Antonina Badalucco

The expansion of international maritime trade, commercial shipping, and cruise tourism over recent decades has significantly accelerated vector-mediated biological introductions into the Mediterranean Sea. Port infrastructures and recreational marinas act as critical regional hubs, driving the introduction dynamics and secondary stepping-stone node dispersal of non-indigenous species (NIS). During a field monitoring survey for alien marine fauna along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, an anthurid isopod identified as Mesanthura romulea Poore & Lew Ton, 1986 was detected for the first time in the Marina of Saidia. This finding represents the first record of the species for Morocco and its westernmost occurrence along the southern Mediterranean coastline. This study compiles and evaluates the chronological and spatial expansion of M. romulea across the Mediterranean basin over a twenty-five-year timeline (2000–2025). Despite its rapid proliferation, quantitative assessments regarding the ecological and socio-economic impacts of M. romulea on native ecosystems remain starkly absent, constituting a critical knowledge gap for regional marine conservation. Consequently, future research must urgently transition from spatial tracking to impact quantification and functional ecology, utilizing field exclusion experiments and trophic niche analyses. Finally, monitoring programs should integrate targeted molecular approaches and optimize adaptive marine management strategies across the increasingly vulnerable North African coastline.

We classified European and adjacent seas into nine biogeographic realms and provinces (bioregions) based on a new compilation of over 17,000 records of the distribution of 1,182 native species of Amphipoda (Crustacea) at a spatial resolution of 4° latitude longitude. The dominant, characterising, and percent of unique species (endemicity) for each realm are reported. In order of distinctiveness and endemicity the bioregions were the Mid-North Atlantic (53 %), Black Sea freshwater (35 %), Mediterranean and Black Sea marine (32 %), Canary Islands and Cape Verde (21 %), North-West coast of Africa (14 %), North-East Atlantic shelf (12 %), coastal Norwegian Sea (9 %), Azores (9 %) and Baltic Sea (6 %). A hierarchical cluster analysis suggested these may be grouped into realms and provinces. Records filling geographic gaps, and comparable studies on additional taxa, will improve this biogeographic analysis. Meanwhile, the planning of Marine Protected Areas needs to include areas within each of these bioregions to be inclusive of all species in the study area.

Mediterranean inland and transitional waters are fragile ecosystems currently facing rapid biodiversity loss due to anthropogenic pressures and climate change. In Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, knowledge of ichthyofaunal assemblages of these ecosystems has remained fragmented, sporadic, and largely confined to "grey" literature for long. The present paper presents a dataset built with the aim to fill this gap. The dataset aggregates 808 occurrence records from 108 water bodies and localities, spanning a 50-year period (1976–2025). Data were recovered from diverse sources, including scientific literature, administrative reports, and conference proceedings, integrated with new unpublished data from recent field monitoring campaigns conducted by ARPA Sicilia following WFD (2000/60/EC) standards. Additionally, other unpublished data from direct information, interviews with local fishermen and acquisition of photographic records directly provided by citizens, were incorporated. The dataset is published on the GBIF platform. It is organized following to the Darwin Core (DwC) standards, in accordance with the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) Principles. All records were georeferenced using WGS84 coordinates, validated via QGIS, and taxonomically updated according to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and the Catalogue of Life. The dataset covers 90 species across 26 orders and 41 families, and 68 genera, while the investigated area documents a wide range of habitats, from natural rivers and coastal lagoons to artificial reservoirs and saltworks. The records reveal a research effort geographically asymmetric, with 75% of occurrences concentrated in the eastern portion of the island.

