First record of the solitary ascidian Ciona savignyi Herdman, 1882 in the Southern Hemisphere

Kirsty Smith,Patrick Cahill,Andrew Fidler

doi:10.3391/ai.2010.5.4.05

Abstract

This report documents the first recording of the solitary ascidian Ciona savignyi in the Southern Hemisphere. Adult tunicate specimens were collected from the Nelson city marina (South Island, New Zealand) in April 2010. Both mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequences and morphological characters were used to identify the tunicates as C. savignyi – the first report of this species in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere. This study highlights the power of molecular methods for invasive species identification and New Zealand’s need for an extensive, systematic molecular inventory of its existing marine invertebrate biodiversity.

Highlights

Human colonization of New Zealand, during the last millennium, has resulted in profound changes to this remote archipelago’s ecology (Harada and Glasby 2000)
As recently as the last decade several invasive tunicate species have become established in New Zealand coastal waters including Didemnum vexillum Kott, 2002 (Coffey 2001), Styela clava Herdman, 1881 (Davis and Davis 2006) and Eudistoma elongatum (Herdman, 1886) (Smith et al 2007) while other non-native tunicate species may have become established during the 20th century, or perhaps even earlier (e.g., Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) (Brewin 1946) and Ciona intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1767) (Brewin 1950))
AB079784 coordinates 54 648: query coverage = 100%, E-value = 0.0, percent identity = 100%) with the closest cytochrome oxidase I (COI) homologue identified being that of C. intestinalis

Summary

Introduction

Human colonization of New Zealand, during the last millennium, has resulted in profound changes to this remote archipelago’s ecology (Harada and Glasby 2000). Ciona species were initially collected to determine which C. intestinalis type was present in New Zealand. Genomic DNA was isolated from seven Ciona spp. adult individuals and partial COI sequences amplified using PCR.

Results

Conclusion