Non-indigenous species (NIS) are among the main drivers of native biodiversity loss, habitat alteration, and degradation of ecosystem services, with some NIS posing risks to human health. Efficient monitoring strategies are necessary to assess the distribution and impacts of NIS. In this study, we compared the performance of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and visual surveys with SCUBA diving to detect marine fish NIS i...

In the Mediterranean Sea, the genus Pinna encompasses two large fan-shaped bivalve species, Pinna nobilis and Pinna rudis. Historically, both species coexisted in the western Mediterranean until a mass mortality event (MME) brought P. nobilis to the brink of extinction. Notably, P. rudis remained unaffected by the MME, and its recent successful recruitment and further spread have been hypothesized to be linked to the local ext...

Since the first confirmed records of mass mortality events (MME) in the Aegean Sea in 2018, Pinna nobilis populations in Greek seas have been decimated. To bolster recovery efforts, this study aimed to assess the status of fan mussel populations in the Aegean and Ionian seas and investigate potential recolonization through natural recruitment. From May 2022 to May 2023, 163 independent underwater visual surveys were conducted...