Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records

Maria Rousou; Joachim Langeneck; Chara Apserou; Christos Arvanitidis; Stephanos Charalambous; Kyproula Chrysanthou; George Constantinides; Panagiotis D. Dimitriou; Sergio Carlos García Gómez; Soteria Irene Hadjieftychiou; Nikolaos Katsiaras; Periklis Kleitou; Demetris Kletou; Frithjof C. Küpper; Paraskevi Louizidou; Roberto Martins; Manos L. Moraitis; Nafsika Papageorgiou; Magdalene Papatheodoulou; Antonis Petrou; Dimitris Xevgenos; Lavrentios Vasiliades; Eleni Voultsiadou; Chariton Charles Chintiroglou; Alberto Castelli

doi:10.3390/d15080941

Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records

Maria Rousou, Joachim Langeneck, Chara Apserou, Christos Arvanitidis, Stephanos Charalambous, Kyproula Chrysanthou, George Constantinides, Panagiotis D. Dimitriou, Sergio Carlos García Gómez, Soteria Irene Hadjieftychiou, Nikolaos Katsiaras, Periklis Kleitou, Demetris Kletou, Frithjof C. Küpper, Paraskevi Louizidou, Roberto Martins, Manos L. Moraitis, Nafsika Papageorgiou, Magdalene Papatheodoulou, Antonis PetrouDimitris Xevgenos, Lavrentios Vasiliades, Eleni Voultsiadou, Chariton Charles Chintiroglou, Alberto Castelli

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Abstract

The diversity and distribution of polychaetes in the coastal area and the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus is presented based on both the literature records and new data acquired in a wide range of environmental monitoring programmes and research projects. A total of 585 polychaete species belonging to 49 families were reported in Cyprus waters; among them, 205 species (34%) were recorded based on the literature only, 149 (26%) were new records based on our own data, and a total of 231 spp. (40%) were recorded from both the literature and new data. A total of 51 polychaete species were identified as non-indigenous; among them, 32 were confirmed as alien species, 4 were considered cryptogenic, and 15 were considered questionable as there were doubts about their identity. The Indo-Pacific Schistomeringos loveni was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while four species already reported in the literature, namely, Bispira melanostigma, Fimbriosthenelais longipinnis Leonnates aylaoberi, and Rhodopsis pusilla, were added to the list of non-indigenous polychaetes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current work highlights the importance of implementing environmental monitoring programmes and carrying out research surveys targeting benthic macrofauna assemblages.

