Abstract
We report on the first sightings of the invasive Rapa Whelk Rapana venosa in Maldonado Bay (Punta del Este Harbor and Gorriti Island) using in vivo, underwater observations and video surveys. The species was first detected in the Rio de la Plata (Uruguay and Argentina) in 1999, and by 2004 it had extended its local distribution to Punta del Este at the eastern boundary of the estuary. Observations performed by SCUBA diving showed that R. venosa is preying on native mussels Mytilus edulis and Brachidontes spp., and that formerly abundant mussel beds are being seriously depleted due to a combination of human extraction, habitat deterioration and predation by the Rapa Whelk.
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