Alien Marine Fishes Deplete Algal Biomass in the Eastern Mediterranean

One of the most degraded states of the Mediterranean rocky infralittoral ecosystem is a barren composed solely of bare rock and patches of crustose coralline algae. Barrens are typically created by the grazing action of large sea urchin populations. In 2008 we observed extensive areas almost devoid of erect algae, where sea urchins were rare, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. To determine the origin of those urchin-less ‘barrens’, we conducted a fish exclusion experiment. We found that, in the absence of fish grazing, a well-developed algal assemblage grew within three months. Underwater fish censuses and observations suggest that two alien herbivorous fish from the Red Sea (Siganus luridus and S. rivulatus) are responsible for the creation and maintenance of these benthic communities with extremely low biomass. The shift from well-developed native algal assemblages to ‘barrens’ implies a dramatic decline in biogenic habitat complexity, biodiversity and biomass. A targeted Siganus fishery could help restore the macroalgal beds of the rocky infralittoral on the Turkish coast.

• Publication year

  2011

• Venue

  PLoS ONE

• Publication date

  2011-02-22

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0017356PMID 21364943PMCID 3043076
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats

  2010cited by this paper
• Lessepsian rabbitfish Siganus luridus reached the French Mediterranean coasts

  2009cited by this paper
• Community-wide effects of marine reserves in the Mediterranean Sea

  2007cited by this paper
• Relationships among predatory fish, sea urchins and barrens in Mediterranean rocky reefs across a latitudinal gradient.

  2007cited by this paper
• Diet of the Lessepsian fishes, Siganus rivulatus and S. luridus (Siganidae) in the eastern Mediterranean : A bibliographic analysis

  2006cited by this paper
• Spatial variation and ontogenic shifts in the isotopic composition of Mediterranean littoral fishes

  2004cited by this paper
• CIESM atlas of exotic species in the Mediterranean

  2002cited by this paper
• Size related dietary shifts of Epinephelus marginatus in a western Mediterranean littoral ecosystem: an isotope and stomach content analysis

  2002cited by this paper
• CIESM Atlas of exotic species in the Mediterranean: Vol 1: Fishes

  2002influential reference
• Biologie et écologie de deux espèces lessepsiennes (Siganus rivulatus et Siganus luridus, Téléostéens Siganidae) sur les côte du Liban

  2002cited by this paper
• Changes in macroalgal communities in the vicinity of a Mediterranean sewage outfall after the setting up of a treatment plant.

  2001cited by this paper
• Relationships between Algae, Benthic Herbivorous Invertebrates and Fishes in Rocky Sublittoral Communities of a Temperate Sea (Mediterranean)

  2000cited by this paper
• Contributions of stable-isotope data to elucidating food webs of Mediterranean rocky littoral fishes

  2000cited by this paper
• Fishing, trophic cascades, and the structure of algal assemblages : evaluation of an old but untested paradigm

  1998cited by this paper
• Partitioning of space and food resources by three fish of the genus Diplodus (Sparidae) in a Mediterranean rocky infralittoral ecosystem

  1997cited by this paper
• The role of fishes in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community

  1997cited by this paper
• The role of fishes in the organization of a Mediterranean sublittoral community: II: Epifaunal communities

  1997cited by this paper
• Spatial variation in the 15N and 13C stable isotope composition of plants, invertebrates and fishes on Mediterranean reefs: implications for the study of trophic pathways

  1997cited by this paper
• Els vegetals i la zonació litoral: espècies, comunitats i factors que influeixen en la seva distribució

  1992influential reference
• Structure and dynamics of the Cystoseira caespitosa Sauvageau (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) community in the North-Western Mediterranean

  1990cited by this paper
• Evaluation visuelle des peuplements et populations de poissons : méthodes et problèmes

  1985cited by this paper

• Commercial resource potential of an invasive sea cucumber: nutritional analysis of Synaptula reciprocans.

