Abstract
The arrival of non-indigenous species into new areas is one of the main processes altering the oceans globally. Macrorhynchia philippina is a large-sized colonial hydrozoan of an invasive nature. To obtain a deeper understanding of the process of colonization of new areas, it is essential to describe the ecological pattern through scales of temporal and spatial variation. In this study, we describe the colonization by M. Philippina of an oceanic island (Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic). We describe the abundance and size structure patterns of M. Philippina in three nearshore habitats, rocky reefs, seagrass meadows and rhodolith seabeds, at times before (2014), during (2016) and after (2017) the demographic explosion of this species. On rocky reefs and rhodolith seabeds, the abundance of colonies increased dramatically in 2017 relative to 2014, e.g. from 0 to 138 colonies/100 m2. On seagrass meadows, however, the colonies were smaller. In summary, M. Philippina shows an ecological plasticity to rapidly colonize different types of nearshore habitats, but with varying success.
Highlights
Translocation of marine species is one of the main processes altering the oceans globally (Ruiz et al 1997, 1999, Geburzi and McCarthy 2018)
To obtain a deeper understanding of the process of colonization of new areas, it is essential to describe the ecological pattern through scales of temporal and spatial variation
We describe the colonization by M. philippina of an oceanic island (Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic)
Summary
Translocation of marine species is one of the main processes altering the oceans globally (Ruiz et al 1997, 1999, Geburzi and McCarthy 2018). Maritime traffic is the main dispersal vector of species outside their native ranges, involving ca. Most introduced species fail in their initial attempt to settle in new habitats; some NIS can adapt to new conditions, but fail to proliferate and alter recipient native communities (Geburzi and McCarthy 2018). A small group, can severely impact native biodiversity and communities, and have flow-on social and economic effects on fisheries, aquaculture and tourism (European Commission 2014, Thomsen et al 2015); these are considered invasive species. Invasive species are a major threat to local biodiversity and a serious environmental concern for the conservation of the oceans, altering the functions and services delivered by local ecosystems (Bax et al 2003, Thomsen et al 2010, 2015)
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