Invasive shrimp Cinetorhynchus erythrostictus (Decapoda: Caridea) misidentified in the marine aquarium trade: Niche overlap with a native congeneric species

Abstract

An integrative taxonomic approach was adopted to confirm that the shrimp Cinetorhynchus erythrostictus was introduced into the Western Atlantic Ocean and it is for sale in the marine aquarium trade in Brazil, misidentified as C. rigens, a representative of the Atlantic fauna. The MaxEnt modeling technique was used to infer ecological niche models for Cinetorhynchus erythrostictus, an invasive (non-indigenous) species in the Atlantic Ocean, and C. rigens (native to the Atlantic Ocean). Subsequently, the hypothesis of niche conservatism over an evolutionary time scale was tested. The projection for C. erythrostictus suggested large areas of climatic suitability in the Atlantic Ocean. The background of the invasive species showed a similar range of environmental conditions to that of the native congeneric shrimp. The environmental niches of the native and invasive species overlap 26%, with significant equivalency and similarity between niches. Thus, these species can develop competitive interactions across environmental gradients. Importantly, we recommend that greater efforts should be made to identify the ornamental marine species that are currently traded, in order to minimize the risk of spread of invasive species and, consequently, of potential ecological damage to native biodiversity.