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344 NEW RECORDS OF APLYSIA DACTYLOMELA

Figure 2. Aplysia dactylomela. Occurrences in the Mediterranean Sea. (a) Egadi Islands (Mannino et al., 2014); (b) Hercules harbour
(Karachle et al., 2016); (c) Cap d’en Font; (d) Cala Secains; and (e). Cala Es Caials. Data from 2001 to 2012 were based on Valdés et al.
(2013) review. Main Mediterranean Currents are illustrated, Almería-Orán Front represented by a white dashed-line. LPCC Liguro-
Provençal-Catalan Current. Geographical data deposited in the EASIN database (http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/).

geographica (A. Adams & Reeve, 1850), which its survival driving force of migration of the species in the
in the Mediterranean seems to be tighten to the presence of Mediterranean is the seawater circulation, which may be
its prey, and thus its chemical defences obtained for defence especially effective in the pelagic larval stage of A.
(Mollo et al., 2008). Therefore, we expect that A. dactylomela. Early warning evidences of the species may
dactylomela will likely establish stable populations in the facilitate the elucidation of the colonization patterns of the
western Mediterranean, similarly to the already well- species and its settlement in the Mediterranean Sea.
established populations in the eastern side. Citizen science programs, as the one carried by the
Our study reinforces the hypothesis of a Mediterranean Catalan Opisthobranch Research Group (GROC, 2016),
colonization by Atlantic populations of A. dactylomela. assist to monitor and detect new records of heterobranchs,
Valdés et al. (2013) suggested that the veliger larvae of A. which can serve as an early warning alert to scientists and
dactylomela successfully traversed the Almería-Orán front managers. Overall, we encourage scientists from other
during mild-winters; subsequently being transported to the regions to settle platforms such as GROC to enhance
central and eastern Mediterranean by the Algerian Current citizen science monitoring, thus gaining insight on the
and the Mid-Mediterranean Jet, respectively. Lately, ecology of heterobranchs and rapidly detecting
several colonisations towards the central Mediterranean colonization events and alien invasions.
have been reported (Schembri, 2008; Yokes, 2008; Crocetta
& Galil, 2012; Valdés et al., 2013; Mannino et al., 2014). Acknowledgments
This hypothesis, therefore, would predict a potential
colonization of the western Mediterranean by A. We would like to thank Joop Werson and Àlex Bartolí, who
dactylomela, following the main Mediterranean currents. kindly uploaded the new occurrences in the online database
Our data is in clear accordance with this fact, and we of GROC and provided the underwater photographs. We
suggest that the Liguro-Provençal-Catalan and the Balearic are indebted to the nearly 200 citizen collaborators of
Currents have transported the species to the Catalan and GROC that regularly monitor the Catalan coast and
Balearic coasts, respectively (Fig. 2). Overall, the main
adjacent waters. Thanks are also given to I. Afán and D.