A tropical eastern Pacific invasive brittle star species (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) reaches southeastern Florida

Glynn, Peter W.; Alitto, Renata; Dominguez, Joshua; Christensen, Ana B.; Gillette, Phillip; Martínez, Nicolás; Riegl, Bernhard; Dettloff, Kyle

doi:10.1016/bs.amb.2020.08.010

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Marked variability occurred in epizoite densities in the 16 collections over the 19-month sampling period as reported in prior studies in southeast Florida (Glynn et al 2020). For individuals of O. mirabilis and C. waltoni this is probably in part a re ection of the patchy occurrence and the sampling protocol for these species; the identical octocoral patches, colonies, and branches were not repeatedly sampled at the Dania Beach study site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Our systematic surveys over a one-year period have demonstrated the presence of individuals of O. mirabilis at moderate to high abundances from Hollywood Beach to West Palm Beach, a distance along the coast of about 78 km. The clusters of high survey abundances immediately north and about 4 km south of the entrance to Port Everglades lend support to the hypothesized localized introduction of this exotic ophiuroid via high volume ship tra c (Glynn et al 2020) An ecological niche model analysis, employed by Derviche et al (2021), based on current O. mirabilis distributions and abundances, predicted suitable western Atlantic habitats beyond present-day occurrences and widespread dispersion and range expansion in the future. They reported that the occurrence of O. mirabilis correlates chie y with mean calcite concentration and mean sea surface temperature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…These octocoral species were the only two found consistently hosting both the non-native ophiuroid Ophiothela mirabilis Verrill, 1867 and the endemic benthic ctenophore Coeloplana waltoni Glynn, Bayer & Renegar, 2014. The common beige color morph of O,mirabilis was employed in this experiment (Glynn et al 2020). The experimental animals were collected off Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida (26.1920°N; 80.0964°W) on 27 October 2020 at 4-5 meters depth.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exotic Brittle Star Interactions With Native Octocoral Epizoites: An Endemic Benthic Ctenophore in Peril?

Glynn

Coffman

Detloff

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Widespread and large populations of the exotic eastern Pacific ophiuroid brittle star Opthiothela mirabilis now occur in southeastern Florida, extending the range of this recently introduced species from southern Brazil northward to the eastern Caribbean Sea and Florida. The Florida brittle stars, representing two lineages, are epibionts on shallow (3-18 m depth), tropical/subtropical plexaurid (e.g., Eunicea spp., Muricea elongata) and gorgoniid (Antillogorgia spp.) octocorals. The scope of this study includes recent distributional records of O. mirabilis in south Florida, field abundances in relation to the cohabiting endemic ctenophore Coeloplana waltoni, behavioral observations of the ophiuroid, ctenophore and the predatory amphipod Caprella penantis, as well as a laboratory experiment testing the effects of the alien ophiuroid on the native ctenophore. Individuals of O. mirabilis have been collected near St. Lucie Inlet, extending its northern-most range by about 110 km since 2019. Two years of field sampling have demonstrated significant declines of the native, benthic ctenophore with increasing abundances of the exotic ophiuroid. Evidence suggests that the ophiuroid is negatively affecting the abundances of the ctenophore through interference competition, greatly aided by its abrasive armature of calcareous spines, plates and hooks. Sporadic and intense predation by a caprellid amphipod (Caprella penantis) also probably contributes to the ctenophore’s decline, but to a lesser extent than that caused by the ophiuroid. Adding to the risk of extinction of C. waltoni is its narrow requirement of living octocorals as hosts and restricted distribution in southeast Florida and the Bahamas.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exotic Brittle Star Interactions With Native Octocoral Epizoites: An Endemic Benthic Ctenophore in Peril?

Glynn

Coffman

Detloff

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In south Florida, O. mirabilis has a higher occurrence on octocorals than other benthos (Glynn et al 2020). Studies addressing the invasive status of O. mirabilis are few, suggesting damage to octocoral host tissues (Ferry et al 2020) and a competitive impact on co-occurring benthic ctenophores (Glynn et al 2020(Glynn et al , 2021. Based on the negative impacts to benthic ctenophores in the present study, we believe it is appropriate to regard the non-native ophiuroid as an invasive species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Individuals of O. mirabilis are vagile, highly active epizoites usually associated with diverse benthic taxa, especially octocorals and sponges (Mantelatto et al 2016;Fortunato and Lôbo-Hajdu 2021;Tavares et al 2021). In south Florida, O. mirabilis has a higher occurrence on octocorals than other benthos (Glynn et al 2020). Studies addressing the invasive status of O. mirabilis are few, suggesting damage to octocoral host tissues (Ferry et al 2020) and a competitive impact on co-occurring benthic ctenophores (Glynn et al 2020(Glynn et al , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-native brittle star interactions with native octocoral epizoites: an endemic benthic ctenophore in peril?

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Widespread and large populations of the non-native eastern Pacific ophiuroid brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis now occur in southeastern Florida, extending the range of this recently introduced species from southern Brazil northward to the eastern Caribbean Sea and Florida. The Florida brittle stars, representing two lineages, are epibionts on shallow (3-18 m depth), tropical/subtropical plexaurid (e.g., Eunicea spp., Muricea spp.) and gorgoniid (Antillogorgia spp.) octocorals. The scope of this study includes recent distributional records of O. mirabilis in south Florida, field abundances in relation to the cohabiting endemic ctenophore Coeloplana waltoni, behavioral observations of the ophiuroid, ctenophore and the predatory amphipod Caprella penantis, as well as a laboratory experiment testing the effects of the non-native ophiuroid on the native ctenophore. Individuals of O. mirabilis have been collected near St. Lucie Inlet, extending its northern-most range by about 110 km since 2019. Two years of field sampling have demonstrated significant declines of the native, benthic ctenophore with increasing abundances of the non-native ophiuroid. Evidence suggests that the ophiuroid is negatively affecting the abundances of the ctenophore through interference competition, greatly aided by its abrasive armature of calcareous spines, plates and hooks. This detrimental effect justifies considering O. mirabilis as an invasive species in south Florida. Sporadic and intense predation by a caprellid amphipod also probably contributes to the ctenophore's decline, but to a lesser extent than that caused by the ophiuroid. Adding to the risk of extinction of C. waltoni is its narrow requirement of living octocorals as hosts and restricted distribution in southeast Florida and the Bahamas.

show abstract

Experimental evidence of minimal effects on octocoral hosts caused by the introduced ophiuroid Ophiothela mirabilis

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A tropical eastern Pacific invasive brittle star species (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) reaches southeastern Florida

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

Exotic Brittle Star Interactions With Native Octocoral Epizoites: An Endemic Benthic Ctenophore in Peril?

Exotic Brittle Star Interactions With Native Octocoral Epizoites: An Endemic Benthic Ctenophore in Peril?

Non-native brittle star interactions with native octocoral epizoites: an endemic benthic ctenophore in peril?

Experimental evidence of minimal effects on octocoral hosts caused by the introduced ophiuroid Ophiothela mirabilis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About