Ecteinascidia turbinata

Invasion History

First Non-native North American Tidal Record: 1961
First Non-native West Coast Tidal Record:
First Non-native East/Gulf Coast Tidal Record: 1961

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General Invasion History:

Ecteinascidia turbinata is found in Bermuda, the reefs off the Carolinas, the coast of Florida, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico (Bingham and Young 1987; Calder et al. 1966; Van Name 1945), the Mediterranean, and the tropical East Atlantic (Senegal, Cape Verde Islands) (Monniot and Monniot 1994; Carballo 2000). The genetic similarity of populations on both sides of the Atlantic raises the possibility that populations may have been transported across the Atlantic by ship. However, it is not clear to which side of the Atlantic it is native (Monniot and Monniot 1994; Lopez-Legentil and Turon 2007). Ecteinascidia turbinata was introduced north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 1960 at Wachapreague, Virginia (US National Museum of Natural History 2008) and the York River near Gloucester Point (Calder et al. 1966).

North American Invasion History:

Invasion History on the East Coast:

Ecteinascidia turbinata was collected by dredge in the channel at the mouth of the York River, Virginia in August 1966 (Calder et al. 1966) and again in 1967 and 1971 (Calder, in Wass 1972). There have been no more recent reports of this species in Chesapeake Bay proper, however, it was collected in Wachapreague, VA in 1961 (1961, USNM 17042, US National Museum of Natural History 2008) and is established there (Joao Canning-Clode, personal communication). It is also established in Chincoteague Bay (collected in 1996-1998, Prezant et al. 2002). Calder et al. (1966) considered this species to be a probable introduction to the Chesapeake Bay because 'Existing currents are not conducive to the transport of southern species into Chesapeake Bay'. Waters adjacent to the Virginia coast (Virginia Coastal Current) move southward (Ford and Miller 1952) and the Gulf Stream moves northeastward and away from Chesapeake Bay. Because it is known to foul floats and test surfaces in the Florida region (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; 1952) it could attach to ships, and may have been introduced into Chesapeake Bay in this fashion (Calder et al. 1966).

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Description

Ecteinascidia turbinata is a colonial tunicate that typically grows as a dense cluster of elongate, somewhat club-shaped zooids, each with its own separate test. The zooids are connected at their tapering bases by a network of stolons that adhere to the surface of the substrate (mangroves, seagrass) on which the colony grows. Colonies often surround mangrove roots or seagrass blades (Van Name 1945).

Zooids are oblong and truncate at the anterior end where the two apertures are located and taper at the other end to a narrow pedicel containing the vessel that connects to the rest of the colony. The zooids are about 20 mm long or less, occasionally larger. The apertures are located on short siphons or slight elevations, which often do not project beyond the surface of the test. The apertures have thin margins, varying from smooth to sinuous. The oral aperture is larger and a little further anterior than the atrial. The oral tentacles are threadlike and quite numerous. Large individuals (~20 mm) have about 30-40 tentacles that are arranged with considerable regularity. The branchial sac is long, and barrel shaped, with about 27-30 rows of about 60 small, oval, or elongate stigmata. The stomach is elliptical and joins an intestinal loop which ends dorsally around the 10th row of stigmata. The reproductive organs are located in the bend of the intestinal loop. The test is transparent and colorless, thicker on the ends of the body. The mantle and internal organs are also very transparent, but in the living and fresh specimens, the translucency shades into yellow, orange, or pink on the anterior part of the body. The intestinal loop is colored yellow or orange (Van Name 1945).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

Life History- A colonial (or compound) tunicate consists of many zooids, bearing most or all of the organs of a solitary tunicate, but modified to varying degrees for colonial life. Colonial tunicates of the family Perophoridae have zooids resembling solitary tunicates, rounded or oval in shape, but connected by stolons. Zooids can be crowded together, but do not coalesce. Each zooid has an oral and atrial siphon. Water is pumped into the oral siphon, through finely meshed ciliated gills on the pharynx, where phytoplankton and detritus is filtered, and passed on mucus strings to the stomach and intestines. Excess waste is expelled in the outgoing atrial water (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).

Colonial tunicates reproduce both asexually, by budding, and sexually, from fertilized eggs developing into larvae. Buds form from the stolons. Colonies vary in size, and can range from small clusters of zooids to huge spreading masses. The zooids are hermaphroditic, with eggs and sperm being released to the atrial chamber. Eggs may be self-fertilized or fertilized by sperm from nearby animals, but some species have a partial block to self-fertilization. Embryos are incubated within the atrial chamber, and hatch into tadpole larvae, with a muscular tail and a notochord, eyespots, and a set of adhesive papillae. The lecithotrophic (non-feeding, yolk-dependent) larvae are expelled on hatching, and swim briefly before settlement. Swimming periods are usually less than a day, and some larvae can settle immediately after release, but the larval period can be longer at lower temperatures. On settlement, the tail is absorbed, the gill basket expands, and the tunicate begins to feed by filtering (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).

Food:

Phytoplankton

Trophic Status:

Suspension Feeder

SusFed

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Habitats

General Habitat	Grass Bed	None
General Habitat	Coarse Woody Debris	None
General Habitat	Unstructured Bottom	None
General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
General Habitat	Mangroves	None
General Habitat	Coral reef	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Tidal Range	Low Intertidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Maximum Temperature (ºC)	32	Field temperature, Indian River Lagoon FL (Vazquez and Young 2000).
Minimum Salinity (‰)	22	Field data, York River VA (Calder et al. 1966); Experimental, larval metamorphosis and juvenile survival (Vazquez and Young 2000).
Maximum Salinity (‰)	40	Field data, Isla de Formentura, Mediterranean, Spain (Carballo 2000)
Minimum Reproductive Salinity	22	Experimental, larval metamorphosis and juvenile survival (Vazquez and Young 2000).
Minimum Duration	0	Field data, larval time from release to settlement, FL (Bingham and Young 1991).
Maximum Duration	0	Field data, larval time from release to settlement, FL (Bingham and Young 1991).
Broad Temperature Range	None	Warm temeprate-Tropical
Broad Salinity Range	None	Polyhaline-Euhaline

General Impacts

Ecteinascidia turbinata is an abundant and important organism in tropical and subtropical Atlantic mangrove and seagrass habitats. However, impacts of its invasion in the Chesapeake and Chincoteague Bays have not been reported.

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References

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Calder, Dale R.; Thornborough, John R.; Lowry, James K. (1966) Record of Ecteinascidia turbinata (Ascidiacea, Perphoridae) in the York River., Chesapeake Science 7: 223-224

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Lopez-Legentil, Susanna: Turon, Xavier (2007) Lack of genetic variation in mtDNA sequences over the amphiatlantic distribution range of the ascidian Ecteinascidia turbinata., Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45: 405-408

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