Line of action:

Marine ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2021

End date:

2022

Total budget:

23.450 €

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

16.197,75 €

The Asian seaweed(Rugulopteryx okamurae) is an exotic species included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Alien Species. It has become one of the species with the greatest impact on the Spanish marine environment in recent years, and continues to increase its area of distribution.

This initiative is based on the need to know the dynamics of this exotic marine species with great expansion power in the Mediterranean and with direct effects on different sectors and species and habitats, to know the effect of possible withdrawals on ecosystems or threatened species and to improve the knowledge of the sectors that may be affected during the expansion of the species.

For this purpose, advice is provided by expert researchers on the species, diving centers and administration personnel involved in the management of the species.

The main objective of the project is to provide real information on the effects of the expansion of Rugulopteryx okamurae in protected areas and their endangered species.

It has the following specific goals:

• Improve knowledge of the expansion of the species after its arrival in Red Natura 2000 areas.
• To know the effect of the species on different priority and/or threatened species and habitats in the initial stages of the invasion.
• Study recolonization times to establish the feasibility of eradication mechanisms.
• Improve governance processes around Natura 2000 Network areas that may be affected by okamurae colonization and inform the general population about the management of the species.

• Selection of standardized methodology and temporal monitoring in application zones in different areas of potential expansion.
• Selection of the species and habitats to be monitored and periodic sampling to determine their interaction.
• Controlled removal in plots and temporary monitoring of recolonization and succession dynamics.
• Colloquium workshops and meetings to inform about the species and its interaction with different sectors.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

• More than 300 records have been compiled throughout the Andalusian coast about the presence/absence of the species in natural spaces.
• Monitoring stations for algae dynamics have been established in four Red Natura 2000 sites.
• Several talks and workshops have been organized and attended to bring the reality of its effects on marine spaces and species closer to the public.
• To determine which are the most appropriate management measures, the dynamics of colonization and invasion of the species have been studied, using a methodology agreed with experts from the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of Andalusia, the University of Granada, the University of Seville and the AMAYA Association, among others.
• Synergies have been initiated with several public and private entities for better governance of protected areas.
• The project has been part of a final degree project in collaboration with the Marine Biology Laboratory of the University of Seville on the effect of the algae on the coral Cladocora caespitosa and is part of the working group that analyzes the possible effect of herbivory on the species.