What are thermophilic species?
Thermophilic species are those that, due to climate change that provokes the increase in seawater temperature, expand their geographical distribution towards areas where until recently the water was colder. They are species that already inhabited other regions of the Mediterranean, therefore, they are not exotic.
In the Mediterranean Sea, the increase in the abundance of thermophilic biota can be described by two major processes of change involving both native and exotic species: the northward extension and enhancement of native thermophilic species and the introduction and spread of exotic thermophilic species).
Due to the warming of seawater, many autochthonous thermophilic species have greatly expanded their range and are becoming more abundant, especially in the northwestern part of the Mediterranean basin. This is the case, for example, the ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo), which in recent years is much more common to see along the entire Catalan coast; or the case of the barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis), the dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and the sardinella (Sardinella aurita), among other species.
