Mumbai harbour, India: gateway for introduction of marine organisms

Abstract

Ships have been identified as one of the important vectors in the translocation of organisms from one bioregion to another leading to bioinvasion. In this context, harbours serve as a gateway for the introduction of alien species. Surveys were carried out in the vicinity of ports of Mumbai for macrobenthic fauna, zooplankton and hard substratum community on three different occasions during 2001-2002. The study shows that 14 polychaete species are recently introduced to this area. Mytilopsis sallei, a bivalve, which is an invasive species in the Indian context continued to be present but was restricted to enclosed docks, indicating preference for embayed water bodies. The polychaete Protula tubularia was abundant in the hard substratum community and is being reported as a possible ship-mediated introduction.

The genetic structure of the exotic ascidian Styela plicata (Tunicata) from Italian ports, with a re‐appraisal of its worldwide genetic pattern

“…A particular type of pollution occurring in port environments is biological pollution or, in other words, the presence of non‐indigenous species (Carlton & Geller ), for which ports are considered hotspots of introduction (Gaonkar et al . ; Sylvester et al . ).…”

“…From an ecological perspective, port environments are special ecosystems whose biological communities are capable of adapting to stress resulting from environmental unpredictability, such as the occurrence of water pollution from accidental causes (Cognetti & Maltagliati 2005). A particular type of pollution occurring in port environments is biological pollution or, in other words, the presence of non-indigenous species (Carlton & Geller 1993), for which ports are considered hotspots of introduction (Gaonkar et al 2010;Sylvester et al 2011). Within this framework, one of the most intriguing problems of port ecology is to assess to what extent vessel-mediated dispersal may contribute to the spread of benthic invertebrate species.…”

Marine Invasive Alien Crustaceans of India

“…However, the possibility that they could be undergoing a lag phase cannot be ruled out. This is the first comprehensive list on crustacean invasive species from Indian maritime ecosystems [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. An invasive species is one which has been introduced from one geographical location to another through human agency and upon establishment has a tendency to spread (invade), causing damage to the environment, man-made structure and human health or economy.…”

“…Nannocalanus minor (Claus, 1863) Calanidae Exotic -Gaonkar et al [6] 29 Cosmocalanus sp. Calanidae --Gaonkar et al [6] 30 Paracalanus sp.…”

“…Calanidae --Gaonkar et al [6] 30 Paracalanus sp. Calanidae --Gaonkar et al [6] 31 Tortanus sp. Tortanidae --Gaonkar et al [6] …”