Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile
Non-native ascidians are important members of the fouling community associated with artificial substrata and man-made structures. Being efficient fouling species, they are easily spread by human-mediated transports (e.g., with aquaculture trade and maritime transports). This is exemplified by the as...
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doaj-2cf3d3567c934ec7a5f12477bf5e40f52020-11-25T00:12:18ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-08-015e367210.7717/peerj.3672Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central ChileJavier Pinochet0Jean-Charles Leclerc1Antonio Brante2Claire Daguin-Thiébaut3Christian Díaz4Florence Tellier5Frédérique Viard6Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, ChileDepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, ChileDepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, ChileUMR 7144, Laboratoire “Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin”, Team Div&Co, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), CNRS, Roscoff, FranceCentro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, ChileDepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, ChileUMR 7144, Laboratoire “Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin”, Team Div&Co, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), CNRS, Roscoff, FranceNon-native ascidians are important members of the fouling community associated with artificial substrata and man-made structures. Being efficient fouling species, they are easily spread by human-mediated transports (e.g., with aquaculture trade and maritime transports). This is exemplified by the ascidian Asterocarpa humilis which displays a wide distribution in the Southern Hemisphere and has been recently reported in the Northern Hemisphere (NW Europe). In continental Chile, its first report dates back from 2000 for the locality of Antofagasta (23°S). Although there was no evidence about the vectors of introduction and spread, nor the source, some authors suggested maritime transport by ship hulls and aquaculture devices as putative introduction pathways and vectors. In the present study, we report for the first time the presence of A. humilis on the hull of an international ship in a commercial port in Concepción bay (36°S), south central Chile. We also found one individual associated to a seashell farm, 70 km far from Concepción bay. Further individuals were subsequently identified within Concepción bay: one juvenile settled upon international harbor pilings and a dozen individuals along aquaculture seashell longlines. For the first specimens sampled, species identification was ascertained using both morphological criteria and molecular barcoding, using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and a nuclear gene (ribosomal RNA 18S). The nuclear 18S gene and the mitochondrial gene COI clearly assigned the specimens to A. humilis, confirming our morphological identification. Two haplotypes were obtained with COI corresponding to haplotypes previously obtained with European and Northern Chilean specimens. The present study thus reports for the first time the presence of A. humilis in the Araucanian ecoregion, documenting the apparent expansion of this non-native tunicate in Chile over 2,000 km, spanning over three ecoregions. In addition we reveal the potential implication of the international maritime transport as a vector of spread of this species along the Eastern Pacific coast, and the putative role of aquaculture facilities in promoting local establishments of non-native tunicates.https://peerj.com/articles/3672.pdfAscidiansDNA barcodingNon-native speciesMaritime tradeVectors |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Javier Pinochet Jean-Charles Leclerc Antonio Brante Claire Daguin-Thiébaut Christian Díaz Florence Tellier Frédérique Viard |
spellingShingle |
Javier Pinochet Jean-Charles Leclerc Antonio Brante Claire Daguin-Thiébaut Christian Díaz Florence Tellier Frédérique Viard Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile PeerJ Ascidians DNA barcoding Non-native species Maritime trade Vectors |
author_facet |
Javier Pinochet Jean-Charles Leclerc Antonio Brante Claire Daguin-Thiébaut Christian Díaz Florence Tellier Frédérique Viard |
author_sort |
Javier Pinochet |
title |
Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile |
title_short |
Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile |
title_full |
Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile |
title_fullStr |
Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile |
title_full_unstemmed |
Presence of the tunicate Asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the Biobío Region, south central Chile |
title_sort |
presence of the tunicate asterocarpa humilis on ship hulls and aquaculture facilities in the coast of the biobío region, south central chile |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
series |
PeerJ |
issn |
2167-8359 |
publishDate |
2017-08-01 |
description |
Non-native ascidians are important members of the fouling community associated with artificial substrata and man-made structures. Being efficient fouling species, they are easily spread by human-mediated transports (e.g., with aquaculture trade and maritime transports). This is exemplified by the ascidian Asterocarpa humilis which displays a wide distribution in the Southern Hemisphere and has been recently reported in the Northern Hemisphere (NW Europe). In continental Chile, its first report dates back from 2000 for the locality of Antofagasta (23°S). Although there was no evidence about the vectors of introduction and spread, nor the source, some authors suggested maritime transport by ship hulls and aquaculture devices as putative introduction pathways and vectors. In the present study, we report for the first time the presence of A. humilis on the hull of an international ship in a commercial port in Concepción bay (36°S), south central Chile. We also found one individual associated to a seashell farm, 70 km far from Concepción bay. Further individuals were subsequently identified within Concepción bay: one juvenile settled upon international harbor pilings and a dozen individuals along aquaculture seashell longlines. For the first specimens sampled, species identification was ascertained using both morphological criteria and molecular barcoding, using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and a nuclear gene (ribosomal RNA 18S). The nuclear 18S gene and the mitochondrial gene COI clearly assigned the specimens to A. humilis, confirming our morphological identification. Two haplotypes were obtained with COI corresponding to haplotypes previously obtained with European and Northern Chilean specimens. The present study thus reports for the first time the presence of A. humilis in the Araucanian ecoregion, documenting the apparent expansion of this non-native tunicate in Chile over 2,000 km, spanning over three ecoregions. In addition we reveal the potential implication of the international maritime transport as a vector of spread of this species along the Eastern Pacific coast, and the putative role of aquaculture facilities in promoting local establishments of non-native tunicates. |
topic |
Ascidians DNA barcoding Non-native species Maritime trade Vectors |
url |
https://peerj.com/articles/3672.pdf |
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