Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-24T06:40:38.815Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Occurrence of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea in Martinique (French West Indies)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2013

Jean-Philippe Maréchal ,
Erik H. Meesters ,
Fabien Vedie  and
Claire Hellio
Jean-Philippe Maréchal*
Affiliation:
Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais, 14 rue Chery-Rosette, Fond Lahaye, 97233 Schœlcher, French West Indies School of Biological Sciences, King Henry Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK
Erik H. Meesters
Affiliation:
Wageningen IMARES, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Department of Ecosystems Den Burg, The Netherlands
Fabien Vedie
Affiliation:
Direction de l'Environnement, de l'Aménagement et du Logement, BP 7212, 97233 Schœlcher, French West Indies
Claire Hellio
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, King Henry Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J.-P. Maréchal, Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais, 14 rue Chery-Rosette, Fond Lahaye, 97233 Schœlcher, French West Indies email: marechal.jean@gmail.com
Get access

Abstract

The occurrence of the tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Hydrocharitaceae) is recorded for the first time on the Caribbean coast of Martinique (French West Indies, Caribbean Sea). Specimens were observed, since a large survey in 2006, on sandy substrates between 3 m and 32 m depths in this area. The species was found in mono-specific patches or mixed with other macrophytes as Syringodium filiforme (seagrass) and/or Ulva intestinalis (green alga). Halophila stipulacea was previously identified on the coasts of Dominica and St Lucia, two islands nearby our study area. While its presence was presumed to be in Martinique, it was never officially recorded. These findings off the coast of Martinique further define the distribution and widespread occurrence of this alien species within the Caribbean Sea.

Keywords

allochthonous speciesCaribbean SeaHalophila stipulaceamarine angiospermsMartiniqueWest Indies
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 6 , 2013 , e127
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anil, A.C., Venkat, K., Sawant, S.S., Dileepkumar, M., Dhargalkar, V.K., Ramaiah, N., Harkantra, S.N. and Ansari, Z.A. (2002) Marine bioinvasion: concern for ecology and shipping. Current Science 83, 214–218.Google Scholar
Beer, S. and Waisel, Y. (1981) Effects of light and pressure on photosynthesis in two seagrasses. Aquatic Botany 13, 331–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudouresque, C.F. and Verlaque, M. (2002) Biological pollution in the Mediterranean Sea: invasive versus introduced macrophytes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 44, 32–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
den Hartog, C. (1970) The sea-grasses of the world. Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeling Natuurkunde, Tweede Reeks 59, 1–6.Google Scholar
Di Martino, V., Blundo, M.C. and Tita, G. (2006) The Mediterranean introduced seagrass Halophila stipulacea in eastern Sicily (Italy): temporal variation of the associated algal assemblage. Vie et Milieu 56, 223–230.Google Scholar
Galil, B.S. (2006) Species factsheet: Halophila stipulacea. In Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE). Available at: http://www.europe-aliens.org (accessed 5 November 2006).Google Scholar
Gambi, M.C., Barbieri, F. and Bianchi, N. (2009) New records of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Hydrocharitaceae) in the western Mediterranean: a further clue to changing Mediterranean Sea biogeography. Marine Biodiversity Records e84, 1–7. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S175526720900058X.Google Scholar
Gollasch, S. (2002) The importance of ship hull fouling as a vector of species introductions to the North Sea. Biofouling 18, 105–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gollasch, S., Lenz, J., Dammer, M. and Andres, G. (2000) Survival of tropical ballast water organisms during a cruise from the Indian Ocean to the North Sea. Journal of Plankton Research 22, 923–937.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuo, J. and den Hartog, C. (2011) Seagrass taxonomy and identification key. In Short, F.T. and Coles, R.G. (eds) Global seagrass methods. Amsterdam: Elsevier Sciences B.V., pp. 31–58.Google Scholar
Legrand, H., Lenfant, P., Sotheran, I.S., Foster-Smith, R.L., Galzin, R. and Maréchal, J.P. (2012) Mapping marine benthic habitats in Martinique (French West Indies). Caribbean Journal of Science 46, 267–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipkin, Y. (1975) Halophila stipulacea, a review of a successful immigration. Aquatic Botany 1, 203–215.Google Scholar
Marba, N. and Duarte, C.M. (1998) Rhizome elongation and seagrass clonal growth. Marine Ecology Progress Series 174, 269–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minchin, D. (2007) Aquaculture and transport in a changing environment: overlap and links in the spread of alien biota. Marine Pollution Bulletin 55, 302–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minchin, D., Gollasch, S., Cohen, A.N., Hewitt, C.L. and Olenin, S. (2009) Characterizing vectors of marine invasion. Ecological Studies 204, 109–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molnar, J.L., Gamboa, R.L., Revenga, C. and Spalding, M.D. (2008) Assessing the global threat of invasive species to marine biodiversity. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6, 485–492. doi:10.1890/070064.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narščius, A., Olenin, S., Zaiko, A. and Minchin, D. (2012) Biological invasion impact assessment system: from idea to implementation. Ecological Informatics 7, 46–51.Google Scholar
Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A. (2007) Global change and marine communities: alien species and climate change. Marine Pollution Bulletin 55, 342–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A. and Savini, D. (2003) Biological invasions as a component of global change in stressed marine ecosystems. Marine Pollution Bulletin 46, 542–551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Por, F.D. (1971) One hundred years of Suez Canal—a century of Lessapian migration: retrospect and viewpoints. Systematic Zoology 20, 138–159.Google Scholar
Ruiz, H. and Ballantine, D.L. (2004) Occurrence of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea in the tropical west Atlantic. Bulletin of Marine Science 75, 131–135.Google Scholar
Ruiz, J.M., Boudouresque, C.F. and Enriquez, S. (2009) Mediterranean seagrasses. Botanica Marina 52, 369–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwarz, A.M. and Hellblom, F. (2002) The photosynthetic light response of Halophila stipulacea growing along a depth gradient in the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea. Aquatic Botany 74, 263–272.Google Scholar
Short, F.T., Coles, R.G. and Pergent-Martini, C. (2001) Global seagrass distribution. In Short, F.T. and Coles, R.G. (eds) Global seagrass methods. Amsterdam: Elsevier Sciences B.V., pp. 5–30.Google Scholar
Short, F., Carruthers, T., Dennison, W. and Waycott, M. (2007) Global seagrass distribution and diversity: a biogeographical model. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 350, 3–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willette, D.A. and Ambrose, D.F. (2009) The distribution and expansion of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in Dominica, West Indies, with a preliminary report from St Lucia. Aquatic Botany 91, 137–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willette, D.A. and Ambrose, D.F. (2012) Effects of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea on the native seagrass, Syringodium filiforme, and associated fish and epibiota communities in the Eastern Caribbean. Aquatic Botany 103, 74–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, S.L. (2007) Introduced species in seagrass ecosystems: status and concerns. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 350, 89–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar