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Hydroids were examined from surveys of marine fouling communities undertaken during 2018 in Ecuador. Specimens were collected on settlement panels in harbours at Salinas and La Libertad on the mainland, and at Isla San Cristóbal in the Galapagos Islands. Of 27 species in the samples, 18 were present in collections from the mainland and 14 from San Cristóbal. Most frequent in samples from the mainland were Bougainvillia cf. muscus (20 samples), Obelia microtheca (20), Clytia delicatula (19) and Pennaria disticha (10). In collections from San Cristóbal, most frequent were Obelia alternata (27), Bougainvillia cf. muscus (16), Ectopleura crocea (13) and Cirrholovenia tetranema (11). Based on genetic evidence, Ectopleura media Fraser, 1948 is assigned to the synonymy of E. crocea (L. Agassiz, 1862). In addition, a COI reference sequence is deposited for the first time for Tridentata turbinata. Male gonophores of Eudendrium breve, previously unknown, were discovered and illustrated. The cnidome of the species comprises small and large microbasic euryteles. Five of the species have not been reported before from the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Of these, three (Amphinema cf. rugosum, Egmundella humilis, and Campanulinida, undetermined) were found only in the Galapagos, one (Clytia delicatula) occurred at both mainland sites and the Galapagos, and one (Opercularella sp.) was collected only from a station on the mainland. Six other species [Ectopleura integra, Coryne repens, Clytia irregularis, C. seriata, Obelia alternata (resurrected here from the synonymy of O. dichotoma), and O. microtheca] are known only from the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Three of them, E. integra, C. irregularis, and C. seriata, are new to the Ecuadorian mainland. Species numbers were similar (range of 6 to 11 taxa) across all stations. One-third (nine species) were found only in Galapagos samples, whereas nearly half (13 species) were found only at mainland sites. More than half (15 species) were restricted to a single station. Previous studies, together with this work, bring the total of introduced and cryptogenic hydroid species in the Galapagos Islands to 12 (previously eight) and nine (previously five) taxa, respectively. We recognize four introduced and eight cryptogenic hydroid species from the coast of mainland Ecuador. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first comprehensive survey of marine bioinvasions in the southern Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWA, ca. 33°45'-ca. 54°50'S) published in 2002 reported 31 introduced and 46 cryptogenic species. In this assessment, we update this work by providing a deep historical perspective of marine biological invasions as well as a full new review of introductions that have occurred over the past nearly two decades. We reviewed a variety of sources including peer-reviewed journals and monographs, government reports, and museum databases, among others. The previous survey was re-evaluated and taxonomic experts were also consulted. For each species, the possible status as introduced or cryptogenic, likely vector, likely native region, first collection date if known, and the first authoritative reference of its SWA occurrence were determined. Species were categorized by biogeographical provinces. Our reevaluation of species status lowered the 2002 survey to 29 introduced and 29 cryptogenic species. The result of our analyses added 100 new introduced and 43 new cryptogenic species, making a total of 129 introduced and 72 cryptogenic marine species for the SWA. Of these 100 species, 67 were found in the literature older than the 2002 survey, and 33 were found as new invasions that occurred since 2002, averaging one new invasion every 178 days. Ships are the most likely vector of invasions with an additional few species introduced with aquaculture, for ornamental purposes or for stabilizing coastal dunes. Most species are native to either the North Pacific or North Atlantic Oceans. Most introduced species (51%) occur in the warm temperate SWA marine ecoregion, while fewer (16%) occur in the cold temperate Magellanic marine ecoregion. Since ships are the main vectors in the region, we forecast that new introductions will continue until regional and international regulations to control ballast water and hull fouling begin to be effective. Our results urge the creation of long-term assessment programs focused on marine coastal biodiversity as a way to avoid inefficient environmental management based on deficient baseline information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Galápagos Islands are recognized for their unique biota and are one of the world's largest marine protected areas. While invasions by non-indigenous species are common and recognized as a significant conservation threat in terrestrial habitats of the Archipelago, little is known about the magnitude of invasions in its coastal marine waters. Based upon recent field surveys, available literature, and analysis of the biogeographic status of previously reported taxa, we report 53 non-indigenous species of marine invertebrates in the Galápagos Islands. Forty-eight (90.6%o) of these species are newly reported or newly recognized as introduced, a nearly ten-fold