JMSE Webinar | Marine Alien Species
the chair
18th JMSE Webinar
Marine Alien Species
Dear Colleagues,
Species introductions are considered by the United Nations to be the second leading cause of species extinctions, preceded only by the triad of habitat loss, overexploitation, and pollution. Species introductions also have a massive detrimental socio-economic impact on a global scale. According to the latest IPBES (Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) report on non-indigenous species, the Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control, a total of 37,000 species globally have been introduced via human activities to regions and biomes around the world, of which an estimated 3500 species are harmful invasive alien species. The annual global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded USD 423 billion in 2019, with costs having at least quadrupled every decade since 1970. This Special Issue will showcase representative studies on the marine alien species that are currently impacting different sea environments around the world.
Date: 30 May 2025
Time: 11.00 am CEST | 5:00 pm CST Asia | 12:00 pm EEST
Webinar ID: 835 1762 2671
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chair
Meet Our Speakers
Prof. Alan Deidun
Oceanography Malta Research Group, Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malta, Msida, Malta;
Prof. Alan Deidun, a marine biologist by training, is Malta’s first-ever Ocean Ambassador. He directs the Malta Training Centre of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and is a Full Professor within the Faculty of Science of the University of Malta, where he coordinates the Master of Science in Applied Oceanography course and acts as the Rector’s Delegate on the SEA-EU 2.0 (University of the Sea) alliance, which features a Consortium of nine European Universities. He also acts as Deputy Chairman of Malta’s first-ever Climate Action Committee. He has participated, over the past 15 years, in numerous EU-funded projects within different funding calls, coordinating some of the same projects, with the BYTHOS project winning the EU’s prestigious Regiostars Award last December.
Dr. Francesco Tiralongo
Laboratory of Biology of Mediterranean Marine Fauna, Section of Animal Biology "Marcello La Greca", Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Italy;
Francesco Tiralongo is an ichthyologist mainly interested in the study of coastal fish communities, with a focus on cryptobenthic and benthic fish. He is also engaged in the study and monitoring of rare and non-indigenous fish in Italian waters, and is the scientific manager of the AlienFish project, which also includes the use of citizen science. His research further extends into fisheries science and biological invasions, and he is engaged in the study of biological and ecological aspects of elasmobranchs.
Dr. Stefanos Kalogirou
Laboratory of Applied Hydrobiology, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece;
Stefanos Kalogirou graduated from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, with a Master’s of Science in marine biology (2005) and Ph.D. in fish and fisheries ecology with an emphasis on non-indigenous species (2011). He has attended several postgraduate courses in stock assessment, organisation of EU institutions, geographical information systems, bottom imaging processing for side scan sonar and multibeam sonar, experimental design and data analysis for biologists using R language, ecology and nursery functions of coastal habitats for fish. Stefanos Kalogirou has more than 15 years of experience in the management of research projects both as Scientific coordinator and project leader and has represented Sweden in consultations for the internal and external Common Fisheries Policy (2006-2021). Since January 2022, he has been an Assistant Professor at the Department of Animal Science at the Agricultural University of Athens in fisheries biology, assessment and management. He has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, and is a member of various working Groups of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) of the EU.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
The webinar delved into the dynamics of how invasive alien species (IAS) are spreading across the global ocean, as well as into the various socio-economic and ecological impacts they are causing. A number of case studies from the Mediterranean were presented, showcasing the multifaceted changes that IAS are ushering in within the basin’s ecosystems. The webinar also highlighted that this is a dynamic and compelling research topic which is attracting the interest of many, given the considerable knowledge and data gaps, as well as the rapid pace at which these invasions are happening.
The webinar was hosted via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found below. In order to learn about future webinars, you can sign up to our newsletter by clicking “Subscribe” at the top of the page.
Edited by Prof. Alan Deidun
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 July 2025