  2026cites this paper
• Evaluating the possible role of bottom currents and internal waves in shaping seafloor morphology in a mesophotic reef

  2026cites this paper
• Deep refuges: the distribution of marine fish in warming subtropics

  2026cites this paper
• Upwelling generates a unique refugium from climate change in the fast warming Eastern Mediterranean Sea

  2026cites this paper
• Environmental DNA (eDNA) for the Detection of Marine Vertebrate Diversity in Maltese Waters

  2025cites this paper
• The zebrette goby Tigrigobius zebrellus (Robins 1958): a new colonizer of Tenerife harbour (Canary Islands)

  2025cites this paper
• The impacts of biological invasions.

  2025cites this paper
• The Fucalean Forests of the Island of Lampedusa (Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area, Central Mediterranean): Past and Present Diversity and Distribution

  2025cites this paper
• Climate change in the "vulnerable" Eastern Mediterranean and adjacent areas: A literature review of ecological impacts and threats.

  2025cites this paper
• Pre-Lessepsian isotopic niche spaces: using paleoecological proxies to assess the impact of ongoing bioinvasions on fishes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

  2025cites this paper
• Progress and challenges of multi-habitat marine restoration in the eastern Aegean Sea, Türkiye

  2025influential citation
• Towards Scalable Ecological Monitoring: Assessing AI-Based Annotation of Benthic Images

  2025cites this paper
• Restoration of soft-bottom habitats: assessing transplantation success and herbivore exclusion effects on two native seagrass species in the Eastern Mediterranean

  2025cites this paper
• Severe decline of Gongolaria barbata (Fucales) along most of the French Mediterranean coast

  2025cites this paper
• Tropical range extending herbivorous fishes gain foraging benefits by shoaling with native temperate species

  2025influential citation
• Assessing climatic conditions and biotic interactions shaping the success of Cystoseira foeniculacea early‐life stages

  2024cites this paper
• The Heatwave of Summer 2022 in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: Some Species Were Winners

  2024cites this paper
• Flashing NetLights reduce bycatch in small-scale fisheries of the Eastern Mediterranean

  2024cites this paper
• Marbled Spinefoot Siganus rivulatus (Siganidae)—A New Alien Species in the Black Sea

  2024influential citation
• Depletion fishing of the alien fish species Siganus luridus, S. rivulatus, Pterois miles, and Etrumeus golanii in the Mediterranean Sea-gear, ecosystem impacts, and resolution

  2024cites this paper
• Modeling the bioenergetics of two herbivorous fish species in the Mediterranean Sea: The native Sarpa salpa and the invasive Siganus rivulatus

  2024cites this paper
• Interdisciplinary approaches at early invasion stages maximise the evidence on human-induced and climate-driven fish dispersal

  2024influential citation
• Fish dispersal from a sabotage-mediated massive escape event

  2024cites this paper
• Automated identification of invasive rabbitfishes in underwater images from the Mediterranean Sea

  2024cites this paper
• Sensing Offshore Aquaculture Infrastructures for Data-Driven Dynamic Stress Analysis

  2024cites this paper
• Seasonal dynamics of Mediterranean fish communities revealed by eDNA: Contrasting compositions across depths and Marine Fully Protected Area boundaries

  2024influential citation
• Understanding the ecosystem quality of Mediterranean shallow rocky reefs: Insights from the application of ecosystem-based indices.

  2024cites this paper
• Taming the terminological tempest in invasion science

  2024cites this paper
• Surprising widespread Cymodocea nodosa occurrence along Israel’s Mediterranean coast and Implications for Seagrass Conservation in a hotspot of climate change

  2024cites this paper
• Looking at the Expansion of Three Demersal Lessepsian Fish Immigrants in the Greek Seas: What Can We Get from Spatial Distribution Modeling?

  2023cites this paper
• Cumulative Negative Impacts of Invasive Alien Species on Marine Ecosystems of the Aegean Sea

  2023cites this paper
• Testing passive dispersal as the key mechanism for lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea using Lagrangian particle tracking

  2023cites this paper
• ECOfast - An integrative ecological evaluation index for an ecosystem-based assessment of shallow rocky reefs.

