Invasion
Invasion Description
offshore oil rigs/Brazil/Campos Basin (1990, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004)
Geographic Extent
offshore oil rigs/Brazil/Campos Basin (1990, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004); Rio de Janeiro state/Brazil/Ilha Grande Bay (2000, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004); Ilha dos Macacos/Brazil/Ilha Grande Bay (2000, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004); Abraaozinho, Ilha Grande Island, Rio de Janeiro state/Brazil/Ilha Grande Bay (2000, Figuera de Paula and Creed 2004; Creed 2006; da Silva et al. 2014); Ponta Grossa, Rio de Janeiro state/Brazil/Ilha Grande Bay (~2013, Mantelatto and Creed 2015, in mussel beds, Perna perna); Tamoios Ecological Station Marine Protected Area/Rio de Janeiro state/Brazil/Ilha Grande Bay (Silva et al. 2011); Arraial do Cabo/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (Ferreira 2003, 23 44 S, 42 W); Buzios Island, Sao Paulo state/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (7/2008, Mantelatto et al. 2011, 23 47.437S; 45 08.653W); Vitoria Islands, Sao Paulo state/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (2009, Mantelatto et al. 2011, 23 44.879S;45 00.918W); Cavo Artemidi shipwreck, in 22 m deep, near Salvador/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (2008, Sampaio et al. 2012, 13°03'310"S, 38°31'551" W); the Marina Itaparica, near Salvador/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (2010, Sampaio et al. 2012, 0,5 m deep, 12°53.368"S, 38°41.070"W); Cascos coral reef, near Salvador/Brazil/Atlantic Ocean (2011, Sampaio et al. 2012, 12 m deep, 13°7'27.10" S, 38°38'17.50" W); Arvoredo Island (Rancho Norte/Santa Catarina state., Brazil (Almeida Saa et al. 2019. 27.27S 48.37W, current southern range limit),; Santa Caterina-Rio de Janeiro states (Teixeira et al. 2020)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Hull Fouling |
| Probable | Natural Dispersal |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| Extracts of Tubastraea coccinea inhibit feeding by coral reef fishes (on tuna embedded in gel plates) (Lages et al. 2010). Field studies indicate that T. coccinea and T. tagusensis have little or no predation compared to native corals and sponges (Moreira and Creed 2012). Observations with remote cameras confirm that high densities of Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis decreased feeding rates of territorial and mobile invertebrate-feeding fishes (Miranda et al. 2018). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
Extracts of Tubastraea coccinea inhibit settLement by algae on plates, but favored one species of hydroid (Lages et al. 2010). Tubastraea coccinea and the introduced T. taguensis caused necrosis when in contact with the native coral Mussismilia hispida, creating dead areas which were overgrown by sponges and sometimes by Tubastrea recruits in Ilha Grande Bay, Brazil (Creed 2006). Rocky reefs heavuly colonized by Tubastraea cocinea and T. tagusensis had greatly reduced abundances of small mobile invertebrates (Silva et al. 2019). In experiments, The invasion of T. coccinea and T. tagusensis has created habitat for the invasive bivalve Leiosolonus aristatus (Vinagre et al. 2017; Capel et al. 2020). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| Tubastraea coccinea and the introduced T. taguensis caused necrosis when in contact with the native coral Mussismilia hispida, creating dead areas which were overgrown by sponges and sometimes by Tubastrea recruits in Ilha Grande Bay, Brazil (Creed 2006). A later survey documented the continued spread of T. coccinea and T. tagusensis into the Tamoios Ecological Station Marine Protected Area in Ilha Grande Bay (Silva et al. 2011). Densities of T. coccinea in random quadrats increased in Ilha Grande Bay over a 2-year period, although it remained less abundant than native corals, ranking 16th among sessile benthic taxa (Lages et al. 2011). Tubastraea coccinea is now spreading in mussel (Perna perna) beds in Ilha Grande Bay (Mantelatto and Creed 2015). On Arvoredo Island, Brazil, T. coccinea dominates caves, crevices and walls, while the native Palythoa caribaeorum covers open areas. Competition here, at its southern limit, is limited by tmeprature stress (Almeida Saa et al. 2019; Guilehm et al. 2020) | ||
| Ecological Impact | Trophic Cascade | |
| Beacause T. coccinea and T. taguensis are hermatypic (lacking photosynthetic algae, zooxanthellae) and are replacing a native hermatypic coral (native coral Mussismilia hispida), their continued invasion threatens to lower the productivity of the reef (Silva et al. 2011). Increasing cover of Tubastrea spp. resulted in decreaed algal cover, and a decreasing abundance of roving herbivorous fishes (Miranda et al. 2018). | ||
| Economic Impact | Fisheries | |
| Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis are now spreading in mussel (Perna perna) beds in Ilha Grande Bay. These corals are a possible threat to local mussel fisheires(Mantelatto and Creed 2015). | ||
| Economic Impact | Ecosystem Services | |
In Brazil, invasions of Tubastraea spp. are perceived as negatively affecting the biodiversity, visual quality, and fisheries of rocky reefs and coral reefs of coastal waters (Dutra et al. 2024). Consequently, there's been efforts to monitor its distribution and efforts at controlling it through local eradication (Creed et al. 2017; Dutra et al. 2023). Methods have included the use of fresh or low-salinity water (Moreira et al. 2014(, wrapping colonies (Mantelatto et al. 2015), or use of sodium hypochlorite (Altvater et al. 2017). | ||