New occurrences of the nonindigenous orange cup corals Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) in Southwestern Atlantic

Abstract

The genus Tubastraea, with natural occurrence in the Pacific Ocean, was reported for the first time in Brazil along the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Since then it has also been reported in other sites along the south and southeast Brazilian coasts in oil platforms and rocky shores. We describe for the first time the occurrence of Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea in the Northeastern coast of Brazil. The corals were found in the state of Bahia, sitting on shipwrecks, marina jetties as well as occupying space on a coral reef.

New records of the alien cup-corals (Tubastraea spp.) within estuarine and reef systems in Todos os Santos Bay, Southwestern Atlantic

“…Our results demonstrated an expansion of Tubastraea tagusensis and Tubastraea coccinea inside TSB, such that they are now distributed in over 18 sites in the estuary and on reef systems, following their first record in 2008 (Sampaio et al, 2012). Possible explanations of the continuous invasion of these species are related to several biological characteristics of this invader including their reproductive strategies (e.g.…”

“…The native Indo-Pacific cup coral, Tubastraea Lesson, 1829 (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) is one the most widely distributed azooxanthellate coral genera in the world and its non-native range extends to the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic (Cairns, 2000;Castro & Pires, 2001;Ferreira, 2003;de Paula & Creed, 2004;Fenner & Banks, 2004;Mantelatto et al, 2011;Sampaio et al, 2012). Two species of Tubastraea were introduced in the Southwest Atlantic (Tubastraea tagusensis Wells, 1982 and Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829) where they are considered to be alien and invasive species, mainly because of their high fecundity , rapid linear skeletal growth (Wellington & Trench 1985), allelochemical defenses (Lages et al, 2010a, b) and competitive aggressiveness (dos Santos et al, 2013;Miranda et al, 2016).…”

“…Recently, T. coccinea and T. tagusensis were reported in Todos os Santos Bay (TSB), Bahia state in Eastern Brazil (Sampaio et al, 2012). This bay is considered a priority for conservation due to its high levels of coral endemism and to the great diversity of natural systems (Leão et al, 2003;Barros et al 2012a, b;Vila-Nova et al, 2014;Cruz et al, 2015).…”

Uneven abundance of the invasive sun coral over habitat patches of different orientation: An outcome of larval or later benthic processes?

“…The majority of studies on Tubastraea along the Brazilian coast have focused on documenting its geographic distribution, range expansions and substrate occupation over coarse spatial scales. The species was recorded on rocky shores at different sites distributed along 2000 km of the Brazilian coast, between the states of Santa Catarina and Bahia (Creed et al, 2008;Ferreira, 2003;Mantelatto et al, 2011;Paula and Creed, 2005;Sampaio et al, 2012;Silva et al, 2011). These observations were always obtained from locations within a distance of 40 km from port terminals linked to petroleum activities.…”

“…These observations were always obtained from locations within a distance of 40 km from port terminals linked to petroleum activities. Colonies of this species are frequently found on vertical, undersurfaces and crevices (Ferreira, 2003;Mantelatto et al, 2011;Sampaio et al, 2012), although at some localities this pattern is not as clear, with many colonies found on upward facing surfaces (Paula and Creed, 2005). In southeastern Brazil, colonies are usually clumped in restricted areas (Mangelli and Creed, 2012;Paula and Creed, 2005), although larvae can settle over a variety of hard substrates (Creed and Paula, 2007).…”