Stationary substrates facilitate bioinvasion in Paranaguá Bay in southern Brazil

Abstracts

Artificial substrates in and near ports and marinas commonly have many non-indigenous species and are the first stepping stone for the establishment of bioinvasors. Substrate movement influences fouling communities and so understanding of how species assemblages are related to specific substrate conditions is crucial as a management tool. Here we describe the species assemblage of the community after six months of development on granite plates in Paranaguá Bay. Species richness was similar in the two treatments, with 12 species on floating (constant depth) plates and 15 on stationary (variable depth) plates. However, species composition differed, with the community on floating plates being dominated by the native bivalve Mytella charruana (66.1 ± 5.5% cover) and that on stationary plates dominated by the barnacles Fistulobalanus citerosum (49.8 ± 3.5% cover) and the introduced Amphibalanus reticulatus (33.9 ± 3.7% cover). Other introduced species were Garveia franciscana, on one stationary plate, and Megabalanus coccopoma also on one stationary plate and not very abundant on half of the floating plates (< 2%). Thus, stationary plates were more susceptible to introduced species that may become very abundant, suggesting that this type of substrate should be a priority in management for bioinvasion control. We also hypothesize that the native bivalve M. charruana is the dominant competitor for space on floating substrates, thereby reducing the invasiveness of that type of substrate.

bioinvasion; artificial substrate; estuary; fouling; exotic species

Substratos artificiais em regiões de portos e marinas geralmente abrigam muitas espécies introduzidas e sua colonização constitui o primeiro passo no estabelecimento de bioinvasores. O grau de movimentação do substrato influencia a comunidade incrustante e o conhecimento da assembléia de espécies associada a cada situação é crucial como ferramenta de manejo. Neste trabalho, reportamos a estrutura de comunidades de seis meses desenvolvidas em substratos de granito na baía de Paranaguá. Foram encontradas 12 espécies na condição flutuante (profundidade constante) e 15 na condição fixa (profundidade variável), mas o número médio de espécies por placa não foi diferente nos tratamentos. A comunidade das placas flutuantes foi dominada pelo bivalve nativo Mytella charruana (66.1 ± 5.5% de cobertura), enquanto as placas fixas foram dominadas pelos cirripédios Fistulobalanus citerosum (49.8 ± 3.5%) e Amphibalanus reticulatus (33.9 ± 3.7%), este último introduzido na região. Outras espécies introduzidas encontradas foram Garveia franciscana, em apenas uma placa fixa, e Megabalanus coccopoma também em uma placa fixa e em metade das placas flutuantes, mas sempre com baixa cobertura (< 2%). Em conclusão, placas fixas foram mais suscetíveis às espécies introduzidas, uma delas ocorrendo em alta abundância, o que sugere que este tipo de substrato deveria ser priorizado em ações de controle e manejo de bioinvasão. Também hipotetizamos que o bivalve nativo M. charruana é o competidor dominante por espaço na condição flutuante, reduzindo a susceptibilidade deste substrato à bioinvasão.

bioinvasão; substrato artificial; estuário; comunidade incrustante; espécies exóticas

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  31 Aug 2010
• Date of issue
  June 2010

History

• Reviewed
  06 May 2009
• Received
  02 Mar 2009
• Accepted
  27 Apr 2010