As Invasive Species
In the late 1980s the ctenophore species Mnemiopsis leidyi was introduced into the Black Sea, probably through ballast water, which led to the collapse of the local anchovy population. In 1997 another ctenophore species arrived--Beroe ovata, a predator of Mnemiopsis leidyi. The Beroe population underwent an initial explosion, until the numbers of both ctenophores stabilized. Nevertheless, both Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata remain today in the Black Sea. The same phenomenon is occurring at the beginning of the 21st century in the Caspian Sea.
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