Polyclinum constellatum

Invasion History

First Galapagos Record: 2016

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General Invasion History:

Polyclinum constellatum was described from Mauritius in 1816. It is widely reported from mangroves, dead corals, rocks, and from man-made structures, such as pilings, floats, buoys, etc. (da Rocha et al. 2010; Carlton and Eldredge 2009). Although its discovery in Mauritius suggests an Indian Ocean origin, native status in the tropical Atlantic cannot be excluded. By the end of the 19th century, it was reported from the Gulf of Mexico (in 1887, Florida), the Caribbean Sea (in 1883, Jamaica), Hawaii (in 1873), and Japan (in 1900) (US National Museum of Natural History 2002; Carlton and Eldredge 2009). We consider it cryptogenic in the western Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and the western Pacific. Polyclinum constellatum is considered introduced in Guam (Lambert 2002; Lambert 2003), Tahiti (Monniot and Monniot 1985), and the Hawaiian Islands (Carlton and Eldredge 2009). It was found at the western entrance to the Panama Canal in 2002-2009 (Ruiz et al., unpublished data; Carman et al. 2010) where Carman et al (2010) considered it cryptogenic. In 2008-2009, it was found in Pacific Mexico, near Mazatlan, at the mouth of the Gulf of California (Tovar-Hernandez et al. 2010). One specimen was identfied on fouling plates in San Diego Bay in 2000 (Ruiz et al., unpublished data).

Invasion History in the Galapagos:

In 2016, it was collected from docks in two harbors on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, its first record there (Lambert 2019).

Invasion history elsewhere in the world:

Polyclinum constellatum was described from Mauritius in 1816. Although its discovery in Mauritius suggests an Indian Ocean origin, native status in the tropical Atlantic cannot be excluded. Because of this uncertainty, it is considered to be cryptogenic throughout much of its global range. It was reported from Jamaica in 1883 and Japan in 1900 (US National Museum of Natural History 2002; Carlton and Eldredge 2009). Polyclinum constellatum is widely distributed throughout the Caribbean (Van Name 1945) and has also been reported from Tahiti (Monniot and Monniot 1985), New Caledonia (Monniot 1987), Tanzania (Monniot and Monniot 1997) and Brazil (da Rocha and Costa 2005). During 2009, P. constellatum was found on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal (Carman et al. 2011), where Carman et al (2011) considered it to be cryptogenic.

In 1998, Polyclinum constellatum was collected on man-made substrates in Apra Harbor, Guam (USNM 25073, US National Museum of Natural History 2010; Lambert 2002; Lambert 2003) and we consider it introduced here. In 2016, it was collected from docks in two harbors on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, its first record there (Lambert 2019).

Description

Polyclinum constellatum is a colonial encrusting tunicate. It can be grey, purplish brown or green in color, with white or beige systems of zooids visible on the surface. The attachment area of the colony can be small, so that only a small part of the base is directly attached to the substratum (Van Name, 1945). Colonies are firm and cartilaginous, often without attached debris, but sometimes colonized by hydroids or other epifauna (da Rocha and Costa 2005). Colonies range in size from 25-65 mm long and 5-20 mm thick. The zooids of P. constellatum are about 5-7 mm long when straightened. Zooids are arranged in circular systems, of about 20 zooids each, which border a circular common cloaca (or atrial siphon). The oral siphons are tubular and fringed by six long and triangular lobes (da Rocha and Costa 2005). The reproductive organs are located in the post-abdomen, with the testes forward to the ovaries (Van Name 1945; da Rocha and Costa 2005).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

A colonial (or compound) tunicate consists of many zooids, bearing most or all of the organs of a solitary tunicate, but modified to varying degrees for colonial life. Colonial tunicates of the family Polyclinidae have zooids organized around cloacal systems. Each zooid has a thorax, an abdomen and a posterior abdomen. The thorax has an oral siphon and an atrial aperature with an anterior lip, which open to the surface. Below the thorax, the abdomen contains the stomach and intestines, while the posterior abdomen contains the ovaries, testis, and heart. Water is pumped into the oral siphon, through finely meshed ciliated gills along the pharynx, where it is filtered, and passed on mucus strings to the stomach and intestines. Excess waste is then expelled in the outgoing atrial water (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).

Colonial tunicates reproduce both asexually by budding and sexually from fertilized eggs that develop into larvae. Buds can form from the body wall of the zooids. Colonies vary in size ranging from small clusters of zooids to huge spreading masses. The zooids are hermaphroditic, which means both eggs and sperm are released into the atrial chamber. Eggs may be self-fertilized or fertilized by sperm from nearby animals, but some species have a partial block to self-fertilization. Eggs are brooded in the atrial chamber until they hatch into lecithotrophic (non-feeding, yolk-dependent) tadpole larvae. The larva has a muscular tail and a notochord, eyespots, and a set of adhesive papillae. The larvae are expelled upon hatching and swim briefly before settlement. Swimming periods are usually less than a day, but some larvae settle immediately after release or swim for longer periods if the water temperature is low. On settlement the tail is absorbed, the gill basket expands, and the tunicate begins to feed by filtering (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).

Food:

Algae, detritus

Consumers:

Competitors:

Trophic Status:

Suspension Feeder

SusFed

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Habitats

General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
General Habitat	Mangroves	None
General Habitat	Coral reef	None
General Habitat	Rocky	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None

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Life History

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Minimum Temperature (ºC)	17	Field, near southern range limit, Santa Catarina, Brazil (da Rocha et al. 2009)
Maximum Temperature (ºC)	29	Field, near southern range limit, Santa Catarina, Brazil (da Rocha et al. 2009)
Minimum Salinity (‰)	24	Field, Ilha Grande Bay, Brazil (Marins et al. 2010)
Maximum Salinity (‰)	40	Gulf of California, Mazatlan, Mexico (Tovar-Hernandez et al. 2010)
Broad Temperature Range	None	Warm temperate-Tropical
Broad Salinity Range	None	Polyhaline-Euhaline

General Impacts

Economic Impacts – Polyclinum constellatum has been reported as fouling on cultured mussels (Perna perna) in Hong Kong (da Rocha et al. 2009).

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