Paraskevi (Voula) K Karachle

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research | hcmr · Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters

Mesopelagic fishes hold an important position in marine food webs, serving as a link between lower trophic levels and top predators and transferring energy from their deep mesopelagic habitat to shallower oceanic layers. Despite their ecological importance, research on mesopelagic fishes’ diet and feeding habits in the Mediterranean Sea is far from...

The silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin 1789), and to a lesser degree the orange spotted toadfish Torquigener hypselogeneion (Bleeker, 1852), pose threats to human health from physical attacks and poisonings in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This study reviewed human health-related impacts resulting from these pufferfish, compil...

The ocean is dynamically changing due to the influence of climate processes and human activities. The construction of the Suez Canal in the late nineteenth century opened the Pandora’s box by facilitating the dispersal of Red Sea species in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we developed an open-source spatio-temporal numerical analysis framewor...

The alien Red Sea goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali) was recently reported in the Mediterranean Sea, as a species that migrated two decades ago through the Suez Canal. In this work, efforts are being made to fill knowledge gaps on its biology, through information based on 131 Red Sea goatfish specimens collected from commercial fishing vessels in the...

Experimental fishing was conducted in three different locations along the coastal marine waters of eastern Rhodes Island, Levantine Sea, Hellas, from April 2021 to March 2022 on a monthly basis. Twelve samplings with gill nets and 12 with trammel nets at each of three selected locations resulted in a total of 72 samplings. The numbers of indigenous...

Although mesopelagic fishes have long been considered to be an important ecological link between zooplankton and top predators, constituting at the same time a significant factor in carbon transfer dynamics, studies of their feeding ecology have until now been scarce. In the present study we analyzed the stomach contents of some of the most commonl...

Greek waters are the recipient of several alien species, mainly through natural dispersal following invasion and establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS) in neighboring areas, making their monitoring and mitigating their effects of paramount importance. The European Union legislation framework toward alien species invasions considers risk asse...

The current paper presents the first effort to organize a comprehensive review of the Invasive Alien Species (IAS) of Greece. For this purpose, a database was developed with fields of information on the taxonomy, origin, ecology and pathways of introduction of terrestrial, freshwater and marine species. Our database includes a) taxa in the Union’s...

A big number of Red Sea species have entered the Mediterranean Sea since the opening of the Suez Canal. Some of them quickly establish local populations and increase their abundance, forming a potential threat for local biodiversity and fisheries. Here, we use habitat modeling tools to study the expansion of three alien, demersal fish species that...

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of con...

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,64...

The Mediterranean Sea (MED) is prone to species’ introductions, induced by human activities and/or climate change. Recent studies focus on the biological traits that result in such introductions, yet on a single-area-type approach. Here, we used, analyzed, and compared biological traits derived from FishBase for MED, non-indigenous (NIS) and neonat...

An experiment conducted with 'open microcosm' made by connected sedimentary compartments with different qualities was for 30 days to evaluate the migratory behaviour of nematodes as induced by exposure to pyrene. The nematofauna was collected along with sediment from a reference site in Bizerte lagoon. Following one week acclimatization period, the...

Ecological information regarding trophic patterns and the inherent structure of freshwater aquatic communities is considered fundamental in ecological research. In this study, the trophic patterns of the Greek freshwater fish fauna, belonging to the Balkan biodiversity hotspot, were investigated, and comparisons of freshwater fish species feeding h...

The ecotoxicological effects of beta-blockers (i.e. Diltiazem and Bisoprolol) and their interactions with the microplastic polyvinyl chloride on marine meiofauna were tested in laboratory microcosms. An experimental factorial design was applied, using meiobenthic fauna collected from the Old Harbor of Bizerte (NE Tunisia), but with a main focus on...

The diet of five freshwater fish species of Lake Trichonis, the largest natural lake of Greece, was studied. Specifically, the studied species were Atherina boyeri, Luciobarbus albanicus, Leucos panosi, Scardinius acarnanicus and Tropidophoxinellus hellenicus. The diet analysis was based on stomach content analysis of seasonal samples collected dur...

