International audienceThe marine areas of South America (SA) include almost 30,000 km of coastline and encompass three different oceanic domains--the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic--ranging in latitude from 12°N to 55°S. The 10 countries that border these coasts have different research capabilities and taxonomic traditions that affect taxonomic knowledge. This paper analyzes the status of knowledge of marine biodiversity in five subregions along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America (SA): the Tropical East Pacific, the Humboldt Current, the Patagonian Shelf, the Brazilian Shelves, and the Tropical West Atlantic, and it provides a review of ecosystem threats and regional marine conservation strategies. South American marine biodiversity is least well known in the tropical subregions (with the exception of Costa Rica and Panama). Differences in total biodiversity were observed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same latitude. In the north of the continent, the Tropical East Pacific is richer in species than the Tropical West Atlantic, however, when standardized by coastal length, there is very little difference among them. In the south, the Humboldt Current system is much richer than the Patagonian Shelf. An analysis of endemism shows that 75% of the species are reported within only one of the SA regions, while about 22% of the species of SA are not reported elsewhere in the world. National and regional initiatives focusing on new exploration, especially to unknown areas and ecosystems, as well as collaboration among countries are fundamental to achieving the goal of completing inventories of species diversity and distribution. These inventories will allow accurate interpretation of the biogeography of its two oceanic coasts and latitudinal trends, and will also provide relevant information for science based policie
Species invasions are a principal component of global change, causing large losses in biodiversity as well as economic damage. Invasion theory attempts to understand and predict invasion success and patterns of spread. However, there is no consensus regarding which species or community attributes enhance invader success or explain spread dynamics. Experimental and theoretical studies suggest that regulation of spread dynamics is possible; however, the conditions for its existence have not yet been empirically demonstrated. If invasion spread is a regulated process, the structure that accounts for this regulation will be a main determinant of invasion dynamics. Here we explore the existence of regulation underlying changes in the rate of new site colonization. We employ concepts and analytical tools from the study of abundance dynamics and show that spread dynamics are, in fact, regulated processes and that the regulation structure is notably consistent among invasions occurring in widely different contexts. We base our conclusions on the analysis of the spread dynamics of 30 species invasions, including birds, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, plants, and a virus, all of which exhibited similar regulation structures. In contrast to current beliefs that species invasions are idiosyncratic phenomena, here we provide evidence that general patterns do indeed exist.conservation ͉ invasion ͉ population dynamics ͉ range expansion ͉ regulation
Native and non-indigenous boring polychaetes in Chile: a threat to native and commercial mollusc species ABSTRACTBoring polychaetes infesting the shells of aquacultured molluscs affect host fitness and cause serious economic problems for the aquaculture industry. In Chile, knowledge of the native and non-indigenous polychaete fauna associated with mollusc hosts is limited, in spite of the fact that numerous native and nonindigenous mollusc species are actively harvested. We present the first complete list of boring polychaete species present in Chile, with a review of the information regarding each species' status as a native or nonindigenous species (NIS), together with information on native and introduced ranges, affected host species, likely vectors of introduction and donor areas. We recorded a total of nine boring polychaetes present along the Chilean coast including native and NIS. Within the NIS category we provide the first published report of the Sabellid Terebrasabella heterouncinata in South America. Boring polychaetes utilized both native and introduced host species. The finding of polychaete species which utilized multiple native and NIS hosts, indicates a potential risk for spread between aquaculture facilities and the natural environment. Our analysis suggests that aquaculture activities are probably the primary introduction vector for boring polychaete species to Chile and that this region does not differ in the magnitude of introduced boring polychaetes relative to other regions of the world. We discuss current laws and management regarding polychaete infestations and make recommendations for future management in Chile, which should contemplate a rational compromise between the socio-economic needs of the country and plans to protect and preserve the nation's biodiversity.
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