Dias, V., Marques, J, Meek, S., Costa, V., Miliou, A. The distribution of Invasive Caulerpa cylindracea in Lipsi island, Greece. 12th Panhellenic Symposium of Oceanography & Fisheries 2018.

Introduction:

In the early 90’s Caulerpa cylindracea (Sonder, 1845), lessepsian migrant, was identified as being one of the most invasive species of the Caulerpa genus in the Mediterranean Sea (Piazzi et al. 2005). Native to south-western Australia and poorly described in both ecology and morphology, the effect of this species was not fully recognized. Previous studies demonstrated not only the competition between this species and the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (Delile, 1813), but also its tolerance to low light, which increases its ability to out-compete native species (Dumay et al. 2002). The aim of this study was to evaluate the spread of C. cylindracea in Lipsi island (Greece) and understand the factors influencing its spread. This will help to further evaluate the influence of this species on the biodiversity of native algae and seagrass communities.