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According to the entity, since it was detected in 2016 on the coasts of the Strait of Gibraltar, the brown algae species Rugulopteryx okamurae(Dictyotales, Ochrophyta), coming from the Asian coasts of the Pacific, is producing unprecedented environmental and socioeconomic impacts.

The University of Malaga points out that currently in Spain it is in the early stages of invasion, showing a high rate of dispersal and colonization of new areas from its area of introduction in the Strait of Gibraltar. The expansion poses a threat to the biodiversity and marine resources of the Spanish coastline, with special importance in protected marine areas.

This project seeks to support the management (prevention and control) of R. okamurae, identifying, through distribution modelling approaches and field studies, spatiotemporal windows of vulnerability to its invasion of Spanish protected marine areas and species, with special interest in those present in the Strait-Alboran and Levantine-Balearic demarcations, as well as providing an update on the situation of the species in these spaces. The project includes the transfer of the knowledge generated in the project to the management sector of these protected areas and the Public Administration, so that it can be applied in the prevention and early detection of R. okamurae for the conservation of the natural heritage. The approach to the objectives of this project is novel and may represent a model of study applied to the management of biological invasions.

The main objective of the project has been to support the management (prevention and control) of the invasive alga Rugulopteryx okamurae, by identifying spatiotemporal windows of vulnerability to invasion of protected marine areas and species.

Specific objectives include:

• To identify spatial windows of vulnerability to okamurae invasion in Spanish marine protected areas.
• Identify temporal windows of vulnerability of okamurae invasion in protected species.
• Transfer the results to the managers of protected areas to support okamurae management.

• Determine the distribution of okamurae in the Spanish territory, with special interest in the marine protected areas under the jurisdiction of the General State Administration (AGE) of the marine demarcation of the Strait and Alboran (ESAL) and southern Levantine-Balearic (LEBA).
• Identify threatened and protected marine species, and communities and habitats that harbor them, affected by okamurae in the above-mentioned marine protected areas.
• Carry out okamurae invasion risk maps for all Spanish marine protected areas under different climatic scenarios.
• To study the vegetative and reproductive phenology of okamurae in Carpodesmia tamariscifolia forests and Posidonia oceanica meadows.
• Organize a workshop on okamurae with the managers of marine protected areas.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

According to the entity, since its detection in 2016 on the coasts of the Strait of Gibraltar, the brown algae species Rugulopteryx okamurae(Dictyotales, Ochrophyta), from the Asian Pacific coasts, is spreading rapidly along the Spanish coasts, producing unprecedented environmental and socioeconomic impacts. This expansion poses a threat to the biodiversity and marine resources of the Spanish coastline, with special importance in protected marine areas.

The RUGULOPTERYX project has made it possible to know its distribution in Spain, offering support to the management (prevention and control) of this species, identifying, through distribution modelling approaches and field studies, spatio-temporal windows of favourability to its invasion of Spanish marine protected areas, with special interest in those present in the Levantine-Balearic Islands (LEBA) and Strait and Alboran (ESAL) demarcations. Among the actions developed within the framework of the project, distribution models have been carried out for R. okamurae, using an updated database on the distribution of the species, which indicate the entire Spanish South Atlantic and Mediterranean coast as areas of high habitat favourability for the species, thus threatening existing threatened and protected spaces and species. Likewise, the RUGULOPTERYX project has identified eleven protected species that may be threatened by R. okamurae, such as the marine phanerogam species Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa and the species of algae of the genera Gongolaria and Ericaria, ecosystem engineering species.

In addition, the results of this project conclude that more than half of the Spanish marine habitats are threatened by R. okamurae due to the high capacity of invasion and affection of this algae on native communities. The species Rugulopteryx okamurae also presents different forms of propagation, mainly clones by means of propagules and asexual spores, which have been observed in greater abundance and frequency in the summer season, at which time the highest biomass has also been recorded, making the summer season the period of greatest invasiveness of the species. All the information generated in the project has been transferred to the administrations and sectors affected (mainly, the fishing sector), through an open day to the public and a publication of its contents in order to promote the prevention and early detection of R. okamurae for the conservation of natural heritage.