Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Puerto Quequen/Argentina/Atlantic Ocean (1940, Rioja 1943; ten Hove and Weerdenburg 1978; Schwindt et al. 2001; Orensanz et al. 2002)
Geographic Extent
Puerto Quequen/Argentina/Atlantic Ocean (1940, Rioja 1943; ten Hove and Weerdenburg 1978; Schwindt et al. 2001; Orensanz et al. 2002); Buenos Aires Province/Argentina/Albufera de Mar Chiquita (1968, ten Hove and Weerdenburg 1978; Schwindt et al. 2004; Pan and Marcoval 2013); Buenos Aires Province/Argentina/La Tigra Creek (38 19 S, 57 56 W)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Ficopomatus enigmaticus reefs in Mar Chiquita lagoon, Argentina, provided new habitat for the crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus (Schwindt et al. 2001). Reefs also greatly increased sedimentation and decreased water circulation throughout the lagoon (Schwindt et al. 2001). There was an increased frequency of epibiotic fauna on serpulid reefs compared to bare mud areas (amphipods, crabs, snails), and the reefs provided a more frequently used feeding and resting habitat for migratory shorebirds (Bruschetti et al. 2009). Reef worms deposit large quantities of organic material as feces and pseudofeces, altering sedimentary habitats (Bruschett et al. 2011). Reef building also increased grazing by herbivores, resulting in the elimination of green algae (Ulva, etc.), while providing habitat for settlement of red algae (Polysiphonia subtilissima) (Bazterrica et al. 2011). This impact may be mutualistic. Ficopomatus colonized by P. subtilissima had increased recruitment, tube length, and body condition (Bazterrica et al. 2014). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Herbivory | |
| Phytoplankton chlorophyll decreased by up to 56% near reefs in summer, due to suspension-feeding by F. enigmaticus (Bruschetti et al. 2008). Grazing rates, in Mar Chiquita and La Tigra Creek, were greatest for diatoms, resulting in dominance of the phytoplankton by picoplanton (nanochlorophytes) (Pan and Marcoval 2013). In mesocosm experiments, nutrient addicitions promoted phytplankton gorwth, but this was offset by increased biomass and grazing of F. enigmaticus (Bruschetti et al. 2018). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Trophic Cascade | |
| Increased populations of the crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus resulted in increased predation and reduced abundance of infauna (Schwindt et al. 2001). Ficopomatus reefs also provided a center of concentration for two native snails (Heleobia conexa and Heleobia australis), resulting in increased prevalence of digenean trematodes (15 spp.) whose life cycle includes parasitism of shorebirds (Etcehgoin et al. 2012). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Predation | |
| In mesocosm experiments, Ficopomatus reefs in the Mar Chiquit, Argentina, did not affect overall zooplantkon biomass, but did affect community composition, especially the abundace of cladocerans (mostly Moina spp. (Bruschetti et al. 2016). | ||