Page 61 - Invasive_Species_2013

Mediterranean invasive species factsheet

Reproduction main hypotheses: 1) it arrived in ballast water (water
It is hermaphroditic. When mating, one individual pumped into and out of ships to adjust their
acts as a male and crawls onto another one to buoyancy; minute marine organisms and their larvae
fertilize it, sometimes forming chains of up to 12 can thus be easily moved around the world’s oceans
individuals. Eggs form long, tangled strings which and introduced into new regions); 2) it spread
may be orange, yellow, green or brown in colour. through the Suez Canal; 3) it spread naturally
through the Gibraltar Strait (if this is the case it
should not be considered an alien species as such,
Similar species but a tropical Atlantic species colonizing the

Aplysia punctata. Smaller in size, the adults can be Mediterranean through natural range expansion).
confused with young A. dactylomela. The body is not
patterned with black rings but only small pink or
brown dots. Ecological impacts
To date there have been no studies quantifying the
ecosystem impact of this species. However, the
species is a grazer of algae and this may influence
the composition and diversity of algal communities in
a given location.

Economic impacts
The giant right neuron of A. dactylomela is very
Aplysia punctata
similar to that of humans and is used in neurological
Aplysia depilans can grow to about 30 cm. It is research. A small market for A. dactylomela
brown to greenish-brown in colour with blotches of specimens has been created to supply neurological
white, yellow or grey, often with blackish veining. research laboratories with this structure.
When disturbed, it produces both white and purple
secretions. Management options
There is still no feasible management plan in place
for controlling this species. A suggested prevention
Body dark coloured;
no ring patterns measure is to build up local public awareness
combined with monitoring to help in preventing its
introduction into MPAs. Early eradication of new
populations by hand removal could be an option to
be explored.

Further reading
Aplysia depilans
Pasternak G., Galil B., 2010. Occurrence of the alien sea
Brief history and route of hare Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828 (Opisthobranchia,
introduction Aplysiidae) in Israel. Aquatic Invasions Vol. 5, Issue 4:
437–440.
Aplysia dactylomela was first recorded in the
Yokeş M.B., 2006. Aplysia dactylomela: an alien
Mediterranean Sea off Lampedusa Island in 2002. opisthobranch in the Mediterranean. JMBA2 - Biodiversity
Now it is widespread throughout the Central-Eastern Records
Mediterranean from Sicily and Malta to Croatia,
Greece, Montenegro, Turkey and Cyprus. Its routes
of introduction in the Mediterranean are still unclear
due to the fact that its native range includes the two Drawings: Juan Varela
seas that are in connection with the Mediterranean
basin: the Atlantic and the Red Sea. There are three

58 Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean MPAs: A strategy and practical guide for managers