increase from the five species previously recognized as non-indigenous. Of these 48 species, 30 (62.5%) were newly discovered in surveys commenced in 2015. Ascidians (11 species), bryozoans (10), polychaetes (9), and hydroids (8) account for 38 (71.7%) of the introduced species. Our analyses farther detected 33 cryptogenic invertebrate and algal species and one littoral vascular plant. Most taxonomic groups remain to be assessed for the presence of non-indigenous species. Importantly, the recent field surveys were restricted predominantly to one habitat (harbor biofouling) on two islands, farther suggesting that introduced species richness for the Galápagos Islands may be considerably higher. Most of the introduced species treated here were likely brought to the Galápagos by ships. While we presume that most if not all of the many thousands of vessels arriving in the Galápagos Islands since the 1500s had marine animals and plants attached to their hulls, we hypothesize that the general absence in the Islands of extensive shoreline structures (in the form of wharves, docks, pilings, and buoys) until the last half of the 20th century may have constrained extensive colonization by fouling species. The proliferation of shoreline structures may have both provided expanded habitat for non-indigenous species that had earlier colonized natural substrates, as well as having facilitated a 20th and 21st century wave of new invasions in the Galápagos Islands. Our results represent the greatest reported increase in the recognition of the number of invasions for any tropical marine environment in the world. This work suggests that the number and potential ecological impacts of non-indigenous species in tropical marine and maritime habitats may be substantially underestimated in other regions of the world. Our study demonstrates that tropical marine invasions deserve significant attention, not only in a biogeographical, historical, and ecological context, but also from a management perspective, especially in the Galápagos and other high-value conservation areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bryozoans have been infrequently studied in the Galapagos Islands, and even less so in nearshore biofouling assemblages. Based on surveys of Galapagos fouling communities in 2015 and 2016, we report 18 bryozoan species. At least 10 species are new records for the Galapagos, including Amathia sp. 1 (Bowerbankia group), Beania klugei Cook, 1968, Bugulina stolonifera (Ryland, 1960), Caulibugula cf. dendrograpta (Waters, 1913), Celleporaria inaudita Tilbrook, Hayward and Gordon, 2001, Hippopodina tahitiensis (Leca and d'Hondt, 1993), Nolella stipata Gosse, 1855, Schizoporella pungens (Canu and Bassler, 1928), Sundanella sp. and Watersipora subtorquata (d'Orbigny, 1852) sensu Vieira et al. 2014a. More than half of these are considered likely ship-borne introductions. Schizoporella pungens was the most abundant bryozoan. Continuing explorations of Galapagos biofouling communities will likely reveal additional introduced and native bryozoan species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biofouling community on Santa Cruz and Baltra Islands, Galapagos, was surveyed in 2016 based on samples from settlement plates deployed in 2015 and 2016 at three different sites. We report numerous new records for the Galapagos fauna: one novel family (Opheliidae), nine novel genera, and 15 novel species records were documented in a total of seven families. Six introduced species were found, the syllid Myrianida pachycera, the sabellids Branchiomma bairdi, Branchiomma sp. and Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica, and the serpulids Hydroides elegans, Hydroides sanctaecrucis, along with one cryptogenic species, the spionid Dipolydora armata. Non-native species come from either the warm waters of the Western Atlantic or Indo-West Pacific Oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An account is given of hydroids collected in 2015 and 2016 from port and harbor fouling communities in the Galápagos Islands. Also included is the hydroid of Ectopleura media, discovered on the wreck of the tanker Jessica near Isla San Cristóbal in 2001. Among 20 species reported herein were six anthoathecates and 14 leptothecates. Most common in the samples were the kirchenpaueriid Ventromma halecioides and the halopteridid Halopteris alternata. Eight species (Bougainvillia muscus, Bimeria vestita, Clytia elongata, C. obliqua, C. thornelyi, Obelia oxydentata, Eucheilota sp., and Halecium labiatum) are reported for the first time from the Galápagos archipelago. Three of them (Clytia elongata, C. thornelyi, and Halecium labiatum) are also new to the eastern Pacific. Seven species treated here are considered introduced by shipping to the islands, bringing to eight the number of introduced hydroids. In addition, we treat four species as cryptogenic, bringing to five the total number of the latter in the Galápagos. The binomena Obelia thornelyi Nutting, 1927, Clytia stolonifera Blackburn, 1938, and C. latitheca Millard and Bouillon, 1973 are regarded as synonyms, with the first of these having nomenclatural priority. Meanwhile, the senior synonym O. thornelyi is reassigned to the genus Clytia Lamouroux, 1812 as C. thornelyi. Another species in the samples, Dynamena distans Lamouroux, 1816 (also widely