JournalJournal of Mediterranean of Mediterranean Ecology Ecology vol. 14, vol. 2016: 14, 63-69 2016 © Firma Effe Publisher, Reggio Emilia, Italy The end of the run? New evidence of the complete colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by the Atlantic invader crab Percnon gibbesi (Crustacea: Decapoda: Percnidae) Gianluca Stasolla1*, Valentina Bertuccio2, Gianna Innocenti1 1 Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Zoologia “La Specola”, via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali (BiGeA) & Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali (CIRSA), University of Bologna, CoNISMa, Via S. Alberto 163, I-48123, Ravenna, Italy E-mail:
[email protected] (GS),
[email protected] (VB),
[email protected] (GI) *Corresponding author Keywords: Percnon gibbesi, Elba Island, northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Atlantic invader, non-native species Abstract After the finding of several specimens of Percnon gibbesi in Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago), a preliminary census of the populations inhabiting the island coasts was run. Elba Island coasts were investigated by means of underwater linear transects to estimate the crab population density and distribution. The non-native crab population is found in the south and west coast with high density in the southern part of the Island. Crabs share the same habitat of other herbivorous species, such as the crustaceans Pachygrapsus marmoratus or Palaemon elegans, and the Paracentrotus lividus or Arbacia lixula sea urchins, but no interactions were observed. Introduction by 3.1°C, with the exception of the Gulf of Lion and the northern Adriatic Sea (Coll et al., 2010; Raitsos et Invasion by non-native species is a crucial factor al., 2010).