Abstract
Three apparently non-native species of Bugula occur in marinas and harbours in Atlantic Europe. The most common, B. neritina, was known from a few sites in southern Britain and northern France during the 20 th century, following its discovery at Plymouth by 1911. During the 1950-60s it was abundant in a dock heated by power station effluent at Swansea, south Wales, where it flourished until the late 1960s, while water temperatures were 7-10°C above ambient. It disappeared after power generation ceased, when summer temperatures probably became insufficient to support breeding. Details of disappearances have not been recorded but B. neritina was not seen in Britain between c1970 and 1999. Since 2000, it has been recorded along the south coast of England, and subsequently in marinas in the southern North Sea, Ireland and southern Scotland, well to the north of its former range, as well as along the Atlantic coast from Spain to The Netherlands. It has also been introduced to outlying localities such as the Azores and Tristan da Cunha. We report that this rapidly spreading form has the same COI haplotype as B. neritina currently invasive elsewhere in the world. B. simplex has been reported less, with 1950s records from settlement panels in some Welsh docks. It has not been targeted in most recent marina surveys but has been observed in southwest England, Belgium and The Netherlands. There are almost no recent records of B. stolonifera, though it was probably introduced to a few British and Irish ports prior to the 1950s. Its current status in most of western Europe is unknown but it has been reported as expanding throughout most of the world during the last 60 years. Having poorly known distributions, B. simplex and B. stolonifera should be recorded during future monitoring of alien species in Atlantic Europe. Illustrations to aid identification are included for all three species.
Highlights
Alien marine invertebrates have increased in Atlantic European waters in recent decades (Galil et al 2009)
It has been introduced to outlying localities such as the Azores and Tristan da Cunha. We report that this rapidly spreading form has the same c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotype as B. neritina currently invasive elsewhere in the world
The data for Bugula neritina from the surveys in Britain and Ireland are presented in Figure 4 and Appendix 1
Summary
Alien marine invertebrates have increased in Atlantic European waters in recent decades (Galil et al 2009). The alien ascidian Botrylloides violaceus Oka, 1927, which has been introduced to numerous marinas, appeared in Milford Haven (a major oil and LPG terminal) during the last decade It occurs in abundance on the rocky shores around Pembroke Dock, encrusting the fronds of Fucus serratus Linnaeus, 1753, which already support a dense epibiota (Ryland 2002) with which it is successfully competing for space. B. violaceus has colonized natural shores in Plymouth Sound, following initial detection in local marinas Another source of introductions has been the import of non-native oysters (Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791), C. gigas (Thunberg, 1793)) accompanied by pest species such as Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus, 1758) and Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822) (see Minchin 2007a). In part of Brittany this species has become abundant, has spread away from the oyster beds, and competes for under-boulder space with native encrusting species (De Blauwe 2005; Ryland et al 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