Original language	English
Article number	941
Number of pages	55
Journal	Diversity
Volume	15
Issue number	8
Early online date	19 Aug 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080941
Publication status	Published - 19 Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank as part of the OIKAPAV Project the following taxonomists that contributed to the polychaeta species validations: Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou (HCMR, Greece), Luis Fernando Carrera-Parra (Dept. Sistemática y Ecología Acuática, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mexico), Katie Mortimer (National Museum Wales, UK), Güley Kurt (Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Sinop University, Türkiye), Adriana Giangrande (Laboratory of Zoology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Italy), and Andrey Sikorski of the Akvaplan-niva AS, NORWAY and the following taxonomists for providing taxonomic material and guidance: Melih Ertan Çinar (Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Ege University, Türkiye), Ruth Barnich (Marine Evertebraten II Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Germany), Vasily Radashevsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russa), and Julio Parapar (Dep. Bioloxía Animal, Bioloxía Vexetal e Ecoloxía Fac. Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, Spain). As part of the Water-Mining Project, we would like to thank Eleni Avramidi, Kleopatra Grammatiki, and Vasilis Reisakos for their participation in the sampling surveys, sorting of organisms, and provision of background data. Finally, we would like to thank all the staff at the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Marine Environmental Research (MER) Lab, and AP Marine Environmental Consultancy Ltd. for their contribution to the sampling surveys, laboratory analysis, and data provision.
Funding
The current manuscript was prepared as part of the project 25245 “Investigation and evaluation of sensitive benthic marine ecosystems in the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus”, which is co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The following research projects contributed by submitting data: (i) the OS Aqua project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation with grant number INTEGRATED/0918/0046 and the data analysed as part of MaRITeC-X Teaming project H2020; (ii) the Water-Mining Project was funded through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement 869474; (iii) the RECONNECT project was co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Balkan Med 2014- 20202 and by the National Funds of the participating countries; (iv) the COST Action ES1003 Development and implementation of a pan-European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System (EMBOS) was supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology); (v) the “A holistic approach for the evaluation of ecological status of coastal areas: the case of Vasiliko Bay” (OIKAPAV Project) was co-funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (grant agreement SMES/Product/0609/74); (vii) monitoring survey of artificial reefs MPA that were implemented as part of the Project 25709 “Creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with Artificial Reefs (ARs) in Larnaca and Chrysochou Bay and extension of AR projects in existing MPAs in Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Amathounta, Dasoudi and Yeroskipou” was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources); (viii) the “Increasing Industrial Resource Efficiency in European Mariculture (IDREEM)” project was funded by the European Union’s FP7 Programme (grant agreement 308571). The environmental monitoring of fish farms in Cyprus for the private companies Blue Island Plc, Kimagro fisheries Ltd. (Levantina), Seawave Fisheries Ltd. and Telia Vasiliko Ltd., Telia Aqua Marine Ltd. were funded by the fish farm companies. The 2016 MEDITS survey that was carried out as part of the Cypriot Data Collection Framework was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The implementation of WFD 2000/60/EC in the coastal waters of the Republic of Cyprus was funded with national resources. The EastMed Pipeline Project is a Project of Common Interest (PCI), co-financed by the European Commission. The project promoter is IGI Poseidon S.A., equally owned by the Greek Depa International Projects S.A. and the Italian Edison SpA. R. Martins (2021.00386.CEECIND) and CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020) are funded by national funds, through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the LNG Project («Provision of the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan in respect to The Project Vasilikos LNG Receiving and Regasification Terminal LNG Project») was funded by CMC Ltd. (CPP—METRON CONSORTIUM Ltd.), implemented by ENVECO INTERNATIONAL Ltd., and partly subcontracted to I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd. and the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab. The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the construction of Paralimni Marina was funded by PMV Maritime Holding Ltd., implemented by I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd., and partly subcontracted to the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are openly available in OBIS (http://ipt.medobis.eu/resource?r=cyprus_checklist) (accessed on 16 August 2023).

Keywords

Levantine Sea
Inventory
NIS
benthic macrofauna
WFD
MSFD
aquaculture
desalination
ports
macroalgae

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Cite this

Rousou, M., Langeneck, J., Apserou, C., Arvanitidis, C., Charalambous, S., Chrysanthou, K., Constantinides, G., Dimitriou, P. D., García Gómez, S. C., Hadjieftychiou, S. I., Katsiaras, N., Kleitou, P., Kletou, D., Küpper, F. C., Louizidou, P., Martins, R., Moraitis, M. L., Papageorgiou, N., Papatheodoulou, M., ... Castelli, A. (2023). Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records. Diversity, 15(8), Article 941. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080941

Rousou, M, Langeneck, J, Apserou, C, Arvanitidis, C, Charalambous, S, Chrysanthou, K, Constantinides, G, Dimitriou, PD, García Gómez, SC, Hadjieftychiou, SI, Katsiaras, N, Kleitou, P, Kletou, D, Küpper, FC, Louizidou, P, Martins, R, Moraitis, ML, Papageorgiou, N, Papatheodoulou, M, Petrou, A, Xevgenos, D, Vasiliades, L, Voultsiadou, E, Chintiroglou, CC & Castelli, A 2023, 'Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records', Diversity, vol. 15, no. 8, 941. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080941

@article{d7347ff66d924d59b87e7a661973d869,

title = "Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records",

abstract = "The diversity and distribution of polychaetes in the coastal area and the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus is presented based on both the literature records and new data acquired in a wide range of environmental monitoring programmes and research projects. A total of 585 polychaete species belonging to 49 families were reported in Cyprus waters; among them, 205 species (34%) were recorded based on the literature only, 149 (26%) were new records based on our own data, and a total of 231 spp. (40%) were recorded from both the literature and new data. A total of 51 polychaete species were identified as non-indigenous; among them, 32 were confirmed as alien species, 4 were considered cryptogenic, and 15 were considered questionable as there were doubts about their identity. The Indo-Pacific Schistomeringos loveni was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while four species already reported in the literature, namely, Bispira melanostigma, Fimbriosthenelais longipinnis Leonnates aylaoberi, and Rhodopsis pusilla, were added to the list of non-indigenous polychaetes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current work highlights the importance of implementing environmental monitoring programmes and carrying out research surveys targeting benthic macrofauna assemblages.",

