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Thibaut, T. and A. Meinesz, 2002. Management Successes and Failures in the Mediterranean, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis. Reprinted with permission from International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference (2002) Management Successes and Failures in the MediterraneanMonitoring (mapping) and public awareness was the only effort made by the concerned countries. Control of the invasion was never a priority for most of them. In France, regular control of the alga only occurs in the waters of the national park of Port-Cros, where control efforts (manual removal or application of a cloth soaked in copper salts) have been performed annually since 1994. Fifteen tiny isolated colonies have been successfully eradicated. In Spain, since the first discovery in 1992, regional authorities tried to slow down the spread of the alga by using an airlift sediment sucker, or exposing the alga to copper ions. In Italy, except for a few eradication attempts made at the onset of the invasion, no control strategy has been established. In Croatia, control measures have been implemented annually by covering isolated colonies with black plastic sheets and removing the alga with a suction pump. In Tunisia, no control strategies have been made. The present state of the Mediterranean invasion is critical and it is useless to try to eradicate the alga. The best option would be to preserve the biodiversity of selected sanctuaries against the invasion by regular control of new C. taxifolia recruitment. Modeling the spread can help decision makers with their choice of strategy. A simulation model taking into account the biology of C. taxifolia, the season and the spatial characteristics is now used, as a predictive tool, in some places in the Mediterranean. Modeling results are accurate over 4–5 year time periods. A global solution for the management of C. taxifolia could be
biological control. The evaluation of Mediterranean and tropical specialist
grazers (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa) show that the indigenous species
are inefficient, but that the tropical Elysia subornata provides Contact: Thierry Thibaut, Laboratoire Environnement Marin Littoral,
Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, 06108 Nice cedex 2, France |