Author: Jonathan Lawley
Keywords: ophiuroid; introduction; exotic; invasive; Atlantic Ocean

Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil

Jonathan Lawley^1, Adriana Fonseca^2, Edson Faria Júnior^3, Alberto Lindner^4, Sérgio Stampar^5

1 Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, n. 101, Sala 146, 05508090, São Paulo, Brazil; 2 ICMBio, , Brazil; 3 Instituto Brasileiro de Biodiversidade, , Brazil; 4 Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, , Brazil; 5 Universidade Estadual Paulista and Check List - Subject Editor, , Brazil

Corresponding author(s): Jonathan Lawley (jonathan.lawley@yahoo.com.br)Adriana FonsecaEdson Faria JúniorAlberto Lindner

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Lawley J, Fonseca A, Faria Júnior E, Lindner A (2018): Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil. v1.1. No organisation. Dataset/Occurrence. http://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=ophiothela-mirabilis-in-the-atlantic&v=1.1

Abstract

The brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis, an ophiuroid introduced in the Atlantic, has expanded its
range north to Trinidad and Tobago and south to Paraná, Brazil. By monitoring the coast of Santa
Catarina, Brazil, with both recruitment plates in harbors and SCUBA diving, we were able to
observe specimens of O. cf. mirabilis in both natural and anthropogenic habitats. This confirms its
reported range extension of ~80 km south and emphasizes the importance of anthropogenic means
for their spread and establishment.

Keywords: ophiuroid; introduction; exotic; invasive; Atlantic Ocean

Project details

Project title: Projeto Bioinvasores Marinhos/ Projeto Biodiversidade Marinha de Santa Catarina
Personnel: Jonathan Lawley
Funding: FAPESC, ICMBio and SOS Mata Atlântica

Data published through GBIF: http://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=ophiothela-mirabilis-in-the-atlantic

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: All records herein refer to Ophiothela mirabilis, a species of ophiuroid.
Taxonomic ranks
Species: Ophiothela mirabilis
Common names: Brittle Star

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: Native in the tropical eastern Pacific and it has been introduced in the western Atlantic, from the Caribbean to southern Brazil.
Coordinates: 29°50'26.32''S and 30°45'4.6''N Latitude; 121°59'31.88''W and 31°38'26.25''W Longitude 

Methods

Method step description: Recruitment granite plates were installed in three harbors across the Santa Catarina
coast. There were five metal sets per locality, each
with three 25 x 30 cm square granite plates attached, hung directly into the water by steel ropes so
that during low tide they would still be at a minimum of 2 m underwater. During each monitoring
event, the metal sets were lifted and placed in a container with seawater from the site, as
photoquadrats were taken and further observations were made, with few collections and minimal
alterations to the biota on the plates. Afterwards, plates were hung back into the water until the
next monitoring event.
SCUBA dives were also held across the state’s rocky shores. These dives were performed regularly, often more than once a month, and included not only the assessment of exotic and invasive species, but also the study of
the benthic community and environmental variables monitored by data loggers.
Five specimens from the São Francisco do Sul harbor were collected and analyzed under a
stereomicroscope for identification. Posteriorly, these were fixed in 100% ethanol.
Study extent description: The study was conducted in harbors along the coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil, with monthly monitoring events over the year 2013.
Sampling description: Samples were made by SCUBA diving and also by installing recruitment granite plates in three harbors monitored along the state's coast.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: http://ipt.pensoft.net/archive.do?r=ophiothela-mirabilis-in-the-atlantic
Publication date of data: 2018-03-19
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2018-03-19
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Lawley JW, Fonseca AC, Faria Júnior E, Lindner A (2018) Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil. Check List, in press.