keywords = "Levantine Sea, Inventory, NIS, benthic macrofauna, WFD, MSFD, aquaculture, desalination, ports, macroalgae",

author = "Maria Rousou and Joachim Langeneck and Chara Apserou and Christos Arvanitidis and Stephanos Charalambous and Kyproula Chrysanthou and George Constantinides and Dimitriou, {Panagiotis D.} and {Garc{\'i}a G{\'o}mez}, {Sergio Carlos} and Hadjieftychiou, {Soteria Irene} and Nikolaos Katsiaras and Periklis Kleitou and Demetris Kletou and K{\"u}pper, {Frithjof C.} and Paraskevi Louizidou and Roberto Martins and Moraitis, {Manos L.} and Nafsika Papageorgiou and Magdalene Papatheodoulou and Antonis Petrou and Dimitris Xevgenos and Lavrentios Vasiliades and Eleni Voultsiadou and Chintiroglou, {Chariton Charles} and Alberto Castelli",

note = "Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank as part of the OIKAPAV Project the following taxonomists that contributed to the polychaeta species validations: Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou (HCMR, Greece), Luis Fernando Carrera-Parra (Dept. Sistem{\'a}tica y Ecolog{\'i}a Acu{\'a}tica, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mexico), Katie Mortimer (National Museum Wales, UK), G{\"u}ley Kurt (Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Sinop University, T{\"u}rkiye), Adriana Giangrande (Laboratory of Zoology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Italy), and Andrey Sikorski of the Akvaplan-niva AS, NORWAY and the following taxonomists for providing taxonomic material and guidance: Melih Ertan {\c C}inar (Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Ege University, T{\"u}rkiye), Ruth Barnich (Marine Evertebraten II Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Germany), Vasily Radashevsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russa), and Julio Parapar (Dep. Biolox{\'i}a Animal, Biolox{\'i}a Vexetal e Ecolox{\'i}a Fac. Ciencias, Universidade da Coru{\~n}a, Spain). As part of the Water-Mining Project, we would like to thank Eleni Avramidi, Kleopatra Grammatiki, and Vasilis Reisakos for their participation in the sampling surveys, sorting of organisms, and provision of background data. Finally, we would like to thank all the staff at the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Marine Environmental Research (MER) Lab, and AP Marine Environmental Consultancy Ltd. for their contribution to the sampling surveys, laboratory analysis, and data provision. Funding The current manuscript was prepared as part of the project 25245 “Investigation and evaluation of sensitive benthic marine ecosystems in the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus”, which is co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The following research projects contributed by submitting data: (i) the OS Aqua project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation with grant number INTEGRATED/0918/0046 and the data analysed as part of MaRITeC-X Teaming project H2020; (ii) the Water-Mining Project was funded through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement 869474; (iii) the RECONNECT project was co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Balkan Med 2014- 20202 and by the National Funds of the participating countries; (iv) the COST Action ES1003 Development and implementation of a pan-European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System (EMBOS) was supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology); (v) the “A holistic approach for the evaluation of ecological status of coastal areas: the case of Vasiliko Bay” (OIKAPAV Project) was co-funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (grant agreement SMES/Product/0609/74); (vii) monitoring survey of artificial reefs MPA that were implemented as part of the Project 25709 “Creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with Artificial Reefs (ARs) in Larnaca and Chrysochou Bay and extension of AR projects in existing MPAs in Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Amathounta, Dasoudi and Yeroskipou” was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources); (viii) the “Increasing Industrial Resource Efficiency in European Mariculture (IDREEM)” project was funded by the European Union{\textquoteright}s FP7 Programme (grant agreement 308571). The environmental monitoring of fish farms in Cyprus for the private companies Blue Island Plc, Kimagro fisheries Ltd. (Levantina), Seawave Fisheries Ltd. and Telia Vasiliko Ltd., Telia Aqua Marine Ltd. were funded by the fish farm companies. The 2016 MEDITS survey that was carried out as part of the Cypriot Data Collection Framework was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The implementation of WFD 2000/60/EC in the coastal waters of the Republic of Cyprus was funded with national resources. The EastMed Pipeline Project is a Project of Common Interest (PCI), co-financed by the European Commission. The project promoter is IGI Poseidon S.A., equally owned by the Greek Depa International Projects S.A. and the Italian Edison SpA. R. Martins (2021.00386.CEECIND) and CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020) are funded by national funds, through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the LNG Project («Provision of the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan in respect to The Project Vasilikos LNG Receiving and Regasification Terminal LNG Project») was funded by CMC Ltd. (CPP—METRON CONSORTIUM Ltd.), implemented by ENVECO INTERNATIONAL Ltd., and partly subcontracted to I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd. and the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab. The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the construction of Paralimni Marina was funded by PMV Maritime Holding Ltd., implemented by I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd., and partly subcontracted to the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab.",

