Tubastraea tagusensis

Invasion History

First Non-native North American Tidal Record: 2018
First Non-native West Coast Tidal Record:
First Non-native East/Gulf Coast Tidal Record: 2018

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General Invasion History:

 Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral)  was described from Tagus Cove on Isabela Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago. Elsewhere in the tropical Eastern Pacific it has been collected on Socorro Island, in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, off Mexico (Wells 1982; Creed et al. 2023; US National Museum of Natural History Collections 2023). This coral is abundant in the Galapagos, but records in the Indo-West Pacific are scattered, from Hong Kong and Palau, to the Persian Gulf. Creed et al. (2017) considered the Indo-West Pacific record to be cryptogenic, and possibly misidentifications. In 2000, T. tagusensis was collected off Ilha Grande, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and spread rapidly along the coast of Brazil, especially occurring on shipwrecks and oil platforms, but also colonizing rocky shores and outcrops. It has spread south to Sao Paulo (~25° S) to Ceara State (2° S) (Figueira de Paula and Creed 2004; Creed et al. 2017). Before 2018, Tubastraea tagusensis was collected at several oil-drilling areas in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas in 2016–2018 (Figueroa et al. 2019; Soared et al. 2020). The extent of T. tagusensis' range in the Gulf of Mexico is not known.

North American Invasion History:

Invasion History on the Gulf Coast:

Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral) was collected  by diving in 2017–2018 from 3 former oil-drilling sites, now maintained as artificial reefs, at 20–49 m depth.  Specimens of Tubastraea spp. were identified by morphological and genetic methods; 95 specimens of T. coccinea, 71 specimens of T. tagusensis, and 3 of an indeterminate clade (Figuroa et al. 2019). However, the spatial extent and abundance of Tubastraea tagusensis in the Gulf of Mexico is not known.

Invasion History Elsewhere in the World:

Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral) is an azooxanthellate (lacks symbiotic algae) described from Tagus Cove, on Isla Isabela, in the Galapagos Islands. It is widespread an abundant in the Galapagos. It has also been collected on Isla Socorro, off the Pacific coast of Mexico.  Other Indo-Pacific records, off Palau, in the Nicobar Islands, India, Hong Kong, and in the Persian Gulf, have been considered cryptogenic, because of the diversity of the genus in the Indo-West Pacific, and may be misidentifications (Creed et al. 2017). Genetic studies of this genus in the Pacific are desirable. 

In 2000, T. tagusensis was collected off Ilha Grande, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.  On the Brazilian coast, this coral now occurs from Sao Paulo State (25°S) to Ceara State (2°S). often on shipwrecks and oil platforms, but also on rocky shores (Soares et al. 2020). In Brazil, it has been often found to replace or overgrow native corals and sponges (Creed et al. 2017). In 2016–2018, T. tagusensis was collected at several oil exploration sites in the Gulf of Mexico, off Texas (Figueroa et al. 2019). The extent of its range in Gulf of Mexico waters is not known.

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Description

Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral) is an azooxanthellate coral (lacking symbiotic algae), which grows in colonies consisting of clumps of calcareous cups, projecting from a spongy calcareous base. The corallite (calcareous wall around a single polyp) is cylindrical, up to 8–10 mm in diameter, and may rise 3–15 mm above the colony skeleton (coenosteum). The corallites form convex, globular colonies 70–100 mm in diameter and 70–100 mm tall.  The corallite walls are thin, with low, thin, smooth or slightly grainy ribs. The interior of the corallite is partly divided by septa, projecting into the body cavity. There are two kinds of septa of varying width, alternating in the calyx (cup) of the corallite, which are arranged in three cycles around the opening of the corallite. The septa do not protrude on the exterior of the corallite. The columella—a projection of the skeleton in the center of the corallite—varies with size, from a weak tangle of septa to a prominent structure filling half the diameter of the calyx. The polyps vary in color, from lemon-yellow, with red around the mouth, or pale red-violet, with yellow tissue overgrowing the skeleton (Wells 1982).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

In the Galapagos Archipelago, Tubastraea tagusensis is abundant on rock outcrops and overhangs at 3–43 m depth (Wells et al. 1982). Tubastraea spp. lack zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae), and so are not dependent on photosynthesis. Because they are not limited by light, they can occur at depths down to 60m (Shearer 2011). They feed on zooplankton captured with their tentacles (Barnes 1983). Planulae of Tubastraea tagusensis in Brazil settled equally on plates made with wood, granite, concrete, steel, and ceramic tiles, with a slight preference for cement over steel (Creed and Figueira de Paula 2007).  On the coast of Brazil, T. tagusensis is often most abundant on oil platforms and other structures, but is also abundant on coral reefs and rock outcrops, up to the lower intertidal (Silva et al. 2019). Most occurrences in the Western Atlantic have been on abandoned on oil platforms (Cairns 2000; Fenner and Banks 2004; Creed and Figueira de Paula 2007). In experiments, T. tagusensis survived exposure to temperatures as low as 15 °C for 96 hours, but died in 24-hour exposure at 12.5 °C. Its distribution on Cabo de Frio Island, Brazil, was strongly affected by an adjacent cool-water upwelling zone, and was rare or absent where temperatures dropped below 15 °C (Batista et al. 2016). We haven't found definite numbers on its upper temperature tolerance, but populations in the Galapagos apparently disappeared after an El Niño event, but reappeared 20 years later (Glynn and De Weerdt 1991, cited by Creed et al. 2017). Tubastraea tagusensis survived transfers to 15 PSU without mortality for 30 days, (Moreira et al. 2014), although we have not found records from strongly brackish waters. 

