Identity and origin of a slender Caulerpa taxifolia strain introduced into the Mediterranean Sea
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Dorris N. Jongma
Abstract
On the basis of morphological and molecular studies, we identified the Australian endemic green alga known as Caulerpa distichophylla along the coasts of Sicily (Italy, Mediterranean Sea). The slender Caulerpa previously reported as C. taxifolia from southeastern Turkey (Gulf of Iskenderun) also belongs to C. distichophylla. Morphologically, C. distichophylla clearly differs from C. taxifolia in its slender thallus and the lack of large rhizoidal pillars. However, genetic data do not provide undisputed evidence that the species are distinct. Sequences of the tufA cpDNA gene and of the cp 16S rDNA intron-2 sequences separated the two taxa by only one single nucleotide mutation, whereas ITS rDNA sequences did not clearly distinguish them. The new combination Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla is therefore proposed. Western and eastern Mediterranean populations of C. taxifolia var. distichophylla are probably the result of introduction events from southwestern Australia. Although the vector of primary introductions remains unknown (aquarium trade or shipping), maritime traffic appears to be the most likely vector of secondary dispersal. C. taxifolia var. distichophylla is closely related to C. taxifolia, hence interbreeding with the other C. taxifolia strains in the Mediterranean Sea might be expected to occur.
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Masthead
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Publisher’s note
- Editorial changes at Botanica Marina
- Research articles
- Seasonal variation in floating persistence of detached Durvillaea antarctica (Chamisso) Hariot thalli
- Cryptic diversity and biogeography of the widespread brown alga Colpomenia sinuosa (Ectocarpales, Phaeophyceae)
- Identity and origin of a slender Caulerpa taxifolia strain introduced into the Mediterranean Sea
- Recognition and distribution of Polysiphonia morrowii (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) in New Zealand
- Seasonal variations in concentrations of macro- and micronutrients in three species of brown seaweed
- Combined effects of CO2, temperature, irradiance and time on the physiological performance of Chondrus crispus (Rhodophyta)
- Effects of salinity on survival of the exotic seagrass Zostera japonica subjected to extreme high temperature stress
- The genus Thalassiosira off the Guangdong coast, South China Sea
