Non-native coral species dominate the fouling community on a semi-submersible platform in the southern Caribbean

Bert W Hoeksema; Kaveh Samimi-Namin; Catherine S McFadden; Rosana M Rocha; Leen P van Ofwegen; Auke-Florian Hiemstra; Mark J A Vermeij

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115354

Non-native coral species dominate the fouling community on a semi-submersible platform in the southern Caribbean

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Sep;194(Pt B):115354. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115354. Epub 2023 Aug 11.

Authors

Bert W Hoeksema¹, Kaveh Samimi-Namin², Catherine S McFadden³, Rosana M Rocha⁴, Leen P van Ofwegen⁵, Auke-Florian Hiemstra⁶, Mark J A Vermeij⁷

Affiliations

¹ Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands; Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address: bert.hoeksema@naturalis.nl.
² Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK; Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
³ Department of Biology, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
⁴ Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19020, 81531-980 Curitiba, Brazil.
⁵ Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
⁶ Marine Evolution and Ecology Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
⁷ Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; CARMABI Foundation, P.O. Box 2090, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, Curaçao.

PMID: 37573671
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115354

Abstract

A coral community was examined on a semi-submersible platform that was moored at the leeward side of Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean, from August 2016 until August 2017. This community included several non-native or cryptogenic species. Among them were two scleractinian corals (Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis) and two octocorals (Chromonephthea sp. and an unidentified Nephtheidae sp.). This is the first reported presence of T. tagusensis in the southern Caribbean, and the genus Chromonephthea in the Caribbean region. An ascidian, Perophora cf. regina, is also reported from the southern Caribbean for the first time, as well as a coral-associated vermetid gastropod, Petaloconchus sp., first recorded in the Caribbean in 2014. Lack of biofouling management could potentially harm indigenous marine fauna through the introduction of non-native species. Therefore monitoring communities associated with semi-submersible platforms is essential to track the presence and dispersal of non-native, potentially invasive species.

Keywords: Biofouling; Chromonephthea; Cryptogenic species; Petaloconchus worm snail; Tubastraea.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa*
Biofouling*
Caribbean Region
Coral Reefs
Curacao
Introduced Species