Species distribution data are essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, supporting conservation planning and assessing the impacts of environmental change. Amphipods represent one of the most abundant and diverse groups of marine macroinvertebrates, encompassing over 10,900 species worldwide and exhibiting a wide range of trophic and ecological roles. Owing to their sensitivity to environmental changes, amphipods are widely used as bioindicators and are of considerable interest in both basic and applied research. However, incomplete or outdated information on species distributions has often led to misidentifications and inconsistencies in literature, highlighting the need for updated and reliable checklists. This study presents an inventory of unpublished records comprising more than 300 species collected from the Italian maritime zones of the Adriatic, Tyrrhenian and Ionian areas. The Tyrrhenian Sea exhibited the highest taxonomic richness, whereas the Adriatic Sea accounted for the greatest number of records, likely reflecting differences in sampling effort. Eleven non-indigenous species (NIS), representing 3.6% of the total, were recorded, primarily in ports, lagoons and aquaculture facilities, while 6.6% of the species were classified as cryptogenic or of uncertain origin. Sandy and mixed substrates supported the highest species richness, consistent with their greater sampling effort. Overall, this study provides an updated overview of amphipod biodiversity and distribution in Italian seas and underscores the need for systematic and continuous monitoring. According to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, the dataset was published on the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) platform.

Data on the geographical distribution of species underpin nature conservation planning, natural resource management, environmental assessments and fundamental understanding of the natural world. Here, we provide a dataset on Amphipoda species reported in the scientific literature to be present in European and adjacent seas. In this dataset, each record is associated with taxonomic information (i.e. species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom) and sampling event details including date, location and geographical coordinates (longitude and latitude). The occurrence records included in the dataset were collected from 1936 to 2024. The study area encompassed the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean (from the region of northern Norway to the Cape Verde Archipelago, including the Icelandic waters), the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. These regions were characterised by fragmented species distribution information, dispersed across multiple national maritime territories and pronounced variation in key environmental parameters, including salinity, temperature and bathymetry. An inventory of 18,559 records, corresponding to 1,238 species, is presented here.

Species distribution data are essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, supporting conservation planning, and assessing the impacts of environmental change. Amphipods represent one of the most abundant and diverse groups of marine macroinvertebrates, encompassing over 10,700 species worldwide and exhibiting a wide range of trophic and ecological roles. Owing to their sensitivity to environmental changes, amphipods are widely used as bioindicators and are of considerable interest in both basic and applied research. However, incomplete or outdated information on species distributions has often led to misidentifications and inconsistencies in the literature, highlighting the need for updated and reliable checklists. This study presents an inventory of unpublished records comprising more than 300 species collected from the Italian maritime zones of the Adriatic, Tyrrhenian, and Ionian areas. The Tyrrhenian Sea exhibited the highest taxonomic richness, whereas the Adriatic Sea accounted for the greatest number of records, likely reflecting differences in sampling effort. Eleven non-indigenous species (NIS), representing 3.6% of the total, were recorded, primarily in ports, lagoons, and aquaculture facilities, while 6.6% of the species were classified as cryptogenic or of uncertain origin. Sandy and mixed substrates supported the highest species richness, consistent with their greater sampling effort. Overall, this study provides an updated overview of amphipod biodiversity and distribution in Italian seas and underscores the need for systematic and continuous monitoring. According to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, the dataset was published on the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) platform.

The present paper reports the water mite identified as Litarachna duboscqi collected in March 2024 from nautical ropes in the harbour of Trapani (Sicily). It is the first record for southern Italy and the central Mediterranean Sea.

A female copepod specimen belonging to the family Botryllophilidae Sars G.O., 1921 was retrieved for the first time in December 2023 from nautical ropes of the tourist marina in Palermo (Cala Marina), near the commercial port of the city. The individual lacks many of the distinctive morpho-anatomical characteristics of the class Copepoda, as usual in cyclopoid parasites. In this group, females typically carry paired multiseriate egg sacs, which are extruded from the genital openings and lead to taxonomic identification. The family is commonly associated with tunicates. There are few reports of commensal and/or parasitic copepods associated with sea squirts in the Mediterranean Sea. This record cannot be treated as a new non-indigenous species for the Italian coasts yet, as there are no extensive studies on the distribution of the taxon.

This preliminary study presents an updated checklist of amphipod crustaceans inhabiting Italian seas and provides valuable insights into their diversity, distribution, and ecological traits. By combining existing literature with unpublished data, we were able to record 500 species in Italian waters. The analyses revealed a significant increase in the number of amphipod species documented in the Country, primarily due to intensified research efforts and the introduction of non-native species. This study highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring and research to assess marine biodiversity. Future efforts should prioritize understudied groups, such as planktonic species, and those living in deep-sea marine environments.