The main objective of this work is to provide information on the age and growth, gonadal maturity and the feeding habits of the phaeton dragonet [Synchiropus phaeton (Günther, 1861)] in the eastern Mediterranean (Aegean Sea), a species for which there exists limited information. The phaeton dragonet is a demersal fish species with a wide distributi...

Citizen science (CS) expands the spatial and temporal scale of alien species records. As such, it has been recognized as a complementary tool in alien species management and large-scale biodiversity conservation. The present study assessed the contribution of CS to the recording of marine alien fishes and mollusks in European marine waters by revie...

Our Research Topic titled “Understanding the Impact and Invasion Success of Aquatic Non-native Species: How They Interact with Novel Environments and Native Biota,” compiled a series of research studies providing new data and approaches in assessing the invasion success and the impacts of various non-native species in the different regions of the w...

The stomach contents of 104 individuals of Torquigener flavimaculosus from Cyprus were examined. The analysis revealed that it is an omnivorous species with a preference to animal prey, especially invertebrates with limited mobility (crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms). The study of the length-weight relationship indicated a negative allometric gro...

Editorial on the Research Topic 'Understanding the Impact and Invasion Success of Aquatic Non-native Species: How They Interact With Novel Environments and Native Biota'

This work is the result of an international research effort to determine the main impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on marine recreational fishing. Changes were assessed on (1) access to fishing, derived from lockdowns and other mobility restrictions; (2) ecosystems, because of alterations in fishing intensity and human presence; (3) the blue econom...

This study evaluated the biomarker responses indicative of exposure to Benzo[a] Pyrene (B[a]P) in Mytilus galloprovincialis and Ruditapes decussatus. A significant increase of the total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) was observed after seven days of exposure to two concentrations of B[a]P (100 and 300 μg.l⁻¹), in the digestive gland with the...

In the present study the length–weight relationships (LWRs) of 6 fish species which are endemic to Western Greece, caught in the natural Lake Trichonis by experimental gillnets and electrofishing were estimated. Benthic (mesh size 5–55 mm; height 1.5 m; length 30 m) and pelagic (mesh size 6.25–55 mm; height 6 m; length 27.5 m) Nordic type multimesh...

On March 2020, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was recommended as a treatment for COVID-19 high risk patients. Following the massive and widespread use of HCQ worldwide, a discernible high quantity is anticipated to end-up through the sewage systems in marine coastal areas. A closed microcosm study was undertaken herein for 30 days where meiobenthic nemat...

Estimating trophic levels of fishes plays an important role in shedding light on the trophic interactions in aquatic ecosystems. In this short review, available literature data were collected regarding feeding habits of fishes from Hirfanlı Reservoir, and the fractional trophic levels (TROPHs) were estimated. Following this, the applicability of fu...

This study investigates the trophic diversity of fishes living in a meadow of Caulerpa prolifera on a bimonthly basis between May 2006 and April 2007 in a semi-enclosed coastal marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea (Elounda Bay, Crete Island). The study area is shallow and protected from waves, and it is covered by a C. prolifera bed, character...

The majority of experimental studies carried out to date, regarding the effects of pollutants on meiofauna have been conducted by means of closed systems, and rarely using open ones. The current work explored the impact of three Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), anthracene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene, applied alone or combined, on meiobenthic...

Reliable and low-cost age otolith readings are important in ageing and growth analyses of fishes. A standardized method, based on the work of Christensen (1964), is presented here for sagittal cracked and burned otoliths, applied on the demersal fish species, boarfish (Capros aper). The method is described as “standardized Burn-Crack-Burn” (sBCB) a...

Boarfish, Capros aper (Linnaeus, 1758), is a demersal species with a wide distribution in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Boarfish is a common by-catch species of the bottom-trawl fisheries and, over the last two decades, its landings have been increasing in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean Sea, its landings are not being re...

