Rapid assessment of marine non-native species in Irish marinas.

Marinas are known to act as species reservoirs, facilitating the persistence and spread of non-native species. Monitoring of marinas for non-native species is therefore an essential element of any integrated monitoring programme. Baseline and updated survey data are needed to understand the abundance, distribution and rate of spread of non-native species within marinas over time in order to support management strategies, develop applicable biosecurity measures and inform rapid response plans. Rapid assessment surveys (RAS) were employed to survey floating pontoons, as well as opportunistically survey intertidal structures, for non-native biofouling species in 22 marinas across the Republic of Ireland. A total of 25 nonnative species were recorded: 19 invertebrates and 6 macroalgae, with ascidians being the most represented group. Four non-native species not previously reported in published literature from the Republic of Ireland were recorded: devil's tongue weed, Grateloupia turuturu Yamada, 1941, the compass sea squirt, Asterocarpa humilis (Heller, 1878), the San Diego sea squirt, Botrylloides diegensis Ritter & Forsyth, 1917 and the branching bryozoan, Bugulina simplex (Hincks, 1886). Other species identified as part of this study and previously reported from Ireland were shown to have increased their range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]