in 1908, with an epicentre
off the coast of Messina (northeastern Sicily). This event is known to have generated
tsunami waves that reached the coast of Malta (Mottershead et al., 2017).
The consequent shift in sediments grain size and the sudden burial of Posidonia
oceanica, as observed in our cores, likely created an unsuitable habitat for A. lobifera
that is known to prefer vegetated bottoms with coarser substrata (Guastella et al., 2019).
The reappearance of the species in Marsamxett samples can be dated around the 1940s,
hence after a considerable lag-time after the first failed invasion.
In conclusion, the analysis of historical records preserved in sediment cores
radiometrically dated allows to reconstruct the invasion dynamics of alien species and
to detect possible early failed invasions, leading to a better understanding of biological
invasion mechanisms.
Bibliography
AHNELT H. (2016) - Translocations of tropical and subtropical marine fish species into the
Mediterranean. A case study based on Siganus virgatus (Teleostei: Siganidae). Biologia 71:
952-959.
ALBANO P.G., GALLMETZER I., HASELMAIR A., TOMASOVYCH A., STACHOWITSCH
M., ZUSCHIN M. (2018) - Historical ecology of a biological invasion: the interplay of
eutrophication and pollution determines time lags in establishment and detection. Biol.
Invasions, 20: 1417–1430.
BARICHE M., KAZANJIAN G., AZZURRO E. (2014) - A lag of 25 years: evidence from an
old capture of Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 from Lebanon (Mediterranean Sea). J.
Appl. Ichthyol., 30: 535–536.
BERNER, R. A. (1971) - Principles of Chemical Sedimentology. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.
240
CARLTON J.T., ELDREDGE L.G. (2009) - Marine bioinvasions of Hawaii. The introduced and
cryptogenic marine and estuarine animals and plants of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop
Museum Bulletins in Cultural and Environmental Studies 4, Bishop Museum Press,
Honolulu, 202 pp.
DELDICQ N., ALVE E., SCHWEIZER M., ASTEMAN I.P., HESS S., et al. (2019) - History of
the introduction of a species resembling the benthic foraminifera Nonionella stella in the
oslofjord (Norway): morphological, molecular and paleo-ecological evidences. Aq. Invasions,
14(2): 182-205.
GUASTELLA, R., MARCHINI, A., CARUSO, A., COSENTINO, C., EVANS, J., Weinmann A.
E., Langer M. R., Mancin N. (2019) - “Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and
knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci., 225: 106234.
HOTTINGER L., HALICZ E., REISS Z. (1993) - Recent Foraminifera from the Gulf of Aqaba,
Red Sea. Dela SAZU, Ljubljana, 179 pp., 230 plates.
MOTTERSHEAD D.N., BRAY M.J., SOAR P.J., FARRES P.J. (2014) - Extreme wave events
in the Central Mediterranean: geomorphic evidence of tsunami on the Maltese Islands.
Zeitschrift Geomorphol., 58(3): 385-411.
PETERSEN K.S., RASMUSSEN K.L., HEINEMELER J., RUD N. (1992) - Clams before
Columbus? Nature, 359(6397): 679.
PRAZERES M., MORARD R., ROBERTS T.E., DOO S.S., JOMPA J., et al. (2020) - High
dispersal capacity and biogeographic breaks shape the genetic diversity of a globally
distributed reef-dwelling calcifier. Ecol. Evol., 10: 5976–5989.
SCHÖNFELD J., ALVE E., GESLIN E., JORISSEN F., KORSUN S., SPEZZAFERRI S.,
members of the FOBIMO group (2012) - The FOBIMO (FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring)
2nd Mediterranean Symposium on the Non-Indigenous Species (Genoa, Italy, 22-23 September 2022)
54