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Soares MO, Garcia TM, Giarrizzo T, Filho JEM, Tavares TCL, Ziveri P, Smith TB, Bejarano S, Teixeira CEP. Marine debris provide long-distance pathways for spreading invasive corals. Sci Total Environ 2023; 900:165637. [PMID: 37490944 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic marine debris and invasive species are pervasive in the ocean. However, research on the mechanisms and dynamics controlling their distribution in marine systems (e.g.; by floating debris acting as vectors for invasive species) is limited. Applying a numerical modeling approach, we demonstrate that rafting invasive corals (Tubastraea spp.) can be transported over long distances and reach important tropical receptor regions. In <180 days, buoyant debris can cover distances between 264 and 7170 km moving from the Brazilian semiarid coast to the Amazon coast and reaching eight regions in the Wider Caribbean (mainly the Eastern Caribbean and Greater Antilles). Analyzing 48 simulated scenarios (4 years × 3 depths × 4 months), we demonstrate that in ~86 % of the scenarios the particles are stranded in the Caribbean and in ~71 % they end up in the Amazon coast. Our results showed litter floating trajectories at 0-10 m water depth, transported every year to the Caribbean province. However, in August this transport is frequently blocked by the retroflection of the North Brazil Current adjacent to the Amazon River estuarine plume. Our results indicate routes for fast and long-distance transport of litter-rafting invasive species. We hypothesized a high risk of bioinvasion on important marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs) likely becoming increasingly threatened by these invasive species and debris. This highlights the imperative need for an ocean governance shift in prevention, control, and eradication, not only focused on local actions to prevent the spread of invasive species but also a broad international action to decrease and mitigate marine debris pollution globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo O Soares
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil; Reef Systems Research Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany; Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES), University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Saint Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, United States of America.
| | - Tatiane M Garcia
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Tommaso Giarrizzo
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo Martinelli Filho
- Centro de Estudos Avançados da Biodiversidade (CEABIO) and Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Tallita C L Tavares
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Patrizia Ziveri
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra 08193, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain
| | - Tyler B Smith
- Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES), University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Saint Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, United States of America
| | - Sonia Bejarano
- Reef Systems Research Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany
| | - Carlos Eduardo Peres Teixeira
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil; Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra 08193, Spain
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2
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Hoeksema BW, Samimi-Namin K, McFadden CS, Rocha RM, van Ofwegen LP, Hiemstra AF, Vermeij MJA. Non-native coral species dominate the fouling community on a semi-submersible platform in the southern Caribbean. Mar Pollut Bull 2023; 194:115354. [PMID: 37573671 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
A coral community was examined on a semi-submersible platform that was moored at the leeward side of Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean, from August 2016 until August 2017. This community included several non-native or cryptogenic species. Among them were two scleractinian corals (Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis) and two octocorals (Chromonephthea sp. and an unidentified Nephtheidae sp.). This is the first reported presence of T. tagusensis in the southern Caribbean, and the genus Chromonephthea in the Caribbean region. An ascidian, Perophora cf. regina, is also reported from the southern Caribbean for the first time, as well as a coral-associated vermetid gastropod, Petaloconchus sp., first recorded in the Caribbean in 2014. Lack of biofouling management could potentially harm indigenous marine fauna through the introduction of non-native species. Therefore monitoring communities associated with semi-submersible platforms is essential to track the presence and dispersal of non-native, potentially invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bert W Hoeksema
- Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Kaveh Samimi-Namin
- Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK; Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | | | - Rosana M Rocha
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19020, 81531-980 Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Leen P van Ofwegen
- Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Auke-Florian Hiemstra
- Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Mark J A Vermeij
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; CARMABI Foundation, P.O. Box 2090, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, Curaçao