  2023cites this paper
• The role of grazers in early-life stages of Cystoseira sensu lato can be crucial in the restoration of marine forests

  2023cites this paper
• Marine invasive alien species in Europe: 9 years after the IAS Regulation

  2023cites this paper
• Assessment of macroalgal communities on shallow rocky reefs in the Aegean Sea indicates an impoverished ecological status

  2023cites this paper
• A biological and ecological study of the invasive pufferfish Torquigener hypselogeneion (Bleeker 1852) [conspecific Torquigener flavimaculosus Hardy & Randall, 1983] in the Eastern Mediterranean

  2023cites this paper
• Fish eDNA detections in ports mirror fishing fleet activities and highlight the spread of non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean Sea.

  2023cites this paper
• Distribution, health and threats to Mediterranean macroalgal forests: defining the baselines for their conservation and restoration

  2023cites this paper
• A decision-support framework for the restoration of Cystoseira sensu lato forests

  2023cites this paper
• Invasive Fish and Sea Urchins Drive the Status of Canopy Forming Macroalgae in the Eastern Mediterranean

  2023cites this paper
• Using Local Ecological Knowledge to Search for Non-Native Species in Natura 2000 Sites in the Central Mediterranean Sea: An Approach to Identify New Arrivals and Hotspot Areas

  2023cites this paper
• Tropicalization shifts herbivore pressure from seagrass to rocky reef communities

  2023cites this paper
• Ecological impacts of invasive ecosystem engineers: A global perspective across terrestrial and aquatic systems

  2023cites this paper
• Nutrient conditions determine the strength of herbivore‐mediated stabilizing feedbacks in barrens

  2023cites this paper
• The first record of the marbled spinefoot, Siganus rivulatus Forsskål & Niebuhr, 1775 and further records of the dusky spinefoot, Siganus luridus (Rüppell, 1829) from Malta

  2023cites this paper
• Evaluating the long term effectiveness of a Mediterranean marine protected area to tackle the effects of invasive and range expanding herbivorous fish on rocky reefs.

  2023cites this paper
• Feeding Habits of Non-Indigenous Fishes Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus and Native Fish Sarpa salpa in Western Coast of Libya

  2023cites this paper
• Proximity and Distance – Review of Seaweed Communities and the Marine Environment along the Coasts of the Levant Basin

  2023cites this paper
• The spread of Lessepsian fish does not track native temperature conditions

  2022cites this paper
• Invading bivalves replaced native Mediterranean bivalves, with little effect on the local benthic community

  2022cites this paper
• Siganus rivulatus (marbled spinefoot)

  2022cites this paper
• Siganus luridus (dusky spinefoot)

  2022cites this paper
• Gongolaria barbata forest in the shallow lagoon on the southern Istrian Coast (northern Adriatic Sea)

  2022cites this paper
• Upwelling enhances seaweed nutrient quality, altering feeding behavior and growth rates in an intertidal sea urchin, Loxechinus albus.

  2022cites this paper
• The molluscan assemblage of a pristine Posidonia oceanica meadow in the eastern Mediterranean

  2022cites this paper
• Revealing coastal upwelling impact on the muscle growth of an intertidal fish.

  2022cites this paper
• Long‐duration remote underwater videos reveal that grazing by fishes is highly variable through time and dominated by non‐indigenous species

  2022cites this paper
• Seagrass Meadows under the Changing Climate: A Review of the Impacts of Climate Stressors

  2022cites this paper
• Shift and homogenization of gut microbiome during invasion in marine fishes

  2022cites this paper
• An invasive herbivorous fish (Siganus rivulatus) influences both benthic and planktonic microbes through defecation and nutrient excretion.

  2022cites this paper
• Conceptualisation of multiple impacts interacting in the marine environment using marine infrastructure as an example.

  2022cites this paper
• Maximization of fitness by phenological and phenotypic plasticity in range expanding rabbitfishes (Siganidae)

  2022cites this paper
• Early development of Gongolaria montagnei (Fucales, Phaeophyta) germlings under laboratory conditions, with a view to enhancing restoration potential in the Eastern Mediterranean

  2022cites this paper
• Synthesizing drivers of fish functional responses across species

  2021cites this paper
• Feeding preferences of range-shifting and native herbivorous fishes in temperate ecosystems.

