Ulva ohnoi Hiraoka et Shimada

3.8 Ulva ohnoi Hiraoka et Shimada

Samples of U. ohnoi Hiraoka et Shimada ( Figure 4 View Figure 4 ) were found in human-impacted sites (ST01 and ST06) of Lake Ganzirri, and its introduction was probably attributable either to maritime traffic, particularly relevant in the Strait of Messina, or to mollusc trading, similarly to what was proved for Agardhiella subulata (C. Agardh) Kraft et M. J. Wynne in the same site ( Manghisi et al. 2010). In the Mediterranean, the first detection of U. ohnoi had been by Mineur et al. (2007) in the algal fouling biomass on ships arriving at the commercial harbour at Sète (Mediterranean coast of France); similarly, a few years later, Flagella et al. (2010) recorded the species in ballast water from ships, coming from Singapore, in the harbour of Naples ( Italy).

However, colonization by this species had not been detected in the area ( Flagella et al. 2010). U. ohnoi is commonly regarded as a NIS, having a disjointed distribution and being recorded in highly disturbed sites. However, its presence in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in other sites, might be underestimated and its actual distribution, as well as its native range, might be far different from what presently known ( Miladi et al. 2018).