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Soares MDO, Salani S, Paiva SV, Braga MDA. Shipwrecks help invasive coral to expand range in the Atlantic Ocean. Mar Pollut Bull 2020; 158:111394. [PMID: 32753180 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The invasive coral Tubastraea tagusensis (sun coral) is a habitat-forming species currently increasing its geographical range into the Atlantic Ocean, thereby causing negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Scuba divers observed this coral in the western equatorial Atlantic in January 2020, growing at high densities on a shipwreck from World War II (sunk in 1943) at a depth of approximately 32 m. Available footage from the beginning of the decade (2012-2018) shows no obvious signs of sun coral on this shipwreck, suggesting recent colonization and range expansion. The recent evidence of expansion was found 200 km east of the last record, which was also found on a WWII shipwreck (sunk in 1942) in 2016. We have identified hundreds of overlooked WWII shipwrecks, as well as new wrecks in shallow and mesophotic waters, that may provide stepping-stone habitats for this coral to expand its distribution in the Atlantic. We discuss the role of shipwrecks as a network of stepping stones for the sun coral spread, creating complementary paths for the invasiveness by overcoming physiological traits and the short lifespan of the coral larvae. Previous research underestimates the importance of these artificial stepping-stone patches in sustaining crucial dispersal events and range expansion of invasive species. These results are a call to action to manage the invasive Tubastraea corals at a national and international scale in the Atlantic basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo de Oliveira Soares
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar-LABOMAR, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil; Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Carrer de les Columnes, Edifici Z, Cerdanyolla del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain; Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali (DISTEBA), Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy.
| | - Sula Salani
- TAXPO - Laboratório de Taxonomia de Porifera, Departamento de Invertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratório de Bentos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Bloco E, s/n, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Sandra Vieira Paiva
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar-LABOMAR, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Marcus Davis Andrade Braga
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar-LABOMAR, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil; Mar do Ceará Ltda., Fortaleza, Brazil
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Luz BLP, Di Domenico M, Migotto AE, Kitahara MV. Life-history traits of Tubastraea coccinea: Reproduction, development, and larval competence. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6223-6238. [PMID: 32724509 PMCID: PMC7381571 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The sun coral Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829 (Dendrophylliidae) is a widely distributed shallow-water scleractinian that has extended its range to non-native habitats in recent decades. With its rapid spread, this coral is now one of the main invasive species in Brazil. Its high invasive capability is related to opportunistic characteristics, including several reproductive strategies that have allowed it to disperse rapidly and widely. To better understand the reproductive biology of T. coccinea and aid in developing management strategies for invaded areas, we investigated aspects of its reproductive performance and life cycle, including the effects of colony size, seawater temperature and salinity, and lunar periodicity on offspring production and larval metamorphosis competence. A total of 18,139 offspring were released in different developmental stages, mainly from the larger colonies, which also produced larvae with longer competence periods. The main reproductive peak occurred during the First Quarter and New Moon phases and was highest in water temperatures around 26°C. Together, these results help to explain the rapid expansion of T. coccinea into non-native habitats such as the Caribbean and southwestern Atlantic, and will inform actions of the recent Brazilian National Plan for the prevention, eradication, control, and monitoring of sun corals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruna L. P. Luz
- Coastal and Ocean Systems Graduate ProgramFederal University of ParanáPontal do ParanáBrazil
- Center for Marine BiologyUniversity of São PauloSão SebastiãoBrazil
| | - Maikon Di Domenico
- Coastal and Ocean Systems Graduate ProgramFederal University of ParanáPontal do ParanáBrazil
| | | | - Marcelo V. Kitahara
- Coastal and Ocean Systems Graduate ProgramFederal University of ParanáPontal do ParanáBrazil
- Center for Marine BiologyUniversity of São PauloSão SebastiãoBrazil
- Institute of Marine ScienceFederal University of São PauloSantosBrazil
