Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Canada/"Gulf of St. Lawrence" (Van Name 1912)
Geographic Extent
Canada/"Gulf of St. Lawrence" (Van Name 1912); Georgetown/Prince Edward Island/Brudenell estuary (2003, Ramsay et al. 2008); Prince Edward Island/Montague River (Canadian Broadcasting System 2006, Ramsay et al. 2008); Prince Edward Island/Murray River (Canadian Broadcasting System 2006); Edward Island/Brudenell River (46.20º ?62.59, Hudson et al. 2019); many scattered locations, Charlottetown to Basin Head/Prince Edward Island/HillsboroughBay to Rollo Bay, Gulf of st. Lawrence (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2018); Pictou to Cheticamp/Nova Scotia/Gulf of St. Lawrence (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2018); Sydney/Nova Scotia/Cabot Strait (46.14º ?60.19º, Hudson et al. 2019) http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2006/09/06/ciona-intestinalis.html https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles 2022-profils/vasetunicate-ascidiejaune-; Capaux-Meules; Havreaux-Maisons, Magdalen Islands/Quebec/Gulf of St. Lawrence (2021? Working Group on Introductions and Transfers 2022)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Probable | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Fisheries | |
| Ciona intestinalis is considered a threat to mussel culture operations in Prince Edward Island (Carver et al. 2003; Ramsay et al. 2008, Gittenberger 2009). Large biomasses of C. intestinalis in Prince Edward Island estuaries have a high clearance rate, decreasing available food for cultured mussels (Comeau et al. 2015). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| Abundances of native Molgula spp. and sedentary polychaetes were inversely correlated with Ciona intestinalis settling on mussel socks in the Montague-Brudenell River, Prince Edward Island (Lutz-Collins et al. 2009). Ciona intestinalis competedwith, and eventually largely replaced Styela clava in Prince Edward Island estuaries (Ramsay et al. 2008). | ||