Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
The sun corals Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis (Scleractinia: Dendophylliidae) have invaded Brazilian shores and are expanding their ranges and abundances in the Southwest Atlantic (Silva et al. 2014), where they impact native species (Lages et al. 2011). Here we report their occurrence in Perna perna mussel beds (Mytilidae), which are found along most of the Brazilian coastline, forming dense beds from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal zone. The mussel is commercially harvested from natural beds by artisanal fishermen (Lage and Jablonski 2008) and is also farmed on lines in marine aquaculture systems.
The two coral species were recorded among P. perna beds at Ponta Grossa, Ilha Grande Bay, Brazil (23°7'18" S, 44°8'6" W) (Fig. 1a, b); T. tagusensis was also found growing among and over mussels at Jorge Grego Island, Brazil (23°13'22" S, 44°9'23" W) (Fig. 1c). Using known growth rates, the colonies were estimated to have established > 2 years ago (Paula 2007). These sites are fished by local mussel collectors, and by providing space, the manual extraction of mussels probably facilitates the settlement and establishment of the corals. This, and the fact that the corals, unlike most other organisms, can also grow on the mussel shells (Fig. 1c), suggests that the corals may be competitively superior. Tubastraea spp. have also been reported from mussel farms (J. Avelar, pers. comm.) and the ongoing range expansion of Tubastraea spp. may impact mussel beds in other regions in Brazil. Over the long term, these corals may cause social and economic problems associated with loss of income.
References
Lage H, Jablonski S (2008) Mussel Perna perna extraction and commercialization in Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Atlântica 30:161–169
Lages BG, Fleury BG, Menegola C, Creed JC (2011) Change in tropical rocky shore communities due to an alien coral invasion. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 438:85–96
Paula AF (2007) Biologia reprodutiva, crescimento e competição dos corais invasores Tubastraea coccinea e Tubastraea tagusensis (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) com espécies nativas. Thesis, Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Silva AG, de Paula AF, Fleury BG, Creed JC (2014) Eleven years of range expansion of two invasive corals (Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis) through the southwest Atlantic (Brazil). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 141:9–16
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank two referees and the Editor for comments that improved this article, and JCC would like to thank Anna Maria Scofano (Petrobras) and Dr. Ricardo Coutinho (Brazilian Navy/Petrobras) for raising the questions answered by this study. This article is no. 20 from the Projeto Coral-Sol.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mantelatto, M.C., Creed, J.C. Non-indigenous sun corals invade mussel beds in Brazil. Mar Biodiv 45, 605–606 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-014-0282-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-014-0282-8