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Potentially Misidentified Species:
A number of non-native balanid barnacles occur in Florida and have introduced
ranges that potentially overlap that of Megabalanmus coccopoma. The
Mediterranean barnacle Megabalanus antillensis (= Balanus
tintinnabulum) and the Pacific barnacle Balanus trigonus are two such species that are similar
in color to M. coccopoma. Balanus trigonus is distinguishable by
size, only growing to around 8 mm, while differentiating between
Megabalanus species may require taxonomic expertise beyond that of most
amateur naturalists. In the IRL region, however, M. coccopoma appears
thus far to occur primarily to the extreme northern part of the system while
M. antillensis has been found primarily at the southern end of the IRL
region, i.e., in the Loxahatchee River Estuary (McPherson et al. 1984). M.
coccopoma was reported from Port St. Lucie in 2006, however (Florida
Wildlife 2007). If this report is valid, then the IRL distribution of the two
non-native Megabalanus species may overlap.
II. HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Regional Occurrence:
Megabalanus coccopoma is native to the Pacific coast of the Americas
from southern California to Ecuador. The animal now occurs in the Gulf of
Mexico and along the southeastern U.S coast from northern Florida to southern
North Carolina.
IRL Distribution:
Megabalanus coccopoma was first collected from the Cape Canaveral area
in 2006. Several specimens have also been collected around Ponce De Leon Inlet
at the northern end of the IRL system. The USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species
(NAS) program considers M. coccopoma to be established in the Volusia County portions of the
system.
III. LIFE HISTORY AND POPULATION BIOLOGY
Age, Size, Lifespan:
Megabalanus coccopoma grows to around 5 cm in height and width.
Tibbetts (2007) reports that non-native M. coccopoma from South
Carolina attain a body mass 100 times greater than that of native barnacle species.
Abundance:
Collection information reported from Florida to date do not yet indicate the
presence of Megabalanus coccopoma in large numbers.
Reproduction:
Details on reproduction in Megabalanus coccopoma remain unpublished.
Reproduction in nearly all barnacles employs outcrossing of neighboring adult
individuals as the norm, with individual animals occurring as simultaneous
hermaphrodites. Fertilization is internal, occurring through the deposit of
sperm into the mantle cavities of adjacent animals via an elongated
intromittent tube.
Embryology:
Details on larval development in Megabalanus coccopoma remain
unpublished. As with other barnacle species, M. coccopoma larvae
progress through several sequential nauplius stages and one cypris larval stages prior to
settling to suitable hard substrata to spend the rest of their lives as sessile
animals.
IV. PHYSICAL TOLERANCES
Temperature:
Cool water temperatures appear capable of limiting the distribution of this
tropical species. A 1982-1983 El Niño event allowed a brief northern range
expansion along the southern California coast into ephemeral warm water off of
San Diego (Newman and McConnaughey 1987).
Salinity:
Megabalanus coccopoma appears to favor high salinity conditions
(Kerckhof 2002). If 2006 reports of the species from estuarine waters near
Port St. Lucie, Florida, are valid, however, then M. coccopoma also
appears capable of inhabiting more brackish environments.
V. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
Trophic Mode:
Like other acorn barnacles, Megabalanus coccopoma filter feeds when
submerged by means of a set of extensible sieving appendages called cirri
(barnacles belong to infraclass Cirripedia). The extended cirri are oriented
perpendicular to the general flow direction and varying food concentrations and
water velocities can elicit different patterns and rates of movement of the
cirri to maximize particle intake (LaBarbera 1984, Crisp and Bourget 1985).
Associated Species:
Megabalanus coccopoma occur alongside a number of different animal and
algal taxa that comprise hard fouling intertidal communities, although none of
these associations are likely to be obligate.
VI. INVASION INFORMATION
Invasion History:
Megabalanus coccopoma is native to the eastern Pacific, historically
known to occur from Baja California (occassionally as far north as San Diego)
through Central and South America southern Equador.
M. coccopoma was reported as a non-native species established in
southern Brazil in the late 1980s and along the coast of Belgium in 2002
(Newman and McConnaughey 1987, Kerckhof 2002). The species was found in
Louisiana in 2002, and from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in 2006.
Ship hull fouling and ballast water transport are the most probable
introduction vectors.
Potential to Compete With Natives:
If Megabalanus coccopoma begins to occur in consistently large numbers
within its non-native range in Florida and elsewhere, it would be expected to
compete with other intertidal hardbottom organisms for space and also possibly
with a variety of filter-feeding animals for food.
Young (1994) suggests M. coccopoma, now established along southern
Brazil, may outcompete the native congeneric barnacle, M. tintinnabulum.
Possible Economic Consequences of Invasion:
Boat hulls props, and drive shafts, coastal navigation buoys, and other
submerged man-made hard surfaces are readily colonized by settling
Megabalanus coccopoma (Kerckhof, 2002). If the
species becomes established, costs associated with removing animals from such
structures may be significant.
Factors such as gregarious settlement, rapid growth, and large size suggest
M. coccopoma has the potential to become an economically important
nuisance species in Florida.
VII.
REFERENCES
Crisp D.J. and E. Bourget. 1985. Growth In barnacles. Advances In Marine
Biology 22:199-244.
Florida Wildlife. 2007. New, bigger barnacle discovered on Florida's East
Coast. Florida Wildlife 2007:13.
Kerckhof, F. 2002. Barnacles (Cirripedia, Balanomorpha) in Belgian waters: an
overview of the species and recent evolutions, with emphasis on exotic species.
Bulletin van het Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen.
Biologie 72(Suppl.):93-104.
LaBarbera M. 1984. Feeding currents and particle capture mechanisms in
suspension feeding animals. American Zoology 24:71-84.
McPherson B.F., Sonntag W.H., and M. Sabanskas. 1984. Fouling Community of the
Loxahatchee River Estuary, Florida, 1980-81. Estuaries 7:149-157.
Newman, W.A., and R.R. McConnaughey. 1987. A tropical eastern Pacific barnacle,
Megabalanus coccopoma (Darwin), in southern California, following El
Ni–o 1982-83. Pacific Science 41:31-36.
Powers A., Mitchell M., Walker R., Posey M., Alphin T., and C. Belcher. 2006.
Baseline Port Surveys for Introduced Marine Molluskan, Crustacean and
Polychaete Species in the South Atlantic Bight . NOAA's National Sea Grant
Aquatic Nuisance Species Program. Project Number R/HAB-15; Grant number
NA06RG0029. 310 pgs.
Tibbetts J.H. 2007. Knocking Back Biological Invaders. Coastal Heritage, South
Carolina Sea Grant Consortium 21:3-11. Available online.
Young P. S.1994 The Balanoidea (Cirripedia) from the Brazilian coast. Bolm.
Mus. Nac., sŽrie Zoologia, 356:1-36.
Report by:
J. Masterson, Smithsonian Marine Station
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Page last updated: December 1, 2007 |
