Welcome to the Cocos Island National Park Non-native Estuarine and Marine Organisms (CocoNEMO) database!

Overview

CocoNEMO provides information on introduced marine and estuarine invertebrates and fishes with established populations surrounding Cocos Island National Park, 550 km off of Costa Rica's Pacific shores in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. CocoNEMO is a joint effort by the Smithsonian Institution's Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Charles Darwin Foundation to document the distribution of nonindigenous (non-native) species in Cocos Island National Park's coastal waters, and supported by the Smithsonian Institution. The baseline inventory is supplemented by existing data and includes historical surveys and literature sources. To keep the data as accessible as possible records from Cocos Island National Park are merged into the National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System (NEMESIS).

The database contains a brief overview of each species, including its taxonomy, occurrence records, distribution, and history of spread. The creation of CocoNEMO draws upon years of research and literature review, and remains an ongoing project. Records are updated as new species are reported and new research is available.

Species records include:

• Photographic images and descriptions
• History of introduction and spread
• Mechanisms (vectors) of introduction; how species may move from one place to another
• Information on the biology, ecology, and effects of introduction (impacts)
• Global distribution maps of native and introduced range(s)
• References to available literature for species and invasion information

How to search the data

Species can be searched directly in the search bar located in the upper righthand corner with genus and/or species name, or by common name if known. Use wildcard characters around the search input (%) if only part of the name is known. For example %poly% will return all species with "poly" in the name, plus the taxonomic group "polycheates". Species can also be searched by taxonomic group or from the 'All Taxa' page.

Species status definitions

Species status is the combination of two conditions: Invasion Status and Population Status.

Invasion Status Invasion status refers to the geographical limit range of a species; whether a species is considered native, non-native, or its native origin is uncertain or unknown (cryptogenic) in a particular geographic area. It does not relate to how many organisms are present in a given area.

Native A species that is considered native, endemic or indigenous to a particular region.

Non-native A species that is not native or is non-indigenous to a particular region; it is found outside its native or historical range.

Cryptogenic A species whose historical geographic origin is uncertain/unknown and therefore its status is unclear for a given region.

Population Status Population status refers to the presence or absence of a non-native organism in a certain number of specimens, or the maintenance of some form of population within its non-native region.

Eradicated A non-native population that was eliminated by human intervention.

Established A non-native species determined to have a sustained population within its introduced region. This includes multiple observations of an organism and/or evidence of its reproduction (aka presence of larvae or juveniles, eggs or gametes), and/or evidence of its survival over time. Maintaining populations can also include human mediated stocking of organisms, such as for fisheries.

Extinct A previously established population that died off on its own and now is not found within the geographic bounds of a region.

Failed A species whose presence was either a known introduction into a new region, or had been observed at some point in time, but was unable to sustain its presence through survival or reproduction, and therefore was never established.

Unknown A species whose status for a given region is not known at present, usually due to lack of information such as no recorded information within the past 20--30 years, or for more recent introductions, too few records to determine its status. A species may have been collected or observed but it is unclear whether that species is established yet.

Cite CocoNEMO

Fofonoff PW, Ruiz GM, Steves B, Keith I, Carlton JT. 2022. Cocos Island National Park Non-native Estuarine and Marine Organisms (CocoNEMO) System. https://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/coconemo. Access Date:

I found a mistake in a record

Please contact nemesis@si.edu for any questions or comments pertaining to a species record.