Continued expansion of the trans-Atlantic invasive marine angiosperm Halophila stipulacea in the Eastern Caribbean.
Willette DA, Chalifour J, Dolfi Debrot AO, Engel MS, Miller WJ, Oxenford HA, Short FT, Steiner SC, Vedie F. 2014. Continued expansion of the trans-Atlantic invasive marine angiosperm Halophila stipulacea in the Eastern Caribbean.. Aquatic Botany. 112(2014):98-102
Halophila stipulacea (Hydrocharitaceae) is reported for the first time from Aruba, Curaçao, Grenadines (Grenada), St. Eustatius, St. John (US Virgin Islands), St. Martin (France), and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, bringing the total number of known occurrences from eastern Caribbean islands to 19. Native to the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean, H. stipulacea spread to the Mediterranean Sea in the late 1800s and became established in the eastern Caribbean in 2002. The species has dispersed north and south of its first sighting in Grenada and now spans a latitudinal distance of 6° (>700 km), most likely facilitated by a combination of commercial and recreational boat traffic. The continuing range expansion of H. stipulacea indicates the species has successfully acclimated to surviving in the Caribbean environment, warranting further investigation into its ecological interactions with the indigenous seagrasses.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Willette, Demian; Chalifour, Julien; Dolfi Debrot, A.; Engel, M.; Miller, William; Oxenford, Hazel; Short, Frederick; Steiner, Sascha; Vedie, Fabien
- Units
- SFCN , VICR , VIIS
- Keywords
- Eastern Caribbean, Halophila stipulacea, invasive marine angiosperm, invasive seagrass, Marine Ecology, range expansion, trans-oceanic dispersal
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities