Realized by

Maritime Admiral Michelagnoli Foundation NGO non-profit Fondazione Marittima Ammiraglio Michelagnoli Onlus - Taranto - Italy

Photo archive "Mare Nostrum" , property of Fondazione Michelagnoli & Giuseppe Pignataro (international champion)www.fondazionemichelagnoli.it

English version translated byDr Adrian Mallia - Adi Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd - Malta

In agreement with

National Interuniversity Consortium For Marine Sciences - ItalyCo.N.I.S.Ma. - Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario di Scienze del Mare

With the grant of

Ministry of the University and Scientific and Technological ResearchMinistero dell'Università e della Ricerca Biodiversity and alien species

Introdution of new species

The ecological importance and the extent of the phenomenonMany of the alien species are characteristically hugely adapted to survive in new en-vironments and typically strong competitors such that they displace the indigenous species.

The determining factorsClimate change has brought about an increase in the temperature of the surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This has facilitated the migration of alien species through the Suez Canal and the success of tropical and sub-tropical alien species.The over-exploitation of autochthonous species and e�ects of over-�shing.Environmental degradation that nowadays a�ects many Mediterranean ecosystems.These factors signi�cantly reduce the Mediterranean’s resilience and capacity to withstand the onslaught of these highly competitive alien species

Responsibility and ecological conscienceMan is responsible for these deep modi�cations in the biodiversity as he has not developed an ecological conscience and a correct use of the sea through a sustai-nable utilisation of its resources, the elimination of polluting sources, and the reme-diation of contaminated sites.

PreventionPreventing the introduction of allochthonous species requires a strategy that is e�ective in reducing harm to biodiversity and that needs to be realised by everyone, avoiding the importation and rearing of non native species in aquaria, avoiding the discharge into the sea of e�uent from aquaria, removing fouling organisms from hulls and following the recommendations on the discharge of ballast waters.

The global character of the phenomenonThe problem of the invasion of alien species is of global importance, so much so that it is the subject of numerous international conventions. The new Barcelona Protocol, the CBD, Convention on Biological Diversity, the international organisations such as CITES, the international convention that regulates the trade in endangered species, ICSEM (International Commission for the Scienti�c Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea), RAC-SPA (Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas), EPBRS (European Platform on Biodiversity), ERNAIS (European Research Network on Aquatic Invasive Species) and IMO (International Maritime Organisation) all work to varying degrees on the problem of alien species invasions and they recommend a serious commitment for the prevention of such introductions.

Number of the alien species found in the

Mediterranean

110 �shes75 vegetables

20 bryozoa

50 cnidaria

190 mollusca

10 ascidiae

60 crustacea

70 polychaeta

Today, new alien species frequently reach the Mediterranean Sea. Many species, in larval form, as cysts and spores, are regularly transported in ballast waters and as part of the fouling on the hulls of commercial ships.

The “mosaic” of the species that populate the seas is modi�ed over time with new “pieces” added, whose ecological role can vary rarely be predicted.

E�etto serra: una delle cause dell’aumento dellatemperatura della Terra e dei cambiamenti climatici

Degrado ambientale: one of the causes of the varia-tion of the ecosystems

Sovrasfruttamento: una delle cause dell’impoverimento delle specie marine

Inquinamento: una delle cause della distruzione degli habitat marini e della estinzione delle specie