This study presents the updated status of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) distribution in Greece and investigates trends in new NIS introductions, at both national and subnational level, during 1970-2017. The overall picture shows an increase in new introductions from the 1970s to 2017. The number of unaided introduced species (mainly Lessepsia...

Invasive alien species (IAS) are known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem function and there is increasing evidence of their impacts on human health and economies globally. We undertook horizon scanning using expert-elicitation to predict arrivals of IAS that could have adverse human health or economic impacts on the island of Cypru...

Reliable and low-cost age otolith readings are important in ageing and growth analyses of fishes. A standardized method, based on the work of Christensen (1964), is presented here for sagittal cracked and burned otoliths, applied on the demersal fish species, boarfish (Capros aper). The method is described as “standardized Burn-Crack-Burn” (sBCB) a...

Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend to remain unpublished, b...

The current article presents 18 new records from seven Mediterranean countries. These records include one rhodophyte, four nudibranchs, two crustaceans, one stingray and 10 bony fishes. They are grouped by country as follows: Lebanon-first record of the Striped bass Morone saxatilis, the stingray Himantura leoparda, the Areolate grouper Epinephelus...

In the current study, data on Greek marine recreational fisheries regarding the number of individual recreational fishing and vessel licenses issued until 2014 are given. Moreover, using information from a questionnaire-based survey, based on 52 responses, recreational catches in two localities in the Aegean Sea (GSA 22: Thermaikos Gulf and Aloniss...

The Panhellenic Symposium of Oceanography and Fisheries was firstly launched in Athens, 35 years ago sparked by the enthusiasm of the Greek aquatic scientists, massively supported by the voluntary contribution of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) employees. Over the last three decades, the Symposium established and flourished as the fo...

Boarfish (Capros aper) is a demersal species with a wide distribution in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Contrary to boarfish large catches mainly in the Atlantic, as a by-catch in bottom trawl fisheries, the available data on its biology is limited in the Mediterranean, with its maximum age observed at 4 years. The age and growth p...

Shallow rocky reef fish assemblages were studied in sites of low versus high fishing pressure (FP) across different parts of the Aegean Sea, in order to assess community structure at a large scale and investigate spatial variability in relation to FP, depth, and geographic location. A total of 15 pairs of high and low FP sites were selected (18 sit...

The boarfish (Capros aper) is a gregarious, demersal species, which is distributed mainly in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, by-catch in bottom-trawl fisheries. Despite the large catches of the species mainly in the Atlantic, the available data on its biology is rather limited. The aim of this work is to provide information on the m...

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the major drivers of change that can negatively affect biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services and human health; islands are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions. Horizon scanning can lead to prioritisation of IAS to inform decision-making and action; its scale and scope can vary depending o...

We developed a trophic mass-balance model to describe the structure and functioning of the insular shelf ecosystem of the Republic of Cyprus and assess the impact of fishing and alien species during the mid-2010s. A total of 40 functional groups were defined, ranging from producers and detritus to top predators and when possible, alien species were...

An operational framework to assess the value of fisheries restricted areas (FRAs) for marine conservation was developed. Such a framework contributes to the wider concept of considering other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), as complementing conservation efforts and substantially contributing to effectively and equitably achievin...

The rule of thumb in marine trophodynamics indicates that the bigger an organism, the higher its trophic level (TROPH). This generalization leads to the assumption that fishes increase their TROPH with growth. However, a recent review showed that for many species, TROPH does not increase with body size, suggesting that size-independent feeding is n...

There is no sign of saturation in accumulation of alien species (AS) introductions worldwide, additionally the rate of spread for some species has also been shown to be increasing. However, the challenges of gathering information on AS are recognized. Recent developments in citizen science (CS) provide an opportunity to improve data flow and knowle...

This work presents a current (2018) annotated list of marine NIS and cryptogenic species in Greek marine waters. For this purpose, we updated information from previous lists, included new data from several new NIS and cryptogenic records and recent taxonomic studies, and followed current taxonomic modifications for the alien/cryptogenic status of s...

