Cillari Tiziana, Allegra Alessandro, Berto Daniela, Bosch-Belmar Mar, Falautano Manuela, Maggio Teresa, Milisenda Giacomo, Perzia Patrizia, Rampazzo Federico, Sinopoli Mauro, Castriota Luca
Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Department for the Monitoring and Protection of the Environment and for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Unit for Conservation Management and Sustainable Use of Fish and Marine Resources, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521 (Ex Complesso Roosevelt), Località Addaura, 90149 Palermo, Italy.
GRAM Gruppo di Ricerca Applicata al Mare Soc. Coop., 90100 Palermo, Italy.
Biology (Basel). 2022 Feb 16;11(2):319. doi: 10.3390/biology11020319.
Harbors are hotspots for the introduction of alien species, and, usually, investigations on their host populations help fill the knowledge gap in their pathways of invasion and in their impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. In 2014, the upside-down alien jellyfish invaded a Mediterranean touristic harbor ("Cala"), and its abundance has since increased over time. In the present study, the distribution and trophic behavior of in Cala were investigated for the years 2017-2018 through visual sampling, and GIS-based statistical and stable isotope analyses. Since Cala is a hard-to-reach area (with many anchor cables and boats), Megabenthos Underwater Video was used to count the number and estimate the size of jellyfishes. The variations in size throughout the study period suggest that the population of is quite established in Cala at depths lower than 7.5 m. The ranges of the environmental parameters recorded (temperature, salinity, and transparency) were consistent with the ideal conditions for maintaining a population, but they did not seem to influence aggregation. Additionally, the carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures studied highlight the mixotrophic behavior of this species. These preliminary results confirm the capacity of to live and reproduce in heavily anthropized areas.
港口是外来物种引入的热点地区，通常，对其宿主种群的调查有助于填补其入侵途径以及对海洋生物多样性和生态系统影响方面的知识空白。2014年，倒立的外来水母入侵了一个地中海旅游港口（“卡拉”），此后其数量随时间增加。在本研究中，通过视觉采样以及基于地理信息系统（GIS）的统计和稳定同位素分析，对2017 - 2018年卡拉港内该水母的分布和营养行为进行了调查。由于卡拉是一个难以到达的区域（有许多锚索和船只），因此使用大型底栖生物水下视频来计数水母数量并估计其大小。整个研究期间水母大小的变化表明，在深度低于7.5米的卡拉港内，该水母种群已相当稳定。记录的环境参数范围（温度、盐度和透明度）与维持该水母种群的理想条件一致，但似乎并未影响其聚集。此外，所研究的碳和氮同位素特征突出了该物种的混合营养行为。这些初步结果证实了该水母在高度人为化地区生存和繁殖的能力。
