Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Dry Tortugas/FL/Gulf of Mexico (as B. a. hawaiiensis, USNMNH specimen 155404). Amphibalanus amphitrite was absent on pre-Columbian oyster shells form the Indian River lagoon examined by Boudreaux et al. (2009).
Geographic Extent
Port Canveral/FL/Atlantic Ocean (2019-2020, Wassich et al. 2022); FL/Mosquito Lagoon (Boudreaux et al. 2006); FL/Haulover Canal, Indian River Lagoon (Mook 1983); Eau Gallie/FL/Indian River Lagoon (Mook 1983); FL/Sebastian Inlet, Indian River Lagoon (Mook 1983); Vero Beach/FL/Indian River Lagoon (Mook 1983); Vero Beach/FL/Atlantic Ocean (Nelson et al. 1994); Link Port/FL/Indian River Lagoon (Mook 1983); Fort Pierce/FL/Fort Pierce Inlet (Mook 1983); Port St. Lucie/FL/St.Lucie Inlet (Mook 1983); Jupiter/FL/Intracoastal waterway just north of Jupiter Inlet (Sta. 1, McPherson et al. 1984); Jupiter/FL/Loxahatchee estuary at A1A bridge (Sta. 2, McPherson et al. 1984); Jupiter/FL/Intracoastal Waterway just south of Jupiter Inlet (Sta. 3, McPherson et al. 1984); Jupiter/FL/North Fork Loxahatchee River (Sta. 4, McPherson et al. 1984); FL/Southwest Fork Loxahatchee River (Sta. 5, McPherson et al. 1984); FL/Northwest Fork Loxahatchee River (Sta. 6, McPherson et al. 1984); FL/Northwest Fork Loxahatchee River (Sta. 7, McPherson et al. 1984 - upstream limit); Martin, Palm Beach, & Broward Counties/FL/Atlantic Ocean (2001, Lindeman et al. 2009); Miami Beach/FL/Biscayne Bay (1960, Moore et al. 1974); Miami/FL/Biscayne Bay (1963, Henry and McLaughlin 1974); Virginia Key/FL/Biscayne Bay (Southward 1975); Key Biscayne/FL/Biscayne Bay (Southward 1975); Dry Tortugas/FL/Gulf of Mexico (U.S. Museum of Natural History 2002); Fort Myers/FL/Gulf of Mexico (Henry and McLaughlin 1975); Tampa/FL/Tampa Bay (Henry and McLaughlin 1975; Bros 1987; Baker et al. 2003); Port Tampa/FL/Tampa Bay (Henry and McLaughlin 1975); FL/Boca Ciega Bay (1955, Henry and McLaughlin 1975; U.S. Museum of Natural History 2002, USNM 101167); Panama City/FL/St. Andrews Bay (Wells 1966, USNM 113424); St. Marks/FL/Gulf of Mexico (Henry 1959, cited by Wells 1966); Pass Christian/MS/Mississippi Sound (Zullo 1966); Corpus Christi Bay beach/TX/Corpus Christi Bay (1971, 1980, Gittings 1985); Port Aransas/TX/Redfish Bay (Gittings 1985); TX/Baffin Bay (Gittings 1985); Port Mansfield/TX/Laguna Madre (Gittings 1985); Gulf of Mexico/Mexico/Bahia de Vergara (1965, Henry and McLaughlin 1975); Veracruz/Mexico/Veracruz Harbor (1965, Henry and McLaughlin 1975); Campeche/Mexico/Gulf of Mexico (Rodríguez-Almaraz and García-Madrigal 2014)
Gittings et al. (1986) note a gap in distribution from Louisiana to Reddish Bay, Texas, where A. reticulatus is an abundant species.
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Shipping/Boating | |
| Amphibalanus amphitrite is probably an important hull-fouling organism over most of its range. At a commercial paint-testing station in Biscayne Bay, Miami, it comprised 12% of barnacles maturing on fouling panels (Moore and Frue 1959). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| In Tampa Bay, A. amphitrite affected the composition of the fouling community, mainly by creating additional structure for the recruitment and colonization of motile species. Removing barnacle shells inhibited recruitment, while adding barnacle shells increased recruitment (Bros 1987). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| In the Indian River Lagoon, the introduced Amphibalanus amphitrite and the native A. eburneus competed with the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) for settlement sites, and also affected survival and growth of oysters by settling on their shells (Boudreaux et al. 2009). | ||