Marine alien species of South Africa — status and impacts

Robinson, Tamara B.; Griffiths, C.L.; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Rius, Marc

doi:10.2989/18142320509504088

Cited by 237 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(35 reference statements)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to many other regions, only 21 alien marine species are known from South African shores (Robinson et al 2005). Of these, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is the most widespread and ecologically important, occupying over 2000 km of the South African coast (Robinson et al 2005). This species has invaded areas along the Japanese (Wilkins et al 1983), Korean (Suh & Choi 1990), Australian (McDonald et al 1991), Mexican (Ramirez & Cáceros-Martinez 1999), Irish (Gosling & Wilkins 1981) and North American coasts (Rawson et al 1999) and was first recorded along the South African west coast in 1979.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Long-term monitoring of the arrival, expansion and effects of the alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis relative to wave action

Branch

Odendaal²,

Robinson³

2008

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is the most widespread marine alien species along the South African coast. Long-term monitoring of the mid-to-low intertidal zone in the Groen-Spoeg area on the west coast between 1988 and 1993 tracked the establishment and expansion of this aggressive invader along a gradient of wave action. Additionally, the effects of M. galloprovincialis on other dominant species were quantified. The rate of increase and abundance of M. galloprovincialis was promoted by exposure to strong wave action. The tube-building polychaete Gunnarea capensis remained the dominant space occupier on sheltered shores but its density was negatively correlated with the M. galloprovincialis expansion on semi-exposed and exposed shores. In contrast, the indigenous mussel Aulacomya ater demonstrated no significant changes in density over time as it simply became incorporated into the spreading M. galloprovincialis beds. Overall abundance of the grazing limpet Scutellastra granularis was positively affected by the M. galloprovincialis invasion, although adults and recruits occupying primary space showed a negative correlation with M. galloprovincialis abundance, the strength of which increased with wave exposure. Conversely, adults and recruits occurring on secondary space were positively affected by M. galloprovincialis beds, which enhanced settlement. Again the strength of the interaction increased with wave action. Patterns observed in the field therefore indicated that abundance of M. galloprovincialis and its effects on other elements of the fauna were linked with the intensity of wave action. KEY WORDS: Mytilus galloprovincialis · Invasive species · Wave action Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 370: [171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183] 2008 M. galloprovincialis to dominate primary rock surfaces, significantly altering overall community structure (Robinson et al. 2007b) and negatively affecting various competitively inferior limpet species (Branch & Steffani 2004). By excluding the limpet Scutellastra granularis from open rock, M. galloprovincialis has reduced the number of individuals occurring on primary rock space. However, overall S. granularis density has increased due to the favourable settlement and recruitment substratum offered by M. galloprovincialis beds (Griffiths et al. 1992. In the extreme low-shore areas the limpet Scutellastra argenvillei also competes with M. galloprovincialis for space (Steffani & Branch 2005). The strength of this interaction is, however, strongly mediated by wave action (Steffani & Branch 2003a,b). On exposed shores, high growth rates and prolific recruitment enable M. galloprovincialis to outcompete S. argenvillei and dominate primary substratum. However, on semi-exposed shores, the mussel's competitive ability is much reduced and S. argenvillei maintains dominance of open rock space (Steffani & Branch 2003a,b,c, Branch & Steffani 2004.The gregariou...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term monitoring of the arrival, expansion and effects of the alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis relative to wave action

Branch

Odendaal²,

Robinson³

2008

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Economically, the most reported negative impacts are associated with the aquaculture industry. Usually, invasive ascidians reduce harvest and increase production costs owing to competition with and biofouling on cultured species (Robinson et al 2005;McKindsey et al 2007;Adams et al 2011;Fitridge et al 2012;Fletcher et al 2013). For example, up to a 50 % loss in shellfish harvest followed the invasion and population growth of S. clava in eastern Canada (Colautti et al 2006).…”

Section: Negative Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ascidians as models for studying invasion success

et al. 2015

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“…Although economic impacts on shellfish farms are widely reported for C. intestinalis (Lesser at el. 1992, Tan et al 2002, Carver et al 2003, Braithwaite and McEvoy 2004, such impacts by C. robusta have received less attention (but see Robinson et al 2005, Rius et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind the gap – context dependency in invasive species impacts: a case study of the ascidian Ciona robusta

Robinson¹,

Havenga²,

Merwe³

et al. 2017

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In the face of increasing invasions and limited resources, appropriate management of invasive species requires prioritisation of species for management action. This process often relies on knowledge of species specific impacts. However, as studies explicitly measuring impact of marine alien species are rare, prioritisation of management actions is often based on studies from outside the geographic area of interest. Further, few impact studies account for context dependency (e.g. seasonal variability or distinct environmental regimes), raising the question of how transferrable knowledge about the impact of a species is between invaded ranges. This study addressed this question by using the widespread invasive solitary ascidian Ciona robusta as a case study for assessing impacts across two invaded regions: South Africa and California, USA. We replicated a previously conducted experiment from California that showed that C. robusta depresses local species richness in San Francisco Bay. Our South African experiment showed no effect of C. robusta on species richness, the Shannon-Weiner diversity index or community composition, despite experiments being carried out over two years and at two depths. While these results may reflect strong density dependency in the impact of C. robusta, they serve to highlight context dependency in invasive species impacts. This suggests that until studies of impact in marine systems become common place, context dependency should be explicitly addressed as a source of uncertainty during the prioritisation of species for management action.

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Marine alien species of South Africa — status and impacts

Cited by 237 publications

References 48 publications

Long-term monitoring of the arrival, expansion and effects of the alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis relative to wave action

Long-term monitoring of the arrival, expansion and effects of the alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis relative to wave action

Ascidians as models for studying invasion success

Mind the gap – context dependency in invasive species impacts: a case study of the ascidian Ciona robusta

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