Food:

Zooplankton, epibenthos

Consumers:

nudibranchs

Competitors:

Tubastraea coccinea, other corals

Trophic Status:

Suspension feeder

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Habitats

General Habitat	Coral reef	None
General Habitat	Bedrock	None
General Habitat	Rocky	None
General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None

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Life History

Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral) is an azooxanthellate coral (lacking symbiotic algae), which grows in colonies consisting of clumps of calcareous cups, projecting from a spongy calcareous base, forming convex, globular colonies 70–100 mm in diameter and 70–100 mm tall. Polyps reproduce asexually by budding from the base or from the oral disk to produce new polyps, which secrete their own calcareous skeletons (Barnes 1983; Harrison 2011). Fragments of damaged polyps can grow into whole polps, from small pieces of tissue (Luz et al. 2018).  Polyps of this coral are hermaphroditic, and release sperm into the water, but brood their eggs, which develop into planula larvae. This coral can also produce planulae asexually (Creed et al.2017). Tubastraea tagusensis, in Brazil, had more frequent and more closely spaced  budding, and somewhat irregular colonies (de Paula and Creed 2004). The planulae are brooded, and quite large (1–3 mm long) and can be visible during mass-spawning events. They can remain competent to settle for up to 18 days, so have the capability for long-distance dispersal by currents (Paz-Garcia et al. 2007; de Paula and Creed 2014).

 

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Minimum Temperature (ºC)	15	Experimental. Battsta et al. 2017
Minimum Salinity (‰)	15	Moreira et al. 2014
Maximum Width (mm)	70	Colony width (Wells 1982)
Maximum Height (mm)	70	Colony height (Wells 1982)

General Impacts

Ecological Impacts

Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral), like T. coccinea (Orange Cup or Orange Sun Coral), has been an aggressive colonizer on the coast of Brazil, replacing native corals and sponge on rocky reefs, together with and sometimes dominating T. coccinea, decreasing taxonomic and functional diversity on reefs (Lages et al. 2011; Pires-Teixeira et al. 2021). In field experiments, the native corals Siderastrea stellata and Montastraea cavernosa suffered tissue mortality when in contact with T. tagusensis (Miranda et al. 2016).  Invasions by T. tagusensis also affect  the abundance and diversity of mobile invertebrates (Silva et al. 2019).  Coral invasions also affect the feeding rates of both herbivorous and invertebrate-feeding fishes (Miranda et al. 2019).  

Economic impacts

In Brazil, invasions of Tubastraea spp. are perceived as negatively affecting the biodiversity, visual quality, and fisheries of rocky reefs and coral reefs of coastal waters (Dutra et al. 2023).  Consequently, there have been efforts to monitor its distribution and control it through local eradication (Creed et al. 2017; Dutra et al. 2023). Methods have included the use of fresh or low-salinity water (Moreira et al. 2014), wrapping colonies (Mantelatto et al. 2015), or use of sodium hypochlorite (Altvater et al. 2017).

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Regional Impacts

SA-III	None		Ecological Impact	Competition
In experiments in Todos de Santos Bay, abundance of Tubastraea tagusensis was associated with reduced abundance of native corals.  In transplantation experimenrts, contact with T. tagusensis led to the mortality of adjacent native coral polyps (Miranda et al. 2016).
NWP-2	None		Ecological Impact	Competition
Tubastreaa tagusensis, often together with T. coccinea, is often associated with  a reduced abundance of native corals in Ilha Grande, Brazil (Lages et al. 2011).
NWP-2	None		Ecological Impact	Food/Prey
Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea both produce substances which reduce feeding by generalist fish species, and also inhibited the growth of native algae (Lages et al. 2010).
SA-III	None		Ecological Impact	Food/Prey
In Todos dos Santos Bay, Dense cover of Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea was associated with reduced feeding by territorial and free-moving reef fishes (Miranda et al. 2018).
SA-II	None		Ecological Impact	Competition
On Ilha Grande, Brazil, increases in the cover of Tubastraea spp. was associated with a decrease in the diversity of the benthic community on rocky reefs, through competition for space (Lages et al. 2011).
SA-II	None		Ecological Impact	Food/Prey
Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea both produce substances which reduce feeding by generalist fish species, and also inhibited the growth of native algae (Lages et al. 2010).
SA-II	None		Ecological Impact	Habitat Change
High densities of Tubastraea spp. on Brazilian rocky reefs are associated with a decrease in the abundance of mobile invertebrates, compared to diverse communtiies with macoralgae and native fouling invertebrates (Silva et al. 2019).
SA-II	None		Economic Impact	Ecosystem Services
In Brazil, invasions of Tubastraea spp. are perceived as negatively affecting the biodiversity, visual quality, and fisheries of rocky reefs and coral reefs of coastal waters (Dutra et al. 2023). Consequently, there's been efforts to monitor its distribution and efforts at controlling it through local eradication (Creed et al. 2017; Dutra et al. 2023).  Methods have included the use of fresh or low-salinity water (Moreira et al. 2014), wrapping colonies (Mantelatto et al. 2015), or use of sodium hypochlorite (Altvater et al. 2017).

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