• ChesReport (current)
  • Marine Invasions Lab
  • Partner Portals
    Nemesis California Panama Galapagos Cocos Island NP JTMD
    Archived Projects
    Chesapeake
  • Browse Species
    Taxonomic Groups All Species
  • News
  • login
You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Hippoporina indica

Hippoporina indica

Ectoprocts

encrusting bryozoan

Hippoporina indica is an encrusting bryozoan, filter feeders that collect food using a crown of tentacles. This bryozoan, like most, is colonial, meaning it is made up of individuals, called zooids (each 'shoe' in the image is a zooid), that work together to make the colony function as a single organism. Each zooid in the colony has a distinct role; some are responsible for collecting food, others are responsible for defense or reproduction. They are called encrusting bryozoans because they form a hard crust that grows on hard substrates such as docks or the bottoms of boats. The species H.indica was described in two different countries about the same time, Bombay, India (1978) and Hong Kong, China (1968). Outside the Indo-West-Pacific region it was seen for the first time in 2001 at 3 sites in lower Chesapeake Bay (Norfolk, Willoughby Bay and Virginia Beach, VA). In Chesapeake Bay it appears to be rare but in other areas including Florida and Texas, it is more abundant and may contribute to fouling of ships, docks, and power plants.

Image Credit: Judy Winston, SEM Scan

Description Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description

The encrusting bryozoan Hippoporina indica was described from waters near Bombay by Pillai (1978). 'Cosciniopsis hongkongensis', described by Liu and Liu fom Hong Kong (Liu and Liu 1992, cited by McCann et al. 2007), appears to be identical to H. indica (McCann et al. 2007).


Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Animalia Bryozoa Gymnolaemata Cheilostomata Hippoporinidae Hippoporina

Synonyms

Cosciniopsis hongkongensis; Hippothyris hongkongensis

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
2001 Established Unknown Introduced Regular Resident Western Pacific Western Pacific Shipping(Fouling Community)

History of Spread

The encrusting bryozoan Hippoporina indica was described from Bombay, India, on the Arabian Sea, by Pillai (1978). An apparently identical bryozoan was described from Hong Kong, China as Cosciniopsis hongkongensis by Liu and Liu in 1987, and had been present there at least as early as 1968).

Hippoporina indica was first collected and identified outside the Indo-West-Pacific region in 2001, at 3 sites in lower Chesapeake Bay, in Norfolk (Nauticus and Willoughby Bay) and Virginia Beach (Lynnhaven Bay) 7). In a survey of fouling taxa in East and Gulf Coast ports, in 2001-2005, H. indica occurred from Chesapeake Bay (VA) to Corpus Christi Bay (TX). This bryozoan was well established and abundant from Charleston southward (McCann et al. 2007).

Chesapeake Bay- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2001, at 3 sites () in lower Chesapeake Bay: Norfolk (Nauticus and Willoughby Bay) and Virginia Beach (Lynnhaven Bay) (McCann et al. 2007). One specimen was found at each site, but the occurrence at multiple sites was considered to indicate an established population

Charleston Harbor-Hippoporina indica was collected in 2004, at several sites (McCann et al. 2007).

St. Johns River Estuary- Hippoporina indica was found in 2001, at 8 sites near Jacksonville FL. It occurred only at the higher-salinity stations, but was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007).

Indian River Lagoon- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2004, at 7 sites near Fort Pierce FL and was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007).

Tampa Bay- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2002-2004, at many sites, and was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007).

Pensacola Bay- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2002, at many sites, and was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007).

Galveston Bay- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2002, at 9 of 10 sites, and was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007).

Corpus Christi Bay- Hippoporina indica was collected in 2002, at 7 of 10 sites, and was very abundant (McCann et al. 2007). Hippoporina indica is known only from Bombay, India, (Arabian Sea) Hong Kong, and the nearby coast of China (South China Sea) and from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Its full native and introduced ranges may be much larger (McCann et al. 2007).

Invasion References: McCann et al. 2007; Pillai 1978

Invasion Comments

None

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰)
Oxygen None
pH
Salinity Range poly-eu

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm)
Typical Adult Size (mm) 20.0 20.0
Maximum Adult Size (mm) 50.0
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Hippoporina indica in Chesapeake Bay appears to be rare (McCann et al. 2007) so its present economic impacts are probably not observable.


Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Hippoporina indica is abundant in estuaries of the southern East and Gulf Coasts and may contribute to fouling of ships, docks, and powerplants. In china, this species is a common fouler of aquaculture and fishing gear (McCann et al. 2007).


Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Hippoporina indica in Chesapeake Bay appears to be rare (McCann et al. 2007) so its present ecological impacts may be small. In estuaries of the southern East and Gulf Coasts, where this species is more abundant, its impacts on native biota may be larger, but have not yet been studied.


Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Hippoporina indica in Chesapeake Bay appears to be rare (McCann et al. 2007) so its present ecological impacts may be small. In estuaries of the southern East and Gulf Coasts, where this species is more abundant, its impacts on other exotic biota may be important, but have not yet been studied. In India, its native range, H. indica grew more slowly than Electra bengalensis, and Sinoflustra annae, two other bryozoans which have also been introduced to Southeast and Gulf Coast estuaries, but persisted owing to its greater longevity and ability to overgorw other species (Karande and Udhayakumar 1992).


References

Karande, A. A.; Udhayakumar, M. (1992) Consequences of crowding on life-histories of cheilostome bryozoans in Bombay., Indian Journal of Marine Science 21: 133-136

Madhavan Pillai, S. R. (1978) A new species of Hippoporina (Ectoproccta, Ascophora) from Bombay coast., Current Science 47: 61-63

McCann, Linda D.; Hitchcock, Natasha Gray; Winston, Judith E.; Ruiz, Gregory M. (2007) Non-native bryozoans in coastal embayments of the southern United States: new records for the western Atlantic., Bulletin of Marine Science 80: 319-342


Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

©