Invasion
Invasion Description
1st record: near Slidell, LA/Bayou Bonfouca (1906, USNM 33099, US National Museum of Natural History 2009)
Geographic Extent
New Smyrna Beach/FL/intracoastal waterway (Conover and Reid 1975); Vero Beach/FL/Indian River Lagoon (Conover and Reid 1975); Hutchinson's Island/FL/Indian River Lagoon (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Jupiter Inlet (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Indian River Lagoon (Baratti et al. 2005); Near Route 1, Fort Pierce/FL/Taylor Creek (USNM 280455, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Marina On Prima Vera Boulevard /FL/St. Lucie River, North Fork (1995, USNM 280150, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Lantana/FL/Lake Worth (Conover and Reid 1975); Fort Lauderdal/FL/Intracoastal Waterway (Conover and Reid 1975); Matheson Hammock/FL/Biscayne Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); Dade County/FL/Biscayne Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); Monroe County/FL/Card sound, north end (Conover and Reid 1975); Monroe County/FL/Long Sound, Florida Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); Monroe County/FL/Little Madeira Bay, Florida Bay (Brooks 2004); Key West entrance Buoy/FL/Gulf of Mexico (1945, Miller 1968); Ten Thousand Islands/FL/Gulf of Mexico (Rehm 1973); FL/Buttonwoods Canal (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Whitewater Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Shark River (Conover and Reid 1975); Near Everglades City/FL/Gulf of Mexico (USNM 149197, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Naples/FL/Gordon River (Conover and Reid 1975); Lee County/FL/Hendry Creek, Estero Bay (USNM 1088395, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Fort Myers Beach (Conover and Reid 1975); Charlotte/FL/Florida/Charlotte Harbor (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Peace River (Estevez 1974, in salt marshes, in roots of Typha, Scirpus and Juncus); Venice/FL/Dona Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); near Naples/FL/Bear Creek, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve (?) (Davidson et al. 2016) Tampa/FL/Hillsboro River (USNM 31899, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); FL/Manatee River, Tampa Bay (Estevez 1974, in salt marshes, in roots of Typha, Scirpus and Juncus; Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Myakka River (Estevez 1974, in salt marshes, in roots of Typha, Scirpus and Juncus); FL/Braden River (Estevez 1974, in salt marshes, in roots of Typha, Scirpus and Juncus); Maximo Park, St. Petersburg/FL/Tampa Bay (Conover and Reid 1975); Tarpon Springs/FL/Tarpon Bayou (Conover and Reid 1975); FL/Escambia River (Gulf of Mexico) (1952, Wurtz and Roback 1955); Port Eads/LA/Mississippi River mouth (1923, USNM 57860, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); LA/Lake Pontchartrain, 1 mile W Of Mouth Of Bayou Chinchuba (USNM 97959, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Manchac/LA/Lake Maurepas (1916, USNM 48928, US National Museum of Natural History 2009); Beaumont/TX/Neches River (39 & 60 km from mouth, 2 specimens (Harrelll et al. 1976); buoy off Sabine Pass/TX/Gulf of Mexico (1945, Miller 1968); buoy off Freeport/TX/Gulf of Mexico (1945, Miller 1968); La Reserva de la Biosfera Pantanos de Centla, Tabasco state/Mexico/Usumacinta-Grijalva River Delta (Montalvo-Urgel et al. 2010, (17°57’53” y 18°39’03” N - 92°06’39” y 92°45’58”); Mariel/Cuba/Gulf of Mexico (O'Brien et al. 2017)
Vectors
Level | Vector |
---|---|
Probable | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
Extensive damage to roots of Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) was found with 70-100% of mangrove roots infested, and 20-100% of roots severed (Rehm and Humm 1973; Conover and Reid 1975). Extensive burrowing was also found in tidal brackish and fresh marshes of tributaries of Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, in peat and roots of Juncus plants. Burrows were especially common on the scarps of receding marshes, and could be accelerating marsh retreat (Estevez 1994). In experiments, R. mangle responds to boring activity by increasing the number of root endings in unparasitized roots, mostly those already buried in soil. Sphaeroma terebrans' boring activity could actually increase the stability of shorelines (Simberloff et al. 1978; Ribi 1982). However, in caging experiments in Rookery Bay (Bear Creek and Environmental Learning Center) and Braden River, exclusion of S. terebrans resulted in much more extensive growth and complexity of mangrove roots. Boring by S. terebrans may limit the seaward growth of the mangrove community (Davidson et al. 2016). Boring by S. terebrans in plastic foam floats contributes to pollution by plastic particles, with adverse consequences to marine foodwebs (Davidson 2012). In Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, S. terebrans extensively bored into Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) stumps, honeycombing them, and contributing to their decay and shoreline erosion (Wilkinson 2002). | ||
Economic Impact | Shipping/Boating | |
Sphaeroma terebrans has caused damage to docks, pilings, and boat hulls (Atwood 1932). Damage to plastic floats was extensive in southwest Florida and in Lake Pontchartrain LA (Davidson 2012). | ||