Xenia Invades Caribbean Reef

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by Mr. Bill, Jan 21, 2014.

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  1. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    An invasive xeniid soft coral with close genetic affinities to Xenia membranacea Schenk 1896 from Indonesia (C.S. McFadden pers comm) was first found in 2007 on the coastal coral community of Valle Seco (northeast Venezuela, 10°14.6 N; 64°31.70 W). At that time, a single colony was found growing on a dead stony coral and subsequently found on coral rubble, sand, and debris. Since then, it has increased in abundance, spreading several km away to Conoma Bay and Mono Island, occupying ~ 20 % of the substratum. Abundance fluctuates, with a decrease during the rainy season. This soft coral inhabits both soft and hard substrata, including introduced debris, in well-illuminated habitats (0.5–4 m). It overgrows scleractinian corals, such as Colpophyllia natans, Diploria strigosa, Orbicella annularis, Montastraea cavernosa, and the hydrocoral Millepora alcicornis, the latter being a principal component of the coral communities. Biodiversity at the sites has deteriorated, mainly due to the loss of living stony coral coverage.

    The first incidence of an alien soft coral of the family Xeniidae in the Caribbean, an invasion in eastern Venezuelan coral communities - Springer
     
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  3. rcflyer1388

    rcflyer1388 Bubble Tip Anemone

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  4. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    that is a shame to see it taking over the stonys.
     
  5. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    Yes, they definitely have a full-blown invasion. Don't know if they can even eradicate it at this point, but if they don't at least try, they're going to have a single-species reef- Xenia... :-/
     
  6. benbabcock

    benbabcock Bubble Tip Anemone

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    Ya, xenia is a plague. I would volunteer to go remove this demon spawn
     
  7. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    Biological control measures would be best and most cost effective. Nature will prevail regardless, these sorts of incidents have happened for a billion years. It drives evolution.
     
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  9. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    I can't imagine the consequences this is going to yield. The only thing I could imagine being worse to introduce would be aptasia!

    Someone needs to come up with a good xenia recipe...
     
  10. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    That's what the old man that swallowed the fly thought.
     
  11. ClippersTown

    ClippersTown Fire Worm

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  12. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    :lol:

    Not to mention the Australians who thought that cane toads would solve their sugar cane beetle problem.