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Experimental removal of the invasive Caulerpa racemosa triggers partial assemblage recovery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2010

J.C. Klein  and
M. Verlaque
J.C. Klein*
Affiliation:
Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Université de la Méditerranée, DIMAR UMR 6540, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, case 901, 13288 Marseille cedex 9, France
M. Verlaque
Affiliation:
Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Université de la Méditerranée, DIMAR UMR 6540, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, case 901, 13288 Marseille cedex 9, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J.C. Klein, Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia email: judith.klein@sydney.edu.au
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Abstract

The invasive species Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea represents a serious threat to the diversity of benthic assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea. In the present study, a removal experiment was carried out to test whether, after 18 months of C. racemosa var. cylindracea exclusion, the macrophyte assemblage resembled a non-invaded assemblage. The results show that in the assemblage invaded by C. racemosa var. cylindracea the number of species, macrophyte cover, Shannon diversity and Pielou's evenness were lower than in the non-invaded assemblage. Erect perennial species were particularly affected and other introduced species were significantly reduced or completely excluded. After 18 months of removal/exclusion of C. racemosa var. cylindracea, only partial recovery of the macrophyte assemblage could be observed. Species numbers, total cover and erect perennial species cover were still significantly lower than in the non-invaded plots. However Shannon diversity and Pielou's evenness had reached comparable levels. In contrast to native macrophytes, the total cover of other introduced species reached a level comparable to the non-invaded plots. In summary, the present study revealed that after 18 months of C. racemosa var. cylindracea exclusion: (i) only partial recovery of the macrophyte assemblage occurred; and (ii) the development of other invasive species was favoured by the absence of C. racemosa var. cylindracea (Sisyphus effect).

Keywords

biological invasionsdead Posidonia oceanica ‘matte’invasion impactmarine macrophytesMediterranean Seaspecies introductions
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 117 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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