Success in Competition for Space in Two Invasive Coral Species in the western Atlantic - Tubastraea micranthus and T. coccinea

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 18;10(12):e0144581. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144581. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Invasion success by an alien species is dependent upon rate of reproduction, growth, mortality, physical characteristics of the environment, and successful competition for resources with native species. For sessile, epibenthic marine species, one critical resource is space. We examined competitive success in two invasive Indo-Pacific corals involved in competition for space in the northern Gulf of Mexico-Tubastraea coccinea and T. micranthus-on up to 13 offshore oil/gas platforms south of the Mississippi River. Still-capture photos of thousands of overgrowth interactions between the target corals and other sessile epibenthic fauna were analyzed from ROV videos collected at 8-183 m depth. T. micranthus was observed overgrowing >90% of all sessile epibenthic species which it encountered. Frequencies of competitive success varied significantly between platforms. T. coccinea was competitively superior to all competitors pooled, at the 60% level. There was little variability between T. coccinea populations. T. coccinea encountered the following species most frequently-the encrusting sponges Xestospongia sp. (with the commensal Parazoanthus catenularis), X. carbonaria, Dictyonella funicularis, Mycale carmigropila, Phorbas amaranthus, and Haliclona vansoesti-and was found to be, on average, competitively superior to them. Both T. micranthus and T. coccinea appear to be good competitors for space against these species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Competitive success in T. micranthus was highest in the NE part of the study area, and lowest in the SW area near the Mississippi River plume. T. coccinea's competitive success peaked in the SW study area. This suggests that variation in competitive success both within and between populations of these species may be due to differences in local environmental factors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa / classification
  • Anthozoa / physiology*
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • Introduced Species
  • Oil and Gas Fields
  • Thoracica / physiology*

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Environmental Studies Program through Interagency Agreement M10AC20006. PWS and SAP received the funding. Please note that the fourth author is a representative of the funding agency which supported this study (US Dept. Interior, Minerals Management Service[MMS]/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management [BOEM/BSEE]). This study was not part of a research “grant”, but of a “cooperative research agreement” and a collaboration between my laboratory and this agency. Co-author Scott A. Porter is employed by EcoLogic Environmental, Inc. He is the proprietor and sole employee. EcoLogic Environmental, Inc. provided support in the form of salary for author SAP. SAP played a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish and preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the ‘authoor contributions’ section.