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Allelopathic effects on the sun-coral invasion: facilitation, inhibition and patterns of local biodiversity

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Abstract

In spite of growing concerns about the invasion of the sun-coral Tubastraea coccinea along the tropical Southwestern Atlantic, the biological interactions mediating this species’ establishment and spread are largely unknown. Here, we identified species associations with T. coccinea by comparing community structure between invaded and non-invaded areas at Búzios Island, SP, Brazil. We also investigated effects of chemical cues from representative benthic species on sun-coral larval performance in the laboratory and quantified the density of sun-coral recruits across different microhabitats in the field. Field surveys showed that the invasion of the sun-coral is more intense at reef areas of higher species richness and diversity, putting at risk a higher number of native species than anticipated and suggesting that local richness offers little resistance to invasion. Highest density of T. coccinea recruits observed on the least bioactive encrusting corallines suggests this taxonomic group may constitute doorways to the establishment of this coral. In contrast, field patterns of sun-coral colonies and recruits, as well as laboratory trials, suggest that cnidarian-dominated habitats represent obstacles to the sun-coral invasion. Thus, while areas dominated by the snowflake coral Carijoa riisei—which showed the greatest negative allelopathic effect on T. coccinea—likely provide resistance to the invader spreading, areas covered by encrusting coralline algae and ‘barren substrates’ probably facilitate its establishment. Because these latter, less-structured microhabitats often prevail after disturbance, damage assessment following human-mediated impacts should include detection and control of sun-coral populations.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the technical staff of the CEBIMar/USP, especially Alex Monteiro, Joseilto Medeiros de Oliveira and Elso Alves da Silva for their support in field surveys and laboratory experiments. Thanks are also due to Rafael Duarte, Fernando Freitas, Pedro Guerra, Fernando Hidalgo, Inês Leal, Karine Nascimento, Marcelo V. Kitahara, Alvaro E. Migotto, Gustavo M. Dias, Soledad Lopez, Carla Zilberberg and Samuel Faria for their comments and advice in all stages of this study. Two anonymous reviewers provided very helpful comments and criticism which greatly improved the paper. Financial support was provided by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, as a research grant to AAVF (CNPq 400614/2014-6), the International Collaboration Program PC-PEG (Programa de Estudante—Convênio de Pós-Graduação), promoted by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), through a PhD fellowship to DM, and by the Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, through a visiting scientist grant conceded to SAN (FAPESP # 2012/0519-3). This is a contribution of the Research Centre for Marine Biodiversity of the University of São Paulo (NP-Biomar/USP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de São Paulo, Centro de Biologia Marinha (CEBIMar/USP), Rod. Manoel Hipólito do Rego, km 131.5, São Sebastião, SP, 11600-000, Brazil

    Damián Mizrahi & Augusto A. V. Flores

  2. Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências (IB/USP), Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, n. 321, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil

    Suelen F. Pereira

  3. Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas, Las Cruces, Center for Marine Conservation, LincGlobal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile

    Sergio A. Navarrete

  4. Departamento de Ecología, Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile

    Sergio A. Navarrete

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  1. Damián Mizrahi
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  2. Suelen F. Pereira
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  3. Sergio A. Navarrete
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  4. Augusto A. V. Flores
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Correspondence to Damián Mizrahi.

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Mizrahi, D., Pereira, S.F., Navarrete, S.A. et al. Allelopathic effects on the sun-coral invasion: facilitation, inhibition and patterns of local biodiversity. Mar Biol 164, 139 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3164-3

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