Impact of invasive corals Tubastrea spp. on native coral recruitment

Miranda, Ricardo J.; Tagliafico, Alejandro; Kelaher, Brendan P.; Mariano‐Neto, Eduardo; Barros, Francisco

doi:10.3354/meps12731

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Regarding impacts, T. coccinea has altered coral reef processes (Miranda et al 2018a), impacted native coral recruitment (Miranda et al 2018b), and displaced native species (Creed 2006). Off the east coast of Brazil, Tubastraea sp.…”

Section: Supplementary Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of Tubastraea coccinea invasion and likelihood of further expansion in the northern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2020

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Invasive species have large economic and ecological impacts and are the leading driver of extinction for both plants and animals worldwide. In the USA, coral reefs, which provide $3.4 billion per year in ecosystem services, are impacted by invasive marine species. One such species is Tubastraea coccinea, which was the first scleractinia to invade the western Atlantic and recently has spread to natural reefs within the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). We document this recent invasion by compiling occurrence records, develop a species distribution model identifying important determinants of invasion, and project potential range expansion. Our results indicate T. coccinea currently is distributed along the GoM coast from the Florida Keys to southern Texas, with documented localities clustered ≈ 100 km off the Louisiana coast and ≈ 200 km off the Texas coast, and sparsely distributed elsewhere. Our species distribution model identified five environmental factors that together contribute > 99% to the overall model. These factors include two surface variables (mean pH and mean calcite, contributing ≈ 40%) and three benthic variables (maximum current velocity, minimum iron, and minimum dissolved oxygen, contributing ≈ 60%). Our model suggests potential habitat for range expansion is distributed mainly within the western portion of the northern GoM, with the highest probabilities of occurrence (0.8 < P < 1.0) clustered along the Texas and Louisiana coasts between 88 and 97°W (near the border between states).

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Section: Supplementary Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tubastraea sp. cover also has reduced native coral recruitment and native adult coral cover (Miranda et al 2018b). Creed (2006) noted that every specimen of the native coral Mussismilia hispida that came within 5 cm of T. coccinea showed signs of necrosis, whereas T. coccinea never exhibited this condition.…”

Section: Supplementary Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of Tubastraea coccinea invasion and likelihood of further expansion in the northern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2020

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“…During the last decades, rocky shore communities on the Brazilian coast have been severely impacted by the invasive scleractinian corals Tubastraea tagusensis, and T. coccinea [1][2][3][4]. The genus Tubastraea was first recorded in the Southwestern Atlantic on oil platforms in the late 1980's [5] and, today its distribution extends for more than 3500 km of the Brazilian coast on natural and artificial substrates [1,[6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The genus Tubastraea was first recorded in the Southwestern Atlantic on oil platforms in the late 1980's [5] and, today its distribution extends for more than 3500 km of the Brazilian coast on natural and artificial substrates [1,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. At some localities, these invasive corals nearly saturate the substrate [12], outcompeting native and endemic species [13], and triggering seascape changes [3,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiome of the Southwestern Atlantic invasive scleractinian coral, Tubastraea tagusensis

et al. 2020

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Background: Commonly known as sun-coral, Tubastraea tagusensis is an azooxanthellate scleractinian coral that successfully invaded the Southwestern Atlantic causing significant seascape changes. Today it is reported to over 3500 km along the Brazilian coast, with several rocky shores displaying high substrate coverage. Apart from its singular invasiveness capacity, the documentation and, therefore, understanding of the role of symbiotic microorganisms in the sun-coral invasion is still scarce. However, in general, the broad and constant relationship between corals and microorganisms led to the development of co-evolution hypotheses. As such, it has been shown that the microbial community responds to environmental factors, adjustment of the holobiont, adapting its microbiome, and improving the hosts' fitness in a short space of time. Here we describe the microbial community (i.e. Bacteria) associated with suncoral larvae and adult colonies from a locality displaying a high invasion development. Results: The usage of high throughput sequencing indicates a great diversity of Bacteria associated with T. tagusensis, with Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Firmicutes corresponding to the majority of the microbiome in all samples. However, T. tagusensis' microbial core consists of only eight genera for colonies, and, within them, three are also present in the sequenced larvae. Overall, the microbiome from colonies sampled at different depths did not show significant differences. The microbiome of the larvae suggests a partial vertical transfer of the microbial core in this species. Conclusion: Although diverse, the microbiome core of adult Tubastraea tagusensis is composed of only eight genera, of which three are transferred from the mother colony to their larvae. The remaining bacteria genera are acquired from the seawater, indicating that they might play a role in the host fitness and, therefore, facilitate the sun-coral invasion in the Southwestern Atlantic.

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“…While lionfish has been recently recorded on the Brazilian coast [8,9], the IAS with most detrimental effects in Brazil are benthic: Isognomon bicolor (C.B. Adams, 1845) (a Caribbean bivalve), Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1830, Tubastraea tagusensis Wells, 1982, Chromonephthea braziliensis van Ofwegen, 2005 (Indo-Pacific corals) and Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1867) (an Indo-Pacific swimming crab) [10][11][12].…”

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confidence: 99%

Predation on the invasive swimming crab Charybdis hellerii (Crustacea, Decapoda) by Myrichthys ocellatus (Actinopterygii, Ophichthidae): the first record of consumption by a native fish

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Vieira

Moraes

et al. 2021

Neotropical Biodiversity

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Charybdis hellerii is an invasive swimming crab widely disseminated in the western Atlantic. This species became a threat to colonized ecosystems, competing with local species for resources. The extension of distribution and increasing population size of C. hellerii has been associated with the scarcity of indigenous predators and cases of predation report octopuses as the main native predators. In this study, we present the first evidence that native fish can consume C. hellerii. 53 individuals of the goldspotted snake eel, Myrichthys ocellatus, were collected at seagrass and macroalgal beds in Pernambuco State, Brazil, and had their stomach contents analyzed. Three juvenile C. hellerii were found along with native prey. Myrichthys ocellatus feeds mainly on small crabs, thus C. hellerii individuals were consumed before reaching sexual maturity. Oppositely to octopuses and other crab predators, M. ocellatus is of little fishing interest and is commonly found in macroalgae beds, seagrass meadows and sandy areas near reefs. Our results suggest that a higher number of carcinophagous taxa may prey on this invasive crab and we emphasize that the conservation of these species is paramount for controlling C. hellerii populations in invaded areas.

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Impact of invasive corals Tubastrea spp. on native coral recruitment

Cited by 25 publications

References 59 publications

Determinants of Tubastraea coccinea invasion and likelihood of further expansion in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Determinants of Tubastraea coccinea invasion and likelihood of further expansion in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Microbiome of the Southwestern Atlantic invasive scleractinian coral, Tubastraea tagusensis

Predation on the invasive swimming crab Charybdis hellerii (Crustacea, Decapoda) by Myrichthys ocellatus (Actinopterygii, Ophichthidae): the first record of consumption by a native fish

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