Ecteinascidia turbinata

History of Spread

Ecteinascidia turbinata (Mangrove Tunicate) range includes Bermuda, reefs off the Carolinas, the coast of FL, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico (Bingham and Young 1987; Calder et al. 1966; Van Name 1945), the Mediterranean, and the tropical East Atlantic (Senegal, Cape Verde Islands) (Monniot and Monniot 1994; Carballo 2000). The genetic similarity of populations on both sides of the Atlantic raises the possibility that populations may have been transported across the Atlantic by ships (Lopez-Legentil and Turon 2007). It was first collected north of Cape Hatteras in 1960, at Wachapreague, Virginia (US National Musuem of Natural History 2008), and was collected twice in 1966 in the York River, near Gloucester Point (Calder et al. 1966).

Ecteinascidia turbinata was collected by dredge in the channel at the mouth of the York River on 2 and 6 August 1966. Numerous other collections contained no specimens (Calder et al. 1967). Ecteinascidia turbinata was collected again in 1967 and in 1971 (Calder, in Wass 1972). There are no more recent reports of this species in Chesapeake Bay proper. However, E. turbinata has been collected from Chincoteague Bay on the Atlantic Coast (Prezant et al. 2002). Calder et al. (1966) considered this species to be a probable introduction to the Chesapeake Bay 'Existing currents are not conducive to the transport of southern species into Chesapeake Bay. Waters adjacent to the VA coast proceed southward (Ford and Miller 1952) as the Virginia Coastal Current, while offshore, the Gulf Stream moves northeastward and away from Chesapeake Bay...E. turbinata is known to foul floats and test surfaces in the FL region (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; 1952), and could attach to ships. If so, this species may have been introduced into Chesapeake Bay in this fashion (Calder et al. 1966).

History References - Bingham and Young 1987; Calder et al. 1966; Prezant et al. 2002; Van Name 1945; Wass 1972

Invasion Comments