Tubastraea coccinea

Invasion History

First Non-native Panama (Caribbean) Tidal Record: 1953

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Panama Invasion History:

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Invasion history elsewhere in the world:

Tubastraea coccinea reached Jamaica by 1955 (Cairns 2000) and by the 1970s was found on the southern coast of the Caribbean. By 1999 it had reached Belize and Cozumne (Fenner 2001). In Brazil, T. coccinea was first found on offshore oil rigs over the Campos Basin in Brazil, north of Rio de Janeiro (1990, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004). In 2008, this coral was found 130 km further south, in the Buzios and Vittoria Islands (Mantelatto et al. 2011). Also in 2008, T. coccinea was found on shipwrecks, marinas, and coral reefs near Salvador, Bahia, about 1200 km north (Sampaio et al. 2012). On the coast of Brazil, this coral now ranges over 3500 km. Some genotypes are widespread, but there is evidence for multiple introductions, particularly on offshore oil platforms arriving from the Indo-Pacific (Capel et al. 2019). Tubastraea concinnea has been identified and is spreading in the Canary Islands, wiht a first record in 2015 (Brito et al. 2017; Lopez et al. 2019). It has been reported from West Africa, from the Cape Verde Islands and the Gulf of Guinea, but the identification is questionable (Cairns 2001). The Cape Verde-West African form has been recognized as a new genus and species, Atlantia caboverdiensis (Capel et al. 2020).

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Description

Tubastraea coccinea is an azooxanthellate coral (lacking symbiotic algae), which grows in colonies consisting of clumps of calcareous cups, projecting from a spongy calcareous base. The corallite (calcareous wall around a single polyp) is cylindrical, up to 11 mm in diameter, and may be flush with the colony skeleton (coenosteum) or project up to 4 cm above it. The synapticulotheca (wall of the corallite) is porous and lacks a covering layer (epitheca). The corallite skeleton is white, with poorly defined ribs. The interior of the corallite is partly divided by septa, projecting into the body cavity; there are four kinds of septa, of varying width (S1>S2 >S3>S4), which are arranged in cycles around the opening of the corallite. There are 48 septa. The septa do not protrude on the exterior of the corallite. There is a prominent columella, a projection of the skeleton in the center of the corallite. The body of the polyp itself is deep red or orange, while the tentacles are yellow to bright orange (description from: Kaplan 1988; Cairns 2000; Figueira de Paula and Creed 2004).

The colonies of T. coccinea can vary greatly in arrangement, probably as a result of their environment. They can be cerioid, composed of corallites united directly to one another by fused walls, with corallites that are juxtaposed; plocoid, composed of more or less cylindrical corallites having distinct walls, and the coenosteum separates corallites within a colony; or phaceloid, composed of laterally free corallites forming tufts, and the corallites are separated by void space. In shallow waters, subject to waves and currents, colonies are usually cerioid to plocoid and tightly arranged, but in deeper calmer waters they are more likely to be phaceloid and loosely arranged, with widely projecting corallites. Colonies tend to form spherical or mound-shaped clumps, up to 14 cm in diameter, and strongly attached to the substrate (description from: Cairns 2000; Figueira de Paula and Creed 2004).

Two morphotypes of T. coccinea were observed on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, a dark-orange red form with corallites not projecting far above the colony surface (plocoid, 'low' morphotype), and a yellow form with corallites projecting and loosely arranged (phaceloid, 'high' morphotype). Both forms (examined by Stephen Carins) had skeletal morphology corresponding to T. coccinea, but they show differences in distribution, substrate preference, reproductive timing, and could represent cryptic species (Shearer 2011).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

Planulae in Brazil settled equally on plates made with wood, granite, concrete, steel and ceramic tiles (Creed and Figueira de Paula 2007). In Brazil and the Caribbean, this coral is common on natural substrates, though preferring artificial ones (Mangelli et al. 2012). However, in the Gulf of Mexico most occurrences have been on shipwrecks, oil platforms, and dock floats (Cairns 2000; Fenner 2001; Fenner and Banks 2004; Creed and de Paula 2007; Shearer 2011), but occurrences are also known from natural substrates on the Flower Garden Banks (Fenner and Banks 2004). In experiments, T. coccinea survived exposure to temperatures as low as 15 °C for 96 hours, but died in 24-hour exposure at 12.5 °C. Its distribution on Cabo de Frio Island, Brazil, was strongly affected by an adjacent cool-water upwelling zone, and was rare or absent where temperatures dropped below 15 °C (Batisita et al. 2016). Tubastraea coccinea lacks zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae), and so is not dependent on photosynthesis. Because they are not limited by light, they can occur at depths down to 60m (Shearer 2011). They feed on zooplankton captured with their tentacles.