The multi-level benefits that marine organisms gain when protected from fishing are well acknowledged. Here, we investigated the effects of a 40-year trawling ban on the status of targeted and non-targeted marine species within a major fishing ground in the northeastern Mediterranean Sea (Thermaikos Gulf, Aegean Sea). Biomass and somatic length of...

The aim of the present study is to provide morphometric relationships for the Mediterranean wide-eyed flounder Bothus podas (Delaroche, 1809), to identify possible sexual dimorphism, and to determine the feeding habits and the functional role of the species in the ecosystem. Sampling was carried out during a trawl survey off the coast of northern C...

In this study we present a list of invasive/potential invasive alien species in the East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species (ESENIAS) countries with marine borders. The species were classified according to the existing literature and experts’ judgment, as established, casual, invasive and expected. Finally, factsheets were compil...

In the frame of the ESENIAS-TOOLS project, efforts have been made to compile a list of experts working on marine alien species in the ESENIAS countries, which can serve as a foundation towards establishing a scientific network in the area. Overall, 242 scholars were identified working in the marine waters of the area, with the majority being employ...

This study concerns the cephalopod species that are part of the diet of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula and the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville sampled by commercial trawlers in the Aegean Sea from 2005 to 2012. Based on the examined cephalopod beaks, 15 species were identified belonging in six families of Teuthida, one of Sepi...

This work is the result of a compilation of the Egyptian ichthyofauna, aiming to provide a basis for monitoring and assessing potential biodiversity changes in the area. The main sources used were peer-reviewed papers and grey literature (i.e. unpublished reports, theses, conference proceedings, etc), FishBase and the Global Biodiversity Informatio...

An up-to-date systematic review and unofficial codification of the national fisheries legislation was conducted, along with an up-to-date systematic review of environmental, archaeological and maritime legislation, about spatio-temporal restrictions of fishing activities, by all fishing gears, in the Aegean Sea. Spatio-temporal restrictions establi...

This study presents the diet composition of 43 of some of the most abundant fish species from the North Aegean Sea, Greece. According to the diet analysis and fractional trophic level previously reported in the literature, 20 of the studied species were omnivores with a preference for animals and the other half were carnivores (15 with preference f...

Knowledge of the diet and trophic level of marine predators is essential to develop an understanding of their ecological role in ecosystems. Research conducted on the trophic ecology of the deep-sea sharks is rather limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the diet of the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville, a deep-sea shark categorized as...

Age and growth of Mediterranean slimehead, Hoplostethus mediterraneus in the Ionian Sea, Greece, were studied and morphometric relationships of otolith morphological characteristics were established, based on samples collected in 1996-1997. The length-weight relationships were positively allometric (sexes separately and combined). A strong correlat...

In this study we updated a previous compilation of the feeding habits and trophic levels (TROPHs) of Mediterranean fish. In total, 178 publications were retrieved and analysed. Collected data refer to 148 species, with a TROPH value ranging from 2.00 to 4.54. The analysis of the TROPH distribution verified the previously proposed classification of...

The diet of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula, captured in the Aegean Sea by bottom-trawl from 2006 to 2012, was investigated with respect to sex, maturity condition, sampling location and season. The stomach contents of 432 specimens, measuring from 144 to 517 mm in total length, were analysed. The cumulative prey curve showed that...

2016. Pescatourism—A European review and perspective. Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 46 (4): 325–350. Abstract. Pescatourism is a relatively new concept of merging tourism with fi sheries. Its intention is to supplement incomes of fi shermen and their families in the situation of declining living resources of the sea and to provide an attractive activity f...

According to the Aichi Biodiverity Target 11 set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, states are committed to protect 10% of marine coastal areas by 2020. In line with this, the ultimate goal of the MARISCA project is to propose a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the conservation of all important and vulnerable habitats and specie...

In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: C...

The northern brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus Ives, 1891, is an estuarine and oceanic littoral decapod which is naturally distributed along the western Atlantic. The presence of the northern brown shrimp in the Mediterranean Sea has been recorded for the first time in Antalya Bay, Eastern Mediterranean. In the present study, a 16S rRNA sequencing analy...