The Lessepsian migration (or Erythrean invasion) is the migration of marine species along the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine animals and plants were exposed to an artificial passage between the two naturally separate bodies of water, and cross-contamination was made possible between formerly isolated ecosystems. The phenomenon is still occurring today. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat in charge of the canal's construction. The term was coined by Francis Dov Por in his 1978 book.[1]
The migration of invasive species through the Suez Canal from the Indo-Pacific region has been facilitated by many factors, both abiotic and anthropogenic, and presents significant implications for the ecological health and economic stability of the contaminated areas; of particular concern is the fisheries industry in the Eastern Mediterranean. Despite these threats, the phenomenon has allowed scientists to study an invasive event on a large scale in a short period of time, which usually takes hundreds of years in natural conditions.
In a wider context, the term Lessepsian migration is used to describe any animal migration facilitated by man-made structures, i.e. migration which would not have occurred had it not been for the presence of an artificial structure.
- ^ Por, Francis Dov (1978). 'Lessepsian Migration: The Influx of Red Sea Biota Into the Mediterranean by Way of the Suez Canal. Ecological studies. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-08381-8.