year = "2023",

month = aug,

day = "19",

doi = "10.3390/d15080941",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

journal = "Diversity",

issn = "1424-2818",

publisher = "MDPI",

number = "8",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

T2 - An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records

AU - Rousou, Maria

AU - Langeneck, Joachim

AU - Apserou, Chara

AU - Arvanitidis, Christos

AU - Charalambous, Stephanos

AU - Chrysanthou, Kyproula

AU - Constantinides, George

AU - Dimitriou, Panagiotis D.

AU - García Gómez, Sergio Carlos

AU - Hadjieftychiou, Soteria Irene

AU - Katsiaras, Nikolaos

AU - Kleitou, Periklis

AU - Kletou, Demetris

AU - Küpper, Frithjof C.

AU - Louizidou, Paraskevi

AU - Martins, Roberto

AU - Moraitis, Manos L.

AU - Papageorgiou, Nafsika

AU - Papatheodoulou, Magdalene

AU - Petrou, Antonis

AU - Xevgenos, Dimitris

AU - Vasiliades, Lavrentios

AU - Voultsiadou, Eleni

AU - Chintiroglou, Chariton Charles

AU - Castelli, Alberto

N1 - Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank as part of the OIKAPAV Project the following taxonomists that contributed to the polychaeta species validations: Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou (HCMR, Greece), Luis Fernando Carrera-Parra (Dept. Sistemática y Ecología Acuática, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mexico), Katie Mortimer (National Museum Wales, UK), Güley Kurt (Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Sinop University, Türkiye), Adriana Giangrande (Laboratory of Zoology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Italy), and Andrey Sikorski of the Akvaplan-niva AS, NORWAY and the following taxonomists for providing taxonomic material and guidance: Melih Ertan Çinar (Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Ege University, Türkiye), Ruth Barnich (Marine Evertebraten II Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Germany), Vasily Radashevsky (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russa), and Julio Parapar (Dep. Bioloxía Animal, Bioloxía Vexetal e Ecoloxía Fac. Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, Spain). As part of the Water-Mining Project, we would like to thank Eleni Avramidi, Kleopatra Grammatiki, and Vasilis Reisakos for their participation in the sampling surveys, sorting of organisms, and provision of background data. Finally, we would like to thank all the staff at the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Marine Environmental Research (MER) Lab, and AP Marine Environmental Consultancy Ltd. for their contribution to the sampling surveys, laboratory analysis, and data provision. Funding The current manuscript was prepared as part of the project 25245 “Investigation and evaluation of sensitive benthic marine ecosystems in the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus”, which is co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The following research projects contributed by submitting data: (i) the OS Aqua project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation with grant number INTEGRATED/0918/0046 and the data analysed as part of MaRITeC-X Teaming project H2020; (ii) the Water-Mining Project was funded through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement 869474; (iii) the RECONNECT project was co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Balkan Med 2014- 20202 and by the National Funds of the participating countries; (iv) the COST Action ES1003 Development and implementation of a pan-European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System (EMBOS) was supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology); (v) the “A holistic approach for the evaluation of ecological status of coastal areas: the case of Vasiliko Bay” (OIKAPAV Project) was co-funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (grant agreement SMES/Product/0609/74); (vii) monitoring survey of artificial reefs MPA that were implemented as part of the Project 25709 “Creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with Artificial Reefs (ARs) in Larnaca and Chrysochou Bay and extension of AR projects in existing MPAs in Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Amathounta, Dasoudi and Yeroskipou” was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources); (viii) the “Increasing Industrial Resource Efficiency in European Mariculture (IDREEM)” project was funded by the European Union’s FP7 Programme (grant agreement 308571). The environmental monitoring of fish farms in Cyprus for the private companies Blue Island Plc, Kimagro fisheries Ltd. (Levantina), Seawave Fisheries Ltd. and Telia Vasiliko Ltd., Telia Aqua Marine Ltd. were funded by the fish farm companies. The 2016 MEDITS survey that was carried out as part of the Cypriot Data Collection Framework was co-financed by the Operational Program “Thalassa 2014–2020” (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014–2020 and national resources). The implementation of WFD 2000/60/EC in the coastal waters of the Republic of Cyprus was funded with national resources. The EastMed Pipeline Project is a Project of Common Interest (PCI), co-financed by the European Commission. The project promoter is IGI Poseidon S.A., equally owned by the Greek Depa International Projects S.A. and the Italian Edison SpA. R. Martins (2021.00386.CEECIND) and CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020) are funded by national funds, through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the LNG Project («Provision of the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan in respect to The Project Vasilikos LNG Receiving and Regasification Terminal LNG Project») was funded by CMC Ltd. (CPP—METRON CONSORTIUM Ltd.), implemented by ENVECO INTERNATIONAL Ltd., and partly subcontracted to I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd. and the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab. The environmental baseline survey (EBS) for the construction of Paralimni Marina was funded by PMV Maritime Holding Ltd., implemented by I.A.CO Environmental and Water Consultants Ltd., and partly subcontracted to the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab.

