SPECIE NON INDIGENE E CRIPTOGENICHE NEI PORTI E NEI FONDALI DELLA CAMPANIA

NON-NATIVE AND CRYPTOGENIC SPECIES IN THE PORTS AND SEABEDS OF CAMPANIA

Abstract

In this paper, we present the non-indigenous and cryptogenic species identified between 2018 and 2024 during the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; 2008/56/EC) monitoring campaigns in the Campania region (Tyrrhenian Sea), conducted by ARPAC. The species were identified thanks to monitoring related to MSFD Modules 3 and 9. Overall, 17 non-indigenous and 3 cryptogenic species were identified. Of these, two were found in phytoplankton, three in mesozooplankton, and fifteen were benthic species found in macrozoobenthos and epimegabenthos monitoring. Among these benthic species, the discovery of Penaeus (Farfantepenaeus) aztecus Ives, 1891 is of particular interest. This is the first report of this species in the Campania Sea and, more broadly, in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea, where it had only been reported once before, in 2019, at Capo Teulada (Sardinia). For each species, data on geographical coordinates, depth, temperature, salinity and pH are provided.