Ascidians at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the Panama Canal

• Main Authors: Carman, Mary R, Bullard, Stephan G, Rocha, Rosana M, Lambert, Gretchen, Dijkstra, Jennifer A, Roper, James J, Goodwin, Anne M, Carman, Mimi M, Vail, Elisabete M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC) 12.08.2011
• Subjects: Panama Canal; Shipping traffic; Species introductions; Tropics; Tunicates

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Aquatic Invasions 6 (2011): 371-380, doi:10.3391/ai.2011.6.4.02. Funding forthis project came from WHOI Ocean Life Institute-TropicalResearch Initiative to Carman and CNPq to Rocha. The Panama Canal region is susceptible to non-native species introductions due to the heavy international shipping traffic throughthe area. Ascidian introductions are occurring worldwide but little is known about introductions at the Panama Canal. Surveys wereconducted in 2002, 2008, and 2009 within the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the canal. We found a high diversity of ascidians onboth sides of the canal, dominated by non-native species; six species occurred at both Pacific and Atlantic Panama sites. This is thefirst report of Polyandrocarpa anguinea and P. sagamiensis in Atlantic Panama waters and Ascidia incrassata, Ascidia sydneiensis,Botrylloides nigrum, Botryllus planus, Didemnum perlucidum, Diplosoma listerianum, Microcosmus exasperatus, Polyandrocarpazorritensis, Polyclinum constellatum, Symplegma brakenhielmi, Symplegma rubra, and Trididemnum orbiculatum in Pacific Panamawaters. The canal may serve as a major invasion corridor for ascidians and should be monitored over time.