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Paul F. Clark, Ibtsam M. Abdul-Sahib and Muhamed S. Al-Asadi
The first record of Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae) from the Basrah Area of Southern Iraq (pp 51-54)
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The capture of Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853, the Chinese mitten crab is reported for the first
time from Southern Iraq, in the Shatt Al Basrah Canal, 20 June 2005, south of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers (Iraq, Syria and Turkey) and west of the Karun River (Iran).
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Dietmar Bernauer and Wolfgang Jansen
Recent invasions of alien macroinvertebrates and loss of native species in the upper Rhine River, Germany (pp 55-71)
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In the summers of 2003-2005 we sampled the macroinvertebrate community of the upper Rhine River at
28 locations between kilometer 351.9 and 399.5 with a dredge and a hydraulic grab from a ship, or by hand sampling. Additionally, 16 samples were obtained from
the cooling water intake screens of a thermal power plant in 2003. A total of 133 species and higher taxa were identified from approximately 140,000 organisms.
A total of 33 neozoa (alien) species were identified, including the first record of
Chelicorophium robustum in the Rhine River. Neozoa contributed approximately
74% to the total number of organisms collected from the ship-based samples and 85% to those from the power plant cooling water. Almost 64% of all individuals
from the cooling water intake belonged to the Ponto-Caspian amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus. Similarly, only 13 taxa, four native and nine alien species,
numerically dominated in the ship-based samples, representing 95% and 98% of all organisms in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The nine alien species contributed
74.7% and 72.1%, respectively, to the number of organisms. Only six species occurred abundantly in the main channel of the Rhine River, five of which were
neozoa: Jaera istri, Dikerogammarus villosus, Dreissena polymorpha,
Chelicorophium curvispinum, and Hypania invalida. The six abundant species colonized near-shore
substrates, whereas only few species were retrieved at low densities from the bottom gravel of the central shipping lane. Species diversity was generally higher
and relative abundance of neozoa was lower in backwater areas than in the main river channel. Some pronounced changes in the abundance of three numerically dominant
species, including the neozoa D. polymorpha and C. curvispinum, occurred between 2003 and 2004, which likely correlated with differences in water levels and temperatures.
Overall, our results demonstrate that the macroinvertebrate community of the upper Rhine River has been severely altered by the invasion of several highly successful
alien species and the disappearance or population decline of native species, and that these processes are still ongoing. Changes in species composition and relative
numerical abundance indicate both a displacement of native species by invasive species, and a relative rapid succession in the numerical dominance of "old" neozoa and "new" neozoa.
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Gordon H. Copp, Saulius Stakėnas and Phil I. Davison
The incidence of non-native fishes in water courses: example of the United Kingdom (pp 72-75)
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In recognition of the potential threat posed by introduced species to ecosystem function, the incidence
of non-native fishes in rivers and streams of the UK was examined for the years 1961 to 2000 inclusive using data from the Database and Atlas of Freshwater Fishes.
The proportion of records pertaining to non-native fishes has remained more or less constant, but the mean number of non-native species was found to be
significantly higher in 1991-2000 than in earlier decades, and the proportion of records pertaining to certain species have increased whilst others have decreased.
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Doğan Çeviker and Serhat Albayrak
Three alien molluscs from Iskenderun Bay (SE Turkey) (pp 76-79)
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This study reports the presence of three alien molluscs from Iskenderun Bay (SE Turkey). Amathina tricarinata
(Linnaeus, 1767) and Petricola hemprichi Issel, 1869 have prior records from other regions of Mediterranean, but,
Cardites akabana (Sturany, 1899)
first recorded in this paper. Since all of them are present in the Red Sea or Suez Canal, they can be considered as Lessepsian immigrants.
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Murat Bilecenoglu and Murat Kaya
A new alien fish in the Mediterranean Sea – Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) (Osteichthyes: Ephippidae) (pp 80-83)
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A single Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) specimen was captured off Bodrum (southern Aegean Sea, Turkey)
on 5 March 2006. It is the first record of this fish species in the Mediterranean Sea. Introduction of the species is probably due to an aquarium release.
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Melih Ertan Çinar, Murat Bilecenoglu, Bilal Öztürk and Alp Can
New records of alien species on the Levantine coast of Turkey (pp 84-90)
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Zoobenthic investigations carried out along the Turkish Levantine coast resulted in identification of nine
previously unrecorded alien species: Macrorhynchia philippina (Hydrozoa),
Oculina patagonica (Anthozoa), Branchiomma luctuosum (Polychaeta),
Aplysia dactylomela (Gastropoda), Synaptula reciprocans (Echinodermata), Phallusia nigra, Pyura (=Herdmania) momus,
Symplegma brakenhielmi (Tunicata) and Parupeneus forsskali (Osteichthyes). Except for the shipping-transported
O. patagonica, which originated
in the Atlantic Ocean, the species are recognized as Erythrean aliens that entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. Some ecological and distributional
details are briefly discussed.
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Dan Minchin, Martin H. Davis and Mary E. Davis
Spread of the Asian tunicate Styela clava Herdman, 1882 to the east and south-west coasts of Ireland (pp 91-96)
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The Asian tunicate Styela clava Herdman, 1882 has been found at three new localities in
Ireland during the period 2004 to 2005. The new localities are Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland and Tralee and Dingle bays on the south-west coast.
They are present in low abundance. Before they have been known in Ireland since 1971 only from Cork Harbour on the south coast. All three sites where they
were found are marinas for leisure craft.
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Venetia Kambouroglou and Artemis Nicolaidou
A new alien species in Hellenic waters: Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta, Nereididae) invades harbors in the Eastern Mediterranean (pp 97-98)
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Pseudonereis anomala (Polychaeta), a Red Sea immigrant, is reported in Greek waters in a time
period when the species was also recorded along the Turkish coast. A total of 55 specimens were collected in the harbor of Piraeus in September 2003, and 5
specimens in the harbor of Kalamata in October 2003.
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