PY - 2023/8/19

Y1 - 2023/8/19

N2 - The diversity and distribution of polychaetes in the coastal area and the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus is presented based on both the literature records and new data acquired in a wide range of environmental monitoring programmes and research projects. A total of 585 polychaete species belonging to 49 families were reported in Cyprus waters; among them, 205 species (34%) were recorded based on the literature only, 149 (26%) were new records based on our own data, and a total of 231 spp. (40%) were recorded from both the literature and new data. A total of 51 polychaete species were identified as non-indigenous; among them, 32 were confirmed as alien species, 4 were considered cryptogenic, and 15 were considered questionable as there were doubts about their identity. The Indo-Pacific Schistomeringos loveni was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while four species already reported in the literature, namely, Bispira melanostigma, Fimbriosthenelais longipinnis Leonnates aylaoberi, and Rhodopsis pusilla, were added to the list of non-indigenous polychaetes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current work highlights the importance of implementing environmental monitoring programmes and carrying out research surveys targeting benthic macrofauna assemblages.

AB - The diversity and distribution of polychaetes in the coastal area and the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus is presented based on both the literature records and new data acquired in a wide range of environmental monitoring programmes and research projects. A total of 585 polychaete species belonging to 49 families were reported in Cyprus waters; among them, 205 species (34%) were recorded based on the literature only, 149 (26%) were new records based on our own data, and a total of 231 spp. (40%) were recorded from both the literature and new data. A total of 51 polychaete species were identified as non-indigenous; among them, 32 were confirmed as alien species, 4 were considered cryptogenic, and 15 were considered questionable as there were doubts about their identity. The Indo-Pacific Schistomeringos loveni was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while four species already reported in the literature, namely, Bispira melanostigma, Fimbriosthenelais longipinnis Leonnates aylaoberi, and Rhodopsis pusilla, were added to the list of non-indigenous polychaetes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current work highlights the importance of implementing environmental monitoring programmes and carrying out research surveys targeting benthic macrofauna assemblages.

KW - Levantine Sea

KW - Inventory

KW - NIS

KW - benthic macrofauna

KW - WFD

KW - MSFD

KW - aquaculture

KW - desalination

KW - ports

KW - macroalgae

U2 - 10.3390/d15080941

DO - 10.3390/d15080941

M3 - Article

SN - 1424-2818

VL - 15

JO - Diversity

JF - Diversity

IS - 8

M1 - 941

ER -

Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this