THE FIRST SUBSTANTIATED RECORD AND NORTHWARD EXPANSION OF THE MERTENS' PRAWN-GOBY, Vanderhorstia mertensi (OSTEICHTHYES: GOBIIDAE) IN THE AEGEAN SEA

Abstract

The occurrence of the alien goby Vanderhorstia mertensi, off Akbük Cove, Anatolian coasts of Aegean Sea, is here well proven for the first time. On 12 August 2014, a single specimen was observed by visual census. This finding substantiate that its presence and also distribution is expanding northwards, along the Anatolian coasts of the Aegean Sea.  

Keywords

• Vanderhorstia mertensi,Aegean Sea,Alien species,Anatolian coasts

References

1. Bianchi, C.N., Corsini-Foka, M., Morri, C. & Zenetos, A. (2014). Thirty years after: dramatic change in the coastal marine ecosystems of Kos Island (Greece), 1981–2013. Mediterranean Marine Science, 15, 482-497.
2. Bianchi, C.N. & Morri, C. (2003). Global sea warming and ‘‘tropicalization’’ of the Mediterranean Sea: biogeographic and ecological aspects. Biogeographica, 24, 319-327.
3. Bilecenoğlu, B., Yokes, M.B. & Eryigit, A. (2008). First record of Vanderhorstia mertensi Klausewitz, 1974 (Pisces, Gobiidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Aquatic Invasions, 3, 475-478.
4. Bilecenoğlu, M., Kaya, M., Cihangir, B. & Çiçek, E. (2014). An updated checklist of the marine fishes of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 38, 901-929.
5. Coll, M., Piroddi, C., Steenbeek, J., Kaschner, K. & Lasram, F.B.R., et al. (2010). The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats. PLoS ONE, 5(8), e11842.
6. Corsini-Foka, M., & Economidis, P.S. (2007). Allochthonous and vagrant ichthyofauna in Hellenic marine and estuarine waters. Mediterranean Marine Science, 8, 67–89.
7. Çınar, M.E., Bilecenoğlu, M., Öztürk, B., Katağan, T., Yokes, M.B., Aysel, V., Dağli, E., Açık, S., Özcan, T. & Erdoğan, H. (2011). An updated review of alien species on the coasts of Turkey. Mediterranean Marine Science, 12(2), 257-315.
8. Ergüden, D., Filiz, H. & Turan, C. (2013). Türkiye Denizlerindeki Hint Pasifik Kökenli Lesepsiyen Balık Türlerinin 2013 Revizyonu ve Geçiş Yolları. In N Uygur (Eds.) XVI. Sualtı Bilim ve Teknolojisi Toplantısı (pp. 34-44). Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay (Turkey).

9. Golani, D., Sonin, O. & Edelist, D. (2011). Second records of the Lessepsian fish migrants Priacanthus sagittarius and Platax teira and distribution extension of Tylerius spinosissimus in the Mediterranean. Aquatic Invasions, 6(1), 7–11.
10. Golani, D., Ozturk, B. & Basusta, N. (2006). Fishes of the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish Marine Research Foundation: 1-260.
11. Golani, D., Reef-Motro, R., Ekshtein, S., Baranes, A., & Diamant, A. (2007). Ichthyofauna of the rocky coastal littoral of the Israeli Mediterranean, with reference to the paucity of Red Sea (Lessepsian) migrants in this habitat. Marine Biology Research, 3, 333-341.
12. Goren, M., Stern, N. & Galil, B.S. (2013). Bridging the gap: first record of Mertens’ prawn-goby Vanderhorstia mertensi in Israel. Marine Biodiversity Records, 6, e63. doi: 10.1017/S1755267213000419
13. Goren, M. (2014). The fishes of the Mediterranean: a biota under siege. In S. Goffredo, Z. Dubinsky (Eds.), The Mediterranean Sea: its history and present challenges (pp. 385-400). Springer Netherlands.
14. Gökoğlu, M., Özbek, E.Ö., Kebapçioğlu, T., Balci, B.A. & Kaya, Y. (2011). The second location records of Apogon smithi and Vanderhorstia mertensi (Pisces) from the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records, 3, e83. doi: 10.1017/S175526721000076X
15. Larson, H.K. & Murdy, E.O. (2001). Gobiidae. Gobies. In K.E. Carpenter, V.H. Niem (Eds.), FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae) (pp. 3578-3603). FAO, Rome.
16. Mavruk, S., Avsar, D. (2007). Non-native fishes in the Mediterranean from the Red Sea, by way of the Suez Canal. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 18, 251–262.
17. Pancucci-Papadopoulou, M.A., Raitsos, D.E. & Corsini-Foka, M. (2012). Biological invasions and climatic warming: implications for south-eastern Aegean ecosystem functioning. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92, 777-789.
18. Rothman, S.B.S. & Goren, M. (2015). First record of the Red Sea shrimp-goby Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records, 8,e157. doi: 10.1017/S1755267215001323
19. Yapici, H.H., Yapici, S., Ağdamar, S. & Acar, Ü. (2015). Occurrence of the Erythraean invader Pteragogus pelycus Randall, 1981 (Teleostei: Labridae) from the eastern Aegean Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 31(3), 538–540.
20. Yokeş, B., Bilecenoğlu, M., Goren, M., Galil, B.S. & Diamant, A. (2009). Genetic evidence for wide distribution of the alien shrimp goby, Vanderhorstia mertensi Klausewitz, 1974 (Gobiidae) along the northeast Mediterranean. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 39, 155-158.
21. Zenetos, A., Gofas, S., Morri, C., Rosso, D., Violanti, D., Garcia Raso, J.E., Cinar, M.E., Almogi-Labin, A., Ates, A.S., Azzurro, E., Ballesteros, E., Bianchi, C.N., Bilecenoglu, M., Gambi, M.C., Giangrande, A., Gravili, C., Hyamskaphzan, O., Karachle, P.K., Katsanevakis, S., Lipej, L., Mastrototaro, F., Mineur, F., Pancucci-Papadopoulou, M.A., Ramos Espla, A., Salas, C., San Martin, G., Sfriso, A., Streftaris, M. & Verlaque, M. (2012). Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part 2. Introduction trends and pathways. Mediterranean Marine Science, 13(2), 328-352.