  2021cites this paper
• A Risk Screening of Potential Invasiveness of Alien and Neonative Marine Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for Sustainable Management

  2021cites this paper
• Predation Cues Lead to Reduced Foraging of Invasive Siganus rivulatus in the Mediterranean

  2021cites this paper
• The future ocean we want.

  2021cites this paper
• All shallow coastal habitats matter as nurseries for Mediterranean juvenile fish

  2021cites this paper
• Potential Pitfalls in the Definition of Lessepsian Migrants: The Case of Brachidontes

  2021cites this paper
• Can we preserve and restore overlooked macroalgal forests?

  2021cites this paper
• Who’s Next? Non-Indigenous Cnidarian and Ctenophoran Species Approaching to the Italian Waters

  2021cites this paper
• Long Term Interactions of Native and Invasive Species in a Marine Protected Area Suggest Complex Cascading Effects Challenging Conservation Outcomes

  2021cites this paper
• Identifying hotspots of non-indigenous species' high impact in the Maltese islands (Central Mediterranean Sea).

  2021cites this paper
• A Roadmap for the Restoration of Mediterranean Macroalgal Forests

  2021cites this paper
• Improving predictions of invasive fish ranges combining functional and ecological traits with environmental suitability under climate change scenarios

  2021influential citation
• Sliding Toward the of Mediterranean Coastal Marine Rocky Ecosystems

  2021cites this paper
• Depth distribution of canopy‐forming algae of the order Fucales is related to their photosynthetic features

  2021cites this paper
• Mediterranean rocky reefs in the Anthropocene: Present status and future concerns.

  2021cites this paper
• Changes in native small mammal populations with removal of invasive ant

  2021cites this paper
• Inconsistent relationships among protection, benthic assemblage, habitat complexity and fish biomass in Mediterranean temperate rocky reefs

  2021cites this paper
• Bad neighbors? Niche overlap and asymmetric competition between native and Lessepsian limpets in the Eastern Mediterranean rocky intertidal.

  2021cites this paper
• Sea level rise can severely reduce biodiversity and community net production on rocky shores.

  2021cites this paper
• Current status (as of end of 2020) of marine alien species in Turkey

  2021cites this paper
• Introducing the World Register of Introduced Marine Species (WRiMS)

  2021cites this paper
• Invasive Alien Species of Greece

  2021cites this paper
• After four decades—Occurrence of the daggertooth pike conger, Muraenesox cinereus (Actinopterygii: Anguilliformes: Muraenesocidae), in the Mediterranean Sea

  2021cites this paper
• 6 MANAGING FUTURE RISKS AND BUILDING SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE

  2021cites this paper
• Aliens in the Aegean – a sea under siege (ALAS)

  2020cites this paper
• Prioritizing marine invasive alien species in the European Union through horizon scanning

  2020cites this paper
• Paracentrotus lividus

  2020cites this paper
• Risk screening of the potential invasiveness of non-native marine fishes for South Korean coastal waters.

  2020cites this paper
• The Mediterranean in check: Biological invasions in a changing sea

  2020cites this paper
• Undergoing invasion of the fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatina (Lowe, 1838) in the western Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean

  2020cites this paper
• Trait‐based life strategies, ecological niches, and niche overlap in the nekton of the data‐poor Mediterranean Sea

  2020cites this paper
• Review Toxicological risks on the human health of populations living around the Mediterranean Sea linked to the invasion of non-indigenous marine species from the Red Sea.

  2020cites this paper
• New evidence of Melithaea erythraea colonization in the Mediterranean

  2020cites this paper
• Typology of fish nurseries in shallow Mediterranean coastal zones: all habitats matter

  2020cites this paper
• Biological Invasions in the Aegean Sea: Temporal Trends, Pathways, and Impacts

  2020cites this paper