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Blitzkrieg in a Marine Invasion: Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) Reaches the Canary Islands (North-East Atlantic)

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Abstract

On the basis of morphological and genetic studies (rDNA ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2, and a 18S rDNA intron), we confirm here that Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Sonder) Verlaque, Huisman et Boudouresque, a southwestern Australian taxon recently introduced into the Mediterranean Sea also occurs in the Canary Islands. This is the first report of C. racemosa var. cylindracea in the Atlantic. It was observed for the first time in the Canary Archipelago in 1997–1998. The speed and regional scale of expansion (north Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea) of this invasive species appear to be among the most dramatic ever recorded. The possible outcome of this introduction in the Atlantic is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR 6540, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Université de la Méditerranée, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France

    Marc Verlaque

  2. Departamento Biologia Vegetal (Botánica), Universidad de La Laguna, 38071, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Julio Afonso-Carrillo & M. Candelaria Gil-Rodríguez

  3. UMR 6540, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Université de la Méditerranée, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 13288, Marseille Cedex 9, France

    Christine Durand, Charles F. Boudouresque & Yannick Le Parco

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  1. Marc Verlaque
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  2. Julio Afonso-Carrillo
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  3. M. Candelaria Gil-Rodríguez
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  4. Christine Durand
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  5. Charles F. Boudouresque
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Correspondence to Marc Verlaque.

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Verlaque, M., Afonso-Carrillo, J., Candelaria Gil-Rodríguez, M. et al. Blitzkrieg in a Marine Invasion: Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) Reaches the Canary Islands (North-East Atlantic). Biological Invasions 6, 269–281 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BINV.0000034589.18347.d3

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