Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Puerto Rico/Laguna Joyuda, Caribbean Sea (Cutress 1971, cited by Larson and Arneson 1990)
Geographic Extent
Puerto Rico/Caribbean Sea (Laguna Joyuda, Cutress 1971, cited by Larson and Arneson 1990)
Puerto Rico populations are morphologically distinct from Australian, Californian, and Gulf of Mexico populations, and were thought to possibly represent a different species (Bolton and Graham 2004). Recent molecular sampling indicates that both Phyllorhiza punctata and Mastigias sp. 1 are present in Laguna Joyuda, but the co-occurrence of the two species and the prevalence of Mastigias sp. 1 is uncertain (Bayha and Graham 2011).
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
| Alternate | Fisheries Accidental (not Oyster) |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Predation | |
| Phyllorhiza punctata in Laguna Juyuda, Puerto Rico, fed primarily on all stages of the copepod Acartia tonsa. At peak population densities, they were capable of filtering 22-35% of the lagoon's volume per day (Garcia and Durbin 1993). | ||