known as Sertularia distans and Tridentata distans), is combined for the first time with the genus Amphisbetia L. Agassiz, 1862, as A. distans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the cheilostome bryozoan genus Bugula Oken, 1815, Bugula tsunamiensis, is described from Japan, having rafted across the North Pacific Ocean on numerous objects released into the ocean by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and landing in the Hawaiian Islands and on the Pacific Coast of the United States. This is the second species of the Bugula uniserialis Hincks, 1884 group to be reported from Japan. We elevate the Japanese species Bugula scaphoides constricta Yanagi and Okada, 1918 to full species status, B. constricta, based upon distinctions from the stem species. We suggest that Bugula uniserialis reported from the Galapagos Islands is an undescribed species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Pacific Ocean barred knifejaw Oplegnathus fasciatus was found from 2013 to 2015 along the Pacific Coast of North America from Washington to California. The knifejaw was found in derelict vessels that had arrived on the Pacific Coast and that had been lost during the March 2011 Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Knifejaw were also found free living in the wild in regions known to have received Japanese tsunami marine debris. No previous records of O. fasciatus are known east of the Hawaiian Archipelago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first direct evidence for the transoceanic transport of living marine Ostracoda. Seven benthic, phytal species, Sclerochilus verecundus Schornikov, 1981, Sclerochilus sp. 1, Sclerochilus sp. 2, Obesostoma cf. setosum (Okubo, 1977), Obesostoma sp., Paradoxostomatidae sp., and Xestoleberis setouchiensis Okubo, 1979, were transported in tsunami debris that departed the Japanese coast in March 2011 amongst the biofouling on docks, vessels, and buoys that subsequently landed on the Pacific coast of North America. Remarkably, X. setouchiensis survived more than four years rafting through the North Pacific, with a living specimen still arriving in April 2015. Marine debris in general, and tsunami debris specifically, adds to the long list of vectors by which species may be transported globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-nine species of Western Pacific coastal bryozoans were found on 317 objects (originating from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011) that drifted across the North Pacific Ocean and landed in the Hawaiian Islands and North America. The most common species were Scruparia ambigua (d'Orbigny, 1841) and Callaetea sp. Of 36 bryozoans identified to species level, 15 are already known from North America, one of which (Schizoporella japonica Ortmann, 1890) is an earlier introduction from Japan; 18 species are known only from the Western Pacific, one of which (Bugula tsunamiensis McCuller, Carlton and Geller, 2018) is newly described in a companion paper. The 13 additional bryozoans, not taken to species level, are likely derived from the Western Pacific based upon evidence reviewed here; two of these species (Callaetea sp. and Arbocuspis sp.) are undescribed. Seven warm-water species, Metroperiella cf. biformis (Zhang and Liu, 1995), Celleporaria brunnea (Hincks, 1884), Drepanophora cf. gutta Tilbrook, Hayward and Gordon, 2001, Smittoidea spinigera (Liu, 1990), Biflustra grandicella (Canu and Bassler, 1929), Biflustra irregulata (Liu, 1991), and Celleporina cf. globosa Liu, 2001, not known from Japan, may have been acquired by Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) as these objects were carried by ocean currents into more southern waters. Three oceanic bryozoans (Jellyella tuberculata (Bosc, 1802), Jellyella eburnea (Hincks, 1891), and Arbopercula angulata (Levinsen, 1909)) provide insight into the routes that some JTMD items may have taken, and thus the conditions experienced, as they rafted from the Western Pacific to the Central and Eastern Pacific. The cooler-water species J. tuberculata and A. angulata were found primarily on JTMD objects arriving in the Pacific Northwest, whereas J. eburnea was most common on objects landing in the Hawaiian Islands. The most common bryozoan growth forms on these rafted objects were runners (creeping uniserial morphology) and arborescent forms capable of using available surface area provided by other organisms (such as hydroids) on space-limited objects. Species that form flat or mounded encrustations were less frequent, suggesting that they do not fare as well in a potentially space-limited environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twelve species of sponges (Calcarea and Demospongiae) were found on Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) that washed ashore in Oregon, Washington, and Hawai'i. All taxa but one determined to species level are amphi-Pacific, with three having type localities in California (Leucosolenia eleanor Urban, 1906, Hymeniacidon sinapium de Laubenfels, 1930, and Mycale macginitei de Laubenfels, 1930). Haliclona xena de Weerdt, 1986, known previously only from western Europe (and where it is regarded as introduced from an unknown region) is here newly reported from the Tohoku coast of Honshu, as is Halisarca "dujardini Johnston, 1842". Five species (Mycale macginitei, Hymeniacidon sinapium, Ute sp., Haliclona xena and Halisarca "dujardini") were observed only once. Multiple lines of evidence (including lack of colonization by uniquely Eastern Pacific sponge species, the arrival in Hawai'i of some of the same species whose only possible origin was Japan, and the low probability of coastal sponge larvae colonizing JTMD in the open ocean) indicate that the sponges on JTMD originate from the Western Pacific. Several species of sponges may have completed multiple generations on these long-distance rafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Teredinidae (shipworms) contains 70-plus species of boring bivalves specialized to live in and digest wood. Traditional means of species identification and taxonomy of this group encounter numerous challenges, often compounded by the diverse and dynamic nature of shipworm ecology and distribution. Modern integrative taxonomic methods are shedding new light on this complex group, from delineating cryptic species to resolving phylogenetic relationships within the family. This study reported new sequence data from shipworm species rafted from the western to eastern Pacific Ocean in woody marine debris resulting from the Japanese tsunami of 2011. Eight species of shipworms were found in this debris and tissue from five species was collected. Partial nuclear ribosomal 18S rRNA gene sequences were obtained from Bankia bipennata (Turton, 1819), Bankia carinata (Gray, 1827), Psiloteredo sp., Teredora princesae (Sivickis, 1928), and Teredothyra smithi (Bartsch, 1927). A 658 base pair fragment of COI was successfully sequenced from Psiloteredo sp. and T. princesae specimens from tsunami debris, as well as Psiloteredo megotara (Hanley, 1848) from Europe and Nototeredo norvagica (Spangler, 1792) from Scandinavia. Psiloteredo sp. is very similar morphologically to the North Atlantic Ocean P. megotara; however, these two species are genetically distinct with a 12.8% K2P distance in their COI sequences. The transport of shipworms across the North Pacific Ocean in woody debris generated by a tsunami shows that major geologic events can connect previously isolated geographic areas and provide the opportunity for the establishment of invasive species and subsequent speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tohoku tsunami of March 2011 ejected a vast amount of debris into the Pacific Ocean. Wood boring shipworms (Bivalvia: Teredinidae) were either already present in, or settled on, the wooden fraction of this debris, offering a unique opportunity to study shipworm diversity in rafted wood of a known origin and time of ocean entry. Lumber and other wood began appearing on Central Pacific (Hawaiian Islands) and Eastern Pacific beaches in 2013. Eighty pieces of wood Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) consisting of construction beams, trees, milled logs, and wood from vessels or maritime structures were analyzed. Six shipworm species resident in the coastal waters of Japan were found: Bankia bipennata (Turton, 1819), Bankia carinata (Gray, 1827), Teredothyra smithi (Bartsch, 1927), Psiloteredo sp., Lyrodus takanoshimensis (Roch, 1929), and Teredo navalis Linnaeus, 1758. Two pelagic species, Teredora princesae (Sivickis, 1928) and Uperotus clava (Gmelin, 1791), were acquired by JTMD wood in the transoceanic voyage. Several of these wood items were discovered soon after stranding and contained live shipworms. Up to five shipworm species were found in any one wooden object. The present work represents the first study of the diversity and abundance of shipworms transported across an ocean basin in a large woody debris field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-eight species of hydroids are now known from Japanese tsunami marine debris (JTMD) sent to sea in March 2011 from the Island of Honshu and landing between 2012 and 2016 in North America and Hawai'i. To 12 JTMD hydroid species previously reported, we add an additional 16 species. Fourteen species (50%) were detected only once; given the small fraction of debris sampled, this suggests that the diversity of the total arriving hydroid fauna was likely larger. Our ongoing studies provide the first documentation of these species being rafted from one continental margin to another. Plumalecium plumularioides (Clark, 1877) is newly reported for the Japanese hydroid fauna. Fourteen species (52%), held to be either naturally amphi-Pacific or possibly introduced by ships at some earlier date, were already known from the Pacific coast of North America. We suggest that Obelia griffini Calkins, 1899, as represented in the JTMD fauna, may be a North Pacific oceanic neustonic species. We propose that Hydrodendron mirabile (Hincks, 1866) and its congeners be included in the family Phylactothecidae Stechow, 1921, here emended. We establish a new family, Plumaleciidae Choong and Calder, 2018, to accommodate the genus Plumalecium Antsulevich, 1982. