Marine exotic species in the cold temperate harbors of argentina

SCHWINDT E; RAFFO MP; TATIAN M; ALONSO G; BORTOLUS A; DIEZ ME; DOTI B; LAGGER C; LOPEZ GAPPA JJ; LOVRICH G; ORENSANZ JM; PIRIZ ML; SAVOYA V; SUEIRO MC; ZELAYA D

Congreso; 2nd World Conference on Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning; 2001

Shipping moves over 80% of the world’s commodities and transfers approximately 3 to 5 billion tonnes of ballast water internationally each year. Thus, harbors are the front door of marine exotic species and a closer surveillance is essential for management and prevention strategies. Although the marine coastal species of the southwestern Atlantic are mostly understudied, it was recently reported a high number of aggressive invasive species. In this work we conducted exhaustive qualitative and quantitative surveys of the six most important cold temperate marine harbors of Argentina (from 40º-54ºSL) in order to (a) make an up-to-date list of exotic and cryptogenic species, (b) detect new introductions and (c) document range extensions of previously-known introductions. Qualitative samples of the fouling species (n = 3-6 per harbor, size = 25x25 cm) were obtained by scraping the surface of the pilings. Quantitative data of the fouling species were obtained with plates (n= 15 per harbor) deployed at each harbor during two years. All species found were preserved and identified. More than 200 fouling species were observed with eight exotic species (including three new records and three range expansions towards high latitudes) and eight cryptogenic species (including one new record). Most of these species were found in San Antonio Este harbor (40º SL). These results together with previous analysis of the maritime traffic and the oceanographic, meteorological, ecological and anthropogenic variables at each harbor will allow us to help developing national prevention strategies, specifically by choosing the most important harbors for monitoring.