Food:

Zooplankton

Consumers:

Competitors:

Trophic Status:

Primary Producer

PrimProd

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Habitats

General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
General Habitat	Vessel Hull	None
General Habitat	Rocky	None
General Habitat	Coral reef	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None

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Life History

Tubastraea coccinea is a coral which grows in small colonies (up to 14 cm in diameter), but does not form reefs. Polyps reproduce asexually by budding from the base or from the oral disk to produce new polyps, which secrete their own calcareous skeletons (Barnes 1983; Harrison 2011). Polyps of this coral are hermaphroditic, and release sperm into the water, but brood their eggs, which develop into planula larvae. This coral can also produce planulae asexually (Ayres & Resing 1986; Harrison 2011). Local populations include a high proportion of clones, indicating that asexual reproduction contributes to the rapid spread of this coral (Capel et al. 2017). The planulae are quite large (3–5 mm long) and can be visible during mass-spawning events (Paz-Garcia et al. 2007). They can remain competent to settle for up to 18 days, so have the capability for long-distance dispersal by currents (Fenner 2001; Figueira de Paula et al. 2014). Fragments of T. coccinea have a remarkable ability to regenerate into living, whole polyps, which has implications for control efforts (Luz et al. 2018).

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Maximum Depth (m)	78	Gulf of Mexico, off Louisiana (Sammarco et al. 2013)
Minimum Temperature (ºC)	15	Experiment, 96 h exposure, no mortality. 100% mortality in 24 h occurred at 12.5 C (Batista et al. 2016).
Minimum Duration	1	Time to settlement (Glynn et al. 2008)
Maximum Duration	18	Time to settlement is usually 3-5 days(Glynn et al. 2008), but larvae in aquaria can remain competent for up to 18 days (Figueira de Paula et al. 2013).
Broad Temperature Range	None	Subtropical-Tropical

General Impacts

Tubastraea coccinea has been spreading rapidly in the tropical Western Atlantic, and in the subtropical Gulf of Mexico. In US waters, it has largely been confined to artificial substrates such as oil platforms, shipwrecks, and artificial reefs, but its spread to coral reefs is a concern, particularly in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Fenner 2001; Fenner and Banks 2004; Sammarco et al. 2004). A number of impacts have been studied in Brazilian waters, including: competition and overgrowth of native corals (Creed 2006; Silva et al. 2011); how settlement affects food webs by replacing hermatypic corals (containing symbiotic algae, relying partly on photosynthesis for nutrition) with corals which are exclusively carnivorous (Silva et al. 2011); and the inhibition of feeding by coral reef fishes (Lages et al. 2011). Modeling of the environmental requirements of T. coccinea suggest that it will greatly expand its range in Brazil, and has the potential to compete with the native coral Mussismilia hispida (Riul et al. 2013). Wrapping the corals with plastic or raffia has been found to be an effective means of controlling isolated infestations of T. coccinea and T. tagusensis (Mantelatto et al. 2015).

In laboratory experiments, T. coccinea extruded mesenteric filaments, and produced extracellular digestive responses to the native Florida anthozoans Ricordea florida (Cnidaria, Corallimorpharia), and the anemone Epicystis crucifer. Tubastraea coccinea caused tissue necrosis in the coral and anemone, and showed general patterns of aggressive behavior. However, no immune response or aggression was observed with another introduced coral, T. micranthus (Hennessey and Sammarco 2014).

Tubastraea coccinea is beautiful, and frequently photographed by divers in its native and introduced ranges. Although it lacks symbiotic algae, and requires daily feeding by hand, it is cultivated by aquarists (Shearer 2011). However, the aquarium trade provides another potential vector for this and other invasive coral species.

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