First Record of Presence of the Invasive Land Flatworm &lt;em&gt;Platydemus manokwari&lt;/em&gt; (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe

Justine, Jean‐Lou; Winsor, Leigh

doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0023.v1

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The species preys on molluscs and earthworms and might be a threat to the biodiversity of soil animals, especially molluscs which include endemic and rare species in the Caribbean islands ( Delannoye et al, 2015 ). However, no proliferation was recorded and the threat may be minor, but it might also be that A. expatria is only in the first stages of invasion and that it will become an invading species in the future; similarly, recent observations have shown that the highly invasive species Platydemus manokwari is now invading Guadeloupe ( Justine & Winsor, 2020 ). The presence of A. expatria in two islands of the Caribbean suggests that it might be present in other islands, and perhaps in continental North America.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2003, one of us (JLJ) undertook a citizen science program in France about alien land flatworms. Records were unexpectedly received from other locations including French overseas territories ( Justine et al, 2014 , 2015 , 2018a , 2018b , 2019 ; Justine & Winsor, 2020 ). Among these were several records of large land flatworms from the two Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe with similar dimensions and pigmentation to A. expatria and tentatively identified as such.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome

Justine

Gey

Thévenot

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Background The land flatworm Amaga expatria Jones & Sterrer, 2005 (Geoplanidae) was described from two specimens collected in Bermuda in 1963 and 1988 and not recorded since. Methods On the basis of a citizen science project, we received observations in the field, photographs and specimens from non-professionals and local scientists in Martinique and Guadeloupe. We barcoded (COI) specimens from both islands and studied the histology of the reproductive organs of one specimen. Based on Next Generation Sequencing, we obtained the complete mitogenome of A. expatria and some information on its prey from contaminating DNA. Results We add records from 2006 to 2019 in two French islands of the Caribbean arc, Guadeloupe (six records) and Martinique (14 records), based on photographs obtained from citizen science and specimens examined. A specimen from Martinique was studied for histology of the copulatory organs and barcoded for the COI gene; its anatomy was similar to the holotype, therefore confirming species identification. The COI gene was identical for several specimens from Martinique and Guadeloupe and differed from the closest species by more than 10%; molecular characterisation of the species is thus possible by standard molecular barcoding techniques. The mitogenome is 14,962 bp in length and contains 12 protein coding genes, two rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes; for two protein genes it was not possible to determine the start codon. The mitogenome was compared with the few available mitogenomes from geoplanids and the most similar was Obama nungara, a species from South America. An analysis of contaminating DNA in the digestive system suggests that A. expatria preys on terrestrial molluscs, and citizen science observations in the field suggest that prey include molluscs and earthworms; the species thus could be a threat to biodiversity of soil animals in the Caribbean.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome

Justine

Gey

Thévenot

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted February 16, 2022. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.14.480416 doi: bioRxiv preprint similar situation was found for the New Guinea flatworm, Platydemus manokwari. Only two years after the first report (Justine & Winsor, 2020), it was found that the flatworm had already invaded most of Guadeloupe (Justine et al, 2021). Similarly, the invasive flatworm Amaga expatria was found in many locations in the two islands (Justine et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The invasive land flatworm Obama nungara in La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, the first report of the species for Africa

Justine

Marie²,

Gastineau

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The land flatworm Obama nungara, a species originating from South America and already invasive in many European countries, is recorded from La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. This is the first record of O. nungara from this locality and also the first record of the species for Africa. Two specimens were collected, one from Petite France (commune of Saint Paul) and one from La Plaine des Grègues (commune of Saint Joseph); the two localities are widely separated, one in the Western part and one in the South-eastern part of the island. This suggests that the species is already present in several locations in La Réunion. The sightings were communicated to us in 2021, but it is likely that the species is already present since 2020. A molecular analysis of the specimen from Petite France showed that it had the same cox1 haplotype as specimens previously recorded from several countries of Europe; it is hypothesized that the species was imported from Europe, probably from France. We mapped climatic suitability of the species in La Réunion and found that O. nungara could potentially invade a large part of the island. One record was apparently associated with the transport of plates of travertine, a construction material which has numerous cavities, suitable for the transport and survival of adult or cocoons of land flatworms.

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“…Platydemus manokwari is present on many other islands and archipelagos in the Indo-Pacific, as well as in Puerto Rico, Florida, Australia, France, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Guadeloupe (see references in [ 17 , 64 , 66 , 67 , 68 ]). With notable exceptions, most of these introductions of P. manokwari were probably accidental, but clearly P. manokwari is a voracious polyphagous species [ 63 ] and substantial non-target impacts are to be expected from its introduction.…”

Section: Historical Review: Biocontrol Of Non-marine Molluscs In Oceaniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Control of Pest Non-Marine Molluscs: A Pacific Perspective on Risks to Non-Target Organisms

Christensen

Cowie

Yeung

et al. 2021

Insects

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Classic biological control of pest non-marine mollusks has a long history of disastrous outcomes, and despite claims to the contrary, few advances have been made to ensure that contemporary biocontrol efforts targeting mollusks are safe and effective. For more than half a century, malacologists have warned of the dangers in applying practices developed in the field of insect biological control, where biocontrol agents are often highly host-specific, to the use of generalist predators and parasites against non-marine mollusk pests. Unfortunately, many of the lessons that should have been learned from these failed biocontrol programs have not been rigorously applied to contemporary efforts. Here, we briefly review the failures of past non-marine mollusk biocontrol efforts in the Pacific islands and their adverse environmental impacts that continue to reverberate across ecosystems. We highlight the fact that none of these past programs has ever been demonstrated to be effective against targeted species, and at least two (the snails Euglandina spp. and the flatworm Platydemus manokwari) are implicated in the extinction of hundreds of snail species endemic to Pacific islands. We also highlight other recent efforts, including the proposed use of sarcophagid flies and nematodes in the genus Phasmarhabditis, that clearly illustrate the false claims that past bad practices are not being repeated. We are not making the claim that biocontrol programs can never be safe and effective. Instead, we hope that in highlighting the need for robust controls, clear and measurable definitions of success, and a broader understanding of ecosystem level interactions within a rigorous scientific framework are all necessary before claims of success can be made by biocontrol advocates. Without such amendments to contemporary biocontrol programs, it will be impossible to avoid repeating the failures of non-marine mollusk biocontrol programs to date.

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First Record of Presence of the Invasive Land Flatworm <em>Platydemus manokwari</em> (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome

The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome

The invasive land flatworm Obama nungara in La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, the first report of the species for Africa

Biological Control of Pest Non-Marine Molluscs: A Pacific Perspective on Risks to Non-Target Organisms

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