Species Regional Summary
Halimeda opuntia
None ( CAR-III )

Invasion History Vectors Impacts References

Invasion

Invasion Description

1st Record: Curaçao/Caribbean Sea (USNM 69196, US National Museum of Natural History 2017)

Geographic Extent

Isla San Andrés/Colombia/Caribbean Sea (Kooistra and Verbruggen 2005); Cayo Nancy, Bocas del Toro/Panama (Kooistra and Verbruggen 2005); Devil's Beach, Colon Province/Panama/Caribbean Sea (USNM 28301, US National Museum of Natural History 2010); Fort Sherman/Panama/Panama Canal (1979, USNM 28289, US National Museum of Natural History 2010); Costa Rica/Caribbean Sea (Guiry and Donncha 2008); Trinidad and Tobago/Caribbean Sea (Guiry and Donncha 2008)

Vectors

Level Vector
Probable Hull Fouling

Regional Impacts

Ecological ImpactCompetition
Halimeda opuntia can adversely affect coral recruitment by attracting large numbers of settling coral planulae, which do not survive after settlement (Nugues and Szmant 2006).
 
Ecological ImpactHabitat Change
Halimeda opuntia can adversely affect coral recruitment by attracting large numbers of settling coral planulae, which do not survive after settlement (Nugues and Szmant 2006).
 
Ecological ImpactParasitism
Halimeda opuntia acts as a parasite reservoir by providing a reservoir for coral pathogens, such as the bacterium Aurantimonas coralicida which causes the White Plague II disease, which kills the dominant coral Montastraea faveolata (Nugues et al. 2004)
 

References

Full Reference List for Halimeda opuntia

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