Detection of introduced sessile species on the near shore continental shelf in southern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Invasion by marine species, often considered a grave threat to marine ecosystems, occurs throughout the world as a consequence of many anthropogenic activities. In coastal Paraná, many factors including shipping, aquaculture and the use of artificial substrates provide suitable environments for the establishment and rapid spread of introduced marine species. To better understand this process, the encrusting community was studied on polyethylene plates (n = 120, 10 x 10 cm) that were placed seasonally at fixed locations on the inner continental shelf to detect non-native species. Of the 62 taxa found, 40 were identified to species, 14 of which were native, 9 introduced and 17 cryptogenic.

Biodiversity of benthic macroinvertebrates on hard substrates in the Currais Marine Protected Area, in southern Brazil

“…(Rocha & Faria 2005). Also, the NIS Ascidia tenue Monniot, 1983 was only found on recruitment plates in /2009(Bumbeer & Rocha 2012. Usually, NIS populations fluctuate widely, so the absence of a few in the present study was not that surprising.…”

“…However, that being said, these two types of substrate still had 45 species in common. Two prior studies at the Currais MPA used recruitment plates to evaluate colonization of invertebrates (Brandini & Silva 2011, Bumbeer & Rocha 2012, including time in their survey of species. Those studies found mostly pioneer species, that are likely to be due to propagule supply rather than to the already developed community.…”

“…This process may also explain the little species overlap between those studies and this (Table 2). Additionally, the former study used plates of the same material as the ARs that were fixed close to the bottom (Brandini & Silva 2011), while the latter used polyethylene plates suspended in the water column (Bumbeer & Rocha 2012). Thus, the studies were different with respect to substrate composition, movement and orientation, and these differences are likely to have caused different suit of species reported in each (Glasby & Connell 2001).…”

“…Previous studies of the marine environment tended to focus on the ichthyofauna (Félix & Harckradt 2008, Harckradt & Félix-Harckradt 2009, Daros et al 2012. Only one study examined the soft bottom infauna (Lorenzi & Borzone 2009), three examined benthic invertebrates on hard substrates, one of ascidians (Rocha & Faria 2005) and two experimental studies on temporal colonization of artificial substrates near the islands (Brandini & Silva 2011, Bumbeer & Rocha 2012. Since the creation of the MPA, there has been only one study of marine biota, which examined the algal community (Pellizzari et al 2014).…”

The non-indigenous bryozoan Triphyllozoon (Cheilostomata: Phidoloporidae) in the Atlantic: morphology and dispersion on the Brazilian coast

“…This is in part a consequence of anthropogenic transport of species to areas beyond their native habitats and natural home ranges, mainly by ballast water and fouling of hulls of ships and oceanic platforms (MARINS et al 2010, BUMBEER & ROCHA 2012. Shipping activities are recognized as the main source of species' introductions in marine habitats (MACKIE et al 2006, IGNACIO et al 2010, BUMBEER & ROCHA 2012, and in the Atlantic, the number of non-indigenous marine fouling species is increasing, especially in ports and harbors (MCCANN et al 2007, MARINS et al 2010.…”