A recent study of biodiversity of Marine Zoobenthos in Al-Masab basin near Tartus, with Record of Non-Indigenous species for the first time in Syria

Abstract

The current study attempts to investigate the both non-indigenous & native benthic assemblages observed from Al-massab basin as a particular environment. it is a marina located southern the coasts of Syria. For this purpose, field studies were conducted in 2020-2021. Benthic species of different groups were collected manually. This study revealed the occurrence of 59 species belonging to  10  macrotaxa of invertebrate. 39 species (59,32%) of theses benthic fauna are non- indigenous, 16 are considered as invasive in Syria & eastern Mediterranean, 15 species are reported for the first time in Syria in this survey area are: 

Aulactinia verrucosa (Pennant, 1777), Botrylloides leachi (Savigny, 1816), Branchiomma luctuosum, (Dalyellm 1853), Bugula neritina (Linnaeus, 1758), Clavelina huntsmani Van Name, 1931, Eupolymnia crassicornis (Schmarda, 1861), Goniobranchus obsoletus (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830), Hypselodoris infucata (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830), Paraleucilla magna Klautau, Monteiro & Borojevic, 2004, Polyclinum constellatum Savigny, 1816, Polyclinum indicum Sebastian, 1954, Pseudoceros sp., Spurilla neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1823), Sycon ciliatum (Fabricius, 1780).

Five new recorded species are: Ostrea stentina Payraudeau, 1826, Alpheus edwardsii (Audouin, 1826), Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, Saron marmoratus (Olivier, 1811), Aphrodita aculeata Linnaeus, 1758. In addition to 24 species of marine algae & 50 species of fish of native & non-indigenous origins.

Knowledge about diversity of the ascidianm polychaets & many others benthic groups of the Syrian Sea is still need a large-scale surveys, additional taxonomic & molecular studies especially in ports & marinas environments.