Tubastraea tagusensis

Tubastraea tagusensis was first described from the Galapagos Archipelago. Later it was also found in the Nicobar Islands, in Palau and Kuwait. It was first found to be invasive on the Brazilian coast in the 1980s on oil platforms north of Rio de Janeiro. The species can be found in shady places such as caves or beneath boulders on rocky shores.{{Cite journal|last1=Silva|first1=Amanda Guilherme da|last2=Paula|first2=Alline Figueira de|last3=Fleury|first3=Beatriz Grosso|last4=Creed|first4=Joel Christopher|date=2014|title=Corrigendum to "Eleven years of range expansion of two invasive corals (Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis) through the southwest Atlantic (Brazil) [Estuar. Coastal Shelf Sci. 141 (20 March 2014) 9–16]|journal=Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science|volume=146|pages=139|doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2014.05.004|bibcode=2014ECSS..146..139S |issn=0272-7714|doi-access=free}} Species in this genus are usually native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans,{{Cite journal|last=Carpes|first=Raphael de Mello|date=2020|title=Mutagenic, genotoxic and cytotoxic studies of invasive corals Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis|url=https://analyticalsciencejournals-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/doi/full/10.1002/jat.3911|journal=Journal of Applied Toxicology|volume=40|issue=3 |pages=373–387|doi=10.1002/jat.3911 |pmid=31849086 |s2cid=209408655 |url-access=subscription}} and some are considered highly invasive along certain coastlines.{{Cite journal|last1=Capel|first1=K.C.C.|last2=Migotto|first2=A.E.|last3=Zilberberg|first3=C.|last4=Lin|first4=M.F.|last5=Forsman|first5=Z.|last6=Miller|first6=D.J.|last7=Kitahara|first7=M.V.|date=2016|title=Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Atlantic representatives of the invasive Pacific coral species Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis (Scleractinia, Dendrophylliidae): Implications for species identification|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2016.05.034|journal=Gene|volume=590|issue=2|pages=270–277|doi=10.1016/j.gene.2016.05.034|pmid=27234370 |issn=0378-1119|url-access=subscription}}

Due to their prolific spread, the species has locally caused severe ecological damage. It has expanded to the Southwest Atlantic Ocean, specifically along the Brazilian coastline where it has endangered other ecosystems such as mussel beds, the Amazon River's reef system, and rocky shores.{{Cite journal|last1=de Oliveira Soares|first1=Marcelo|last2=Davis|first2=Marcus|last3=de Macêdo Carneiro|first3=Pedro Bastos|date=2016-12-20|title=Northward range expansion of the invasive coral (Tubastraea tagusensis) in the southwestern Atlantic|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0623-x|journal=Marine Biodiversity|volume=48|issue=3|pages=1651–1654|doi=10.1007/s12526-016-0623-x|s2cid=15188116 |issn=1867-1616|url-access=subscription}} It is thought that the species was able to spread through the ballast water in ships. Once they arrive at their new location, it can alter the structure and function of the community. Within the invaded area, T. tagusensis prefers taking over reef walls more so than reef tops,{{Cite journal|last1=Miranda|first1=Ricardo J.|last2=Cruz|first2=Igor C. S.|last3=Barros|first3=Francisco|date=2016-02-10|title=Effects of the alien coral Tubastraea tagusensis on native coral assemblages in a southwestern Atlantic coral reef|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2819-9|journal=Marine Biology|volume=163|issue=3|page=45 |doi=10.1007/s00227-016-2819-9|bibcode=2016MarBi.163...45M |s2cid=253741961 |issn=0025-3162|url-access=subscription}} displacing native benthic species.{{Cite journal|last1=Mantelatto|first1=M. C.|last2=Creed|first2=J. C.|last3=Mourão|first3=G. G.|last4=Migotto|first4=A. E.|last5=Lindner|first5=A.|date=2011|title=Range expansion of the invasive corals Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis in the Southwest Atlantic|journal=Coral Reefs|language=en|volume=30|issue=2|pages=397|doi=10.1007/s00338-011-0720-z|bibcode=2011CorRe..30..397M |issn=0722-4028|doi-access=free}} Because it thrives in warmer temperatures, it is predicted that rising ocean temperatures in the next few years will enable the species to expand further south, into the southwest Atlantic.

Part of the species' invasive capabilities seems to be based on the lack of any requirement for a specific substrate to grow. It also has an effective way of regenerating, which involves the growth of polyps from fragmentation into fully functioning corals.{{Cite journal|last1=Luz|first1=B.L.P.|last2=Capel|first2=K.C.C.|last3=Zilberberg|first3=C.|last4=Flores|first4=A.A.V.|last5=Migotto|first5=A.E.|last6=Kitahara|first6=M.V.|date=2018|title=A polyp from nothing: The extreme regeneration capacity of the Atlantic invasive sun corals Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis (Anthozoa, Scleractinia)|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2018.02.002|journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology|volume=503|pages=60–65|doi=10.1016/j.jembe.2018.02.002|s2cid=89751109 |issn=0022-0981|url-access=subscription}} A study shows that temperature and food supply does not significantly limit the number and formation of regenerating polyps. Because T. tagusensis can grow so fast and has few predators in general, it frequently is able to cover 95% of the area it invades.

Various approaches have been used to control the spread of the species. One method is known as the "wrapping method", where plastic and raffia sheets are used to severely limit the coral's food and oxygen supply, causing death after several days.{{Cite journal|last1=Mantelatto|first1=Marcelo|last2=Pires|first2=Larissa|last3=de Oliveira|first3=Giselle|last4=Creed|first4=Joel|date=2015|title=A test of the efficacy of wrapping to manage the invasive corals Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea|url=http://www.reabic.net/journals/mbi/2015/Issue4.aspx|journal=Management of Biological Invasions|volume=6|issue=4|pages=367–374|doi=10.3391/mbi.2015.6.4.05|doi-access=free}}

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Category:Dendrophylliidae

Category:Animals described in 1982

Category:Fauna of the Galápagos Islands