Attributes of Red Sea fish species that are associated with the overall rate and temporal change in Lessepsian migration -

Abstract

Detecting trends in the introduction rates of invasive species and identifying traits associated with a species’ introduction probability are two important approaches in invasion biology research. Our study applied the two approaches to analyze introductions of Red Sea fish species into the Mediterranean Sea. We used Cox regressions to analyze first records in the Mediterranean and demonstrated that many species, with historically low introduction probability, experienced a recent increase in introduction rate. This pattern occurred among demersal fishes and was most pronounced for solitary species living mainly over hard bottoms. The increase in introduction rates for these species cannot be explained by increased detection rates and has important implications for the assessment of future risks posed by species invading the Mediterranean.