Effect of colonial tunicate presence on Ciona intestinalis recruitment within a mussel farming environment

Abstract

The colonial tunicate Clavelina lepadiformis is a recent invader to the northwest Atlantic and has the potential to cause ecological and economic harm. This paper provides a review of the biological and ecological characteristics of C. lepadiformis, and hypothesizes the likely mechanisms of introduction, establishment and future expansion. The intent of this paper is to provide a consolidated source of information for marine ecosystem managers and provide a starting point for developing a management strategy, should one be desired. Although C. lepadiformis is not currently a management challenge because of the limited range of the invasion in North America; the similarities between C. lepadiformis and other tunicate invaders, and the proximity of incipient populations to boating, shipping, aquaculture, and energy infrastructure suggest future economic burden of this new invader. Other regions such as the west coast of North America and New Zealand may be at risk for invasion by C. lepadiformis.

The colonial ascidian Diplosoma listerianum enhances the occurrence of the hydrozoan Obelia sp. during early phases of succession

“…lasted longer at site B than at site A. In contrast to previous studies that reported negative effects of colonial ascidians on other colonizers [11,14], we found that the presence of this compound ascidian had a positive or no influence on the presence of the highly abundant fouler Obelia sp. as well as on the total cover by fouling organisms that established on the settlement tiles in this study.…”

“…Helgoland Marine Research *Correspondence: mlenz@geomar.de 2 Marine Ecology Department, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre of Ocean Research Kiel, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany Full list of author information is available at the end of the article influence the settlement and recruitment of other organisms or the succession of communities [11][12][13][14].…”

Significant impact from blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis biofouling on aquaculture production of green-lipped mussels in New Zealand

“…As sloughing creates bare space on the longline, it would be relatively straightforward to assess the magnitude of this effect during routine monitoring. Crop sloughing resulting from the weight of excess biofouling has been described in other musselgrowing localities that experience significant oversettlement of the culture species by biofoulers; most notably in eastern Canada, where excessive biofouling by tunicates (especially Ciona intestinalis) has been an ongoing problem for >10 yr (Carver et al 2003, Ramsay et al 2008, Paetzold et al 2012. In Prince Edward Island, one of the measures employed to reduced crop loss by sloughing is to 'double sock' individual dropper lines (Bakker et al 2011).…”

Preliminary Assessment of Biofouling on Offshore Mussel Farms

“…For instance, the absence of S. clava and Ciona spp. is of particular interest, as these solitary ascidians are present at adjacent inshore locations and have been associated with operational interference or crop loss at inshore sites in New Zealand (Forrest et al ) and globally (Carver et al ; Ramsay et al ; Paetzold et al ). Other recognized nuisance species were also absent from Opotiki, including the colonial ascidian D. vexillum ; the Asian kelp, U. pinnatifida ; and the blue mussel, M. galloprovincialis .…”