EVOLUTION OF THE ENTRANCE RATE AND OF THE SPATIO-TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF LESSEPSIAN CRUSTACEA DECAPODA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

A review of the relevant literature and additional data from intensive sampling off the coasts of Cyprus, S.W. Turkey, and the Aegean coasts of Greece and Turkey, permitted to estimate the evolution of the entrance rate of Lessepsian Crustacea Decapocla into the Mediterranean Sea since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, until today. The development of the spatio-temporal dispersal of these species towards other geographical areas in the Mediterranean was also investigated. Analysis of all relevant data showed for the first time, that the entrance rate of Lessepsian decapods is accelerating and this acceleration is statistically significant. Furthermore, there is a progressive dispersal of these species from Port Said both towards the west, along the African coast, and towards the east along the coasts of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, from there towards the southern Turkish coasts and the coasts of Cyprus, and finally towards the Greek and Turkish Aegean coasts. The increasing trend in the entrance rate of thermophilous Lessepsian decapods as well as their progressive dispersal towards higher latitudes could be attributed to the observed, gradual increase in temperature of the waters of the Mediterranean.