Sahar Chebaane

University of Lisbon | UL · Faculty of Science

Coastal sprawl is among the main drivers of global degradation of shallow marine ecosystems. Among artificial substrates, quarry rock can have faster recruitment of benthic organisms than traditional concrete, which is instead more versatile for construction. However, the factors driving these differences are poorly understood. In this context, thi...

Harbours are highly modified habitats that differ from natural areas. They are hotspots of non-indigenous species (NIS) and act as stepping-stones in invasive processes. However, local communities can exert biotic resistance against biological invasions through trophic interactions and competition. This study assesses the biotic effects of predatio...

Mapping the distribution and evaluating the impacts of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) are two fundamental tasks for management purposes, yet they are often time consuming and expensive. This case study focuses on the NIS gilthead seabream Sparus aurata escaped from offshore farms in Madeira Island in order to test an innovative, cost-efficient...

Marinas are hubs for non-indigenous species (NIS) and constitute the nodes of a network of highly modified water bodies (HMWB) connected by recreational maritime traffic. Floating structures, such as pontoons, are often the surfaces with higher NIS abundance inside marinas and lead the risk for NIS introduction, establishment and spread. However, t...

The brown macroalgae Rugulopteryx okamurae is described as one of the most severe and threatening invasive marine macroalgae in European waters. This study reports the first record of R. okamurae in the Madeira archipelago, which represents a new southern distribution limit of this species in NE Atlantic European waters. Morphological and molecular...

Citizen science approaches are emerging as an efficient way to improve data collection and help monitor the invasion stages of non-indigenous species (NIS). In the Mediterranean Sea, UNEP/MAP strategies and all the regional documents and frameworks for conserving nature recommend Citizen Science to boost the capacity to monitor NIS distribution und...

Marinas are a gateway for the introduction and establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS). In these habitats, competition and predation are crucial determinants for NIS establishment and invasiveness. However, fish trophic preferences and biotic effects inside marinas are poorly known. This study proposes a novel method that combines the deploym...

Current trends in the global climate facilitate the displacement of numerous marine species from their native distribution ranges to higher latitudes when facing warming conditions. In this work, we analyzed occurrences of a circumtropical reef fish, the spotfin burrfish, Chilomycterus reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1958), in the Madeira Archipelago (NE At...

Macroalgal forests play a key role in shallow temperate rocky reefs worldwide, supporting communities with high productivity and providing several ecosystem services. Sea urchin grazing has been increasingly influencing spatial and temporal variation in algae distributions and it has become the main cause for the loss of these habitats in many coas...

The Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758), is the most widely distributed of the otter species and is listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List. However, in Tunisia, information about its distribution remains poorly known. A new sighting of this species was made during an expedition near the shores of El Barrak's dam where a dead body a...

The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hotspot under threat. One of the major impacts on its biological resources and services comes from the invasiveness of non-indigenous species (NIS). Nevertheless, NIS monitoring programs in the south basin of the Mediterranean Sea are in an early implementation stage. This study aims to describe NIS an...

Rapid identification of new invasive marine species is a critical element of prevention their dispersal and to promote an effective surveillance procedure for ecological monitoring. Within this context, Tunisia has developed a holistic and comprehensive national monitoring programme for biodiversity and non-indigenous species (NIS) with the support...

We report the presence of the invasive amphipod Caprella scaura Templeton 1836 in the Bizerte Lagoon (North of Tunisia) in November 2017. This lagoon is approximately 100 km north from the Tunis Lagoon where the presence of C. scaura was previously recorded in 2014. This new species record is considered as the most northern in the southern Mediterr...

Maritime transport and shipping is impacted negatively by biofouling, which has been linked to the spread of invasive species, and identified as one of the current primary threats to the environment. During 2016, a rapid assessment survey was used for the first time to abbreviate the non-indigenous species in 9 ports of Monastir bay. A total of 17...