Spread of the Asian tunicate Styela clava Herdman, 1882 to the east and south-west coasts of Ireland

Dan Minchin

doi:10.3391/ai.2006.1.2.7

Abstract

The Asian tunicate Styela clava Herdman, 1882 has been found at three new localities in Ireland during the period 2004 to 2005. The new localities are Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland and Tralee and Dingle bays on the south-west coast. They are present in low abundance. Before they have been known in Ireland since 1971 only from Cork Harbour on the south coast. All three sites where they were found are marinas for leisure craft.

Highlights

Styela clava is a solitary, hermaphroditic, oviparous ascidian native to the north-western Pacific with a range from Japan to Siberia (Millar 1960)
Its firm club-shaped body can attain a length of 200 mm, and attaches by an expanded membranous plate. It was first recorded in European waters, on the south coast of Britain, in 1953 as Styela mammiculata (Carlisle 1954)
We report on three new localities following a rapid survey of different regions in Ireland

Summary

Introduction

Styela clava is a solitary, hermaphroditic, oviparous ascidian native to the north-western Pacific with a range from Japan to Siberia (Millar 1960). We sampled floating pontoons, used for berthing small craft at marinas, and docks and quays. The following records extend its range in Ireland: Locality 1: Fenit Harbour Marina, Co Kerry.

Results

Conclusion