The boom-bust dynamic of the invader Boccardia proboscidea mediated by sewage discharge: the response of the intertidal epilithic community in the Southwest Atlantic

LLANOS ELIZABETH NOEMÍ; SARACHO BOTTERO, MARÍA ANDREA; JAUBET MARÍA LOURDES; GARAFFO GRISELDA VALERIA; HINES EMILIANO; CUELLO, GRACIELA VERÓNICA; ELÍAS RODOLFO

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021 vol. 164

0025-326X

Biological invasions produce an invader population boom but are often followed by an invader population bust. The decrease of the invader abundance ends with the coexistence of native species and the invader or with repeated boom and bust events. In the southwest Atlantic, the polychaete Boccardia proboscidea invaded the coasts influenced by sewage discharge. We studied the change in the intertidal benthic community during the boom-bust dynamic of the B. proboscidea invasion. During the boom, the invader polychaete was dominant. Species richness, diversity, and evenness indices decrease in the boom phase. During the bust of the B. proboscidea invasion, the decrease of organic matter allowed B. rodriguezii to coexist with B. proboscidea. Beta diversity comparing boom with the bust phase showed a greater nesting (nestedness component); reflecting a process of species loss. We found that both boom and bust phases of the polychaete B. proboscidea invasion were mediated by sewage.