1st Record? Townsville/Queensland/Townsville Harbor (Coral Sea) (2000, Floerl et al. 2004)

Townsville/Queensland/Townsville Harbor (Coral Sea) (2000, Floerl et al. 2004)

Level	Vector
Probable	Hull Fouling

Economic Impact		Shipping/Boating
Watersipora spp. have long been known to be tolerant of copper and mercury in antifouling paint (Allen 1950; Ryland 1971; Piola and Johnston 2006). Their hard encrusting colonies are tolerant of moving water, and their colonies also provide non-toxic points of attachment for other organisms, allowing a diverse fouling community to develop (Floerl et al. 2004). Experimental studies on W. subtorquata's response to antifouling paint were done in Townsville and Cairns, Queensland (Floerl et al. 2007).

Ecological Impact		Habitat Change
On the hulls of ships and other surfaces, treated with antifouling paints, W. subtorquata is often the only species able to settle, and its colonies provide surfaces on which more sensitive organisms can settle. Experimental studies were performed in Cairns and Townsville, Queensland (Floerl et al. 2004).

Species Regional Summary Watersipora subtorquata None ( AUS-XII )