Alien seaweeds and Marine Strategy Framework Directive in Italy

The introduction of aliens in marine habitats is one of the pressing threaten to biodiversity in world seas, so that they were recognised as useful descriptors in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The situation of alien seaweeds along the Italian coasts, emerged from the answer to MSFD, evidenced the scarcity of quantitative studies and the urgent need of early monitoring to respond to the Directive