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of a second western Atlantic brackish-coastal cochliopid gastropod in San Francisco Bay [Spurwinkia salsa (Pilsbry, 1905)], and detail the first records for a widely distributed member of the family, Tryonia porrecta (Mighels, 1845), from artificial lakes (in the Phoenix metropolitan area). These identifications were based on morphological criteria and supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence data that also indicates little or no divergence of the newly reported populations, which is consistent with evolutionarily recent spread or separation. Spurwinkia salsa was most likely introduced to San Francisco Bay either in recent decades in bait worm packing or ships' ballast or in the 19th or early 20th century in solid ballast or with oyster imports. The discovery of T. porrecta in artificial lakes in the Phoenix area in 1984 and 2014 may be due to either recent arrival in the area or to dispersal into a newly available habitat from a population long present in the area. In either case, the occurrence of T. porrecta in the Phoenix area is likely due to transport on birds along an eastern branch of the Pacific Flyway. The discovery of T. porrecta in artificial lakes suggests that this species (which is typically distributed in thermal springs) is more broadly tolerant than previously thought. Additional spread of this unusual snail within the highly modified aquatic ecosystem of the Phoenix metropolitan area (which includes more than 900 artificial lakes) would appear likely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian isopod Ianiropsis serricaudis is now well established in fouling communities, often associated with introduced ascidians, throughout the Northern Hemisphere but has gone largely unnoticed because of its diminutive size (typically less than 3 mm in length) and the difficulties of identifying small peracarid crustaceans. Known locations include the northeastern Pacific (Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, and Monterey Bay), the northwestern Atlantic (from the Gulf of Maine to Barnegat Bay, NJ), and the northeastern Atlantic (England and the Netherlands). We predict that this species is widespread along North America and European coasts, and may already be introduced to cold temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourteen species of hydroids, including two anthoathecates and 12 leptothecates, are reported from the west coast of North America on debris from the tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011. Six species were found on a dock that stranded at Agate Beach, Newport, Oregon, five from a boat at Gleneden Beach, Oregon, four from a dock in Olympic National Park, Washington, and two from a boat in Grays Harbor, Washington. Obelia griffini Calkins, 1899, the most frequently encountered species, was collected on three of the four derelict substrates. Eight of the species are known to be amphi-Pacific in distribution. Of the rest, at least five (Stylactaria sp.; Eutima japonica Uchida, 1925; Orthopyxis platycarpa Bale, 1914; Sertularella sp.; Plumularia sp.) are not previously known from the west coast of North America. Hydroids of E. japonica occurred as commensals in the mantle cavity of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819. Obelia griffini, O. gracilis Calkins, 1899 (not its secondary homonym Laomedea gracilis Dana, 1846) and O. surcularis Calkins, 1899 are taken to be conspecific. Of the three simultaneous synonyms, precedence is assigned to the name O. griffini under the Principle of the First Reviser in zoological nomenclature. The species is sometimes regarded as identical with O. dichotoma (Linnaeus, 1758). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several marine non-indigenous species (NIS) lists have been produced for many European countries but little is known about the diversity and distribution of fouling NIS in Portugal (mainland and islands). We conducted a six-year survey of a marina located on the south coast of Madeira island, Portugal to assess NIS diversity on the island, constituting the first NIS inventory for the archipelago. We found 16 NIS, of which 9 are new records. Both species richness and abundance changed during the course of colonization whether total, NIS, or native diversity were considered. The number of native species decreased with colonization while the number of NIS significantly increased. More importantly, we demonstrated that the number of NIS detections in the marina was correlated with increasing ship traffic over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The R/V Oceanus completed a 9,789 km, 28 day passage from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal to Yaquina Bay, Oregon, in the Pacific Ocean on 21 February 2012. The Oceanus had previously operated in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea). We document the sequential acquisition of the barnacles Balanus trigonus and Amphibalanus venustus and the oyster Ostrea equestris on the Oceanus on its high and low latitude transoceanic, intra-oceanic, and inter-oceanic travels before she was surveyed in Yaquina Bay. The close correspondence between hull fouling accumulations and the detailed two year Oceanus working history reveals B. trigonus settlement occurred in every tropical port visited by the Oceanus, that some populations survived through two of three Woods Hole winters, and that some of these populations passed through the freshwater Panama Canal. These results suggest that marine hull-fouling species are continuously transported globally between most ports of call by most ship passages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]