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Capel KCC, López C, Moltó-Martín I, Zilberberg C, Creed JC, Knapp ISS, Hernández M, Forsman ZH, Toonen RJ, Kitahara MV. Atlantia, a new genus of Dendrophylliidae (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Scleractinia) from the eastern Atlantic. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8633. [PMID: 32211227 PMCID: PMC7081789 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Atlantia is described as a new genus pertaining to the family Dendrophylliidae (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) based on specimens from Cape Verde, eastern Atlantic. This taxon was first recognized as Enallopsammia micranthus and later described as a new species, Tubastraea caboverdiana, which then changed the status of the genus Tubastraea as native to the Atlantic Ocean. Here, based on morphological and molecular analyses, we compare fresh material of T. caboverdiana to other dendrophylliid genera and describe it as a new genus named Atlantia in order to better accommodate this species. Evolutionary reconstruction based on two mitochondrial and one nuclear marker for 67 dendrophylliids and one poritid species recovered A. caboverdiana as an isolated clade not related to Tubastraea and more closely related to Dendrophyllia cornigera and Leptopsammia pruvoti. Atlantia differs from Tubastraea by having a phaceloid to dendroid growth form with new corallites budding at an acute angle from the theca of a parent corallite. The genus also has normally arranged septa (not Portualès Plan), poorly developed columella, and a shallow-water distribution all supporting the classification as a new genus. Our results corroborate the monophyly of the genus Tubastraea and reiterate the Atlantic non-indigenous status for the genus. In the light of the results presented herein, we recommend an extensive review of shallow-water dendrophylliids from the Eastern Atlantic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kátia C C Capel
- Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil.,Coral-Sol Research, Technological Development and Innovation Network, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Cataixa López
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Microbiología, Biología Celular y Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Irene Moltó-Martín
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Microbiología, Biología Celular y Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Carla Zilberberg
- Coral-Sol Research, Technological Development and Innovation Network, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Joel C Creed
- Coral-Sol Research, Technological Development and Innovation Network, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ingrid S S Knapp
- School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, United States of America
| | - Mariano Hernández
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Microbiología, Biología Celular y Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Zac H Forsman
- School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, United States of America
| | - Robert J Toonen
- School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, United States of America
| | - Marcelo V Kitahara
- Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil.,Departamento de Ciências do Mar, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
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Costa TJF, Pinheiro HT, Teixeira JB, Mazzei EF, Bueno L, Hora MSC, Joyeux JC, Carvalho-Filho A, Amado-Filho G, Sampaio CLS, Rocha LA. Expansion of an invasive coral species over Abrolhos Bank, Southwestern Atlantic. Mar Pollut Bull 2014; 85:252-253. [PMID: 24975092 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Invasive coral species of the genus Tubastraea have been increasingly recorded in Southwestern Atlantic waters since the 1980s. Their invasion and infestation are mainly related to port and oil exploration activities. For the first time the presence of Tubastraea tagusensis colonies is reported in Espírito Santo State, colonizing a port shore area, and incrusting oil/gas platform structures situated in the southern Abrolhos Bank, which is part of the most important coral reef system of the South Atlantic Ocean. Tubastraea colonies exhibit fast growth and high recruitment rates, and colonized 40% of the analyzed structures in just four years. The projection of port and oil/gas industry growth for the Espírito Santo State (more than 300%) highlights an alert to the dispersal of this alien species to natural areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago J F Costa
- Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, Av. Cel. Schwab Filho 104/501, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil.
| | - Hudson T Pinheiro
- Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, Av. Cel. Schwab Filho 104/501, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - João Batista Teixeira
- Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, Av. Cel. Schwab Filho 104/501, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil; Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia 45662-900, Brazil
| | - Eric F Mazzei
- Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, Av. Cel. Schwab Filho 104/501, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil; Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29090-600, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Bueno
- Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29090-600, Brazil
| | - Mike S C Hora
- Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29090-600, Brazil
| | - Jean-Christophe Joyeux
- Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29090-600, Brazil
| | | | - Gilberto Amado-Filho
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22460-030, Brazil
| | - Claudio L S Sampaio
- Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Unidade de Ensino Penedo, Penedo, Alagoas 57200-000, Brazil
| | - Luiz A Rocha
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
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