Document of bibliographic reference 347839

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Alien crustacean species recorded in Ecuador

Abstract

Alien species are organisms introduced into an area outside of their natural range and are considered a major cause of biodiversity loss in the marine environment. The aim of this work is to report on the alien crustacean species observed in Ecuador. A bibliographic review was conducted using a digital search in the scientific literature. A total of ten alien species of crustaceans, representing eight genera in seven families, were encountered in Ecuador. The only crab, Cardisoma crassum Smith, 1870, was observed in the Galapagos Islands. The other species include barnacles, crayfishes, and freshwater prawns. Native ranges of the alien crustaceans include the Indo-Pacific region, North America, Asia, and Australia. Major introduction pathways are aquaculture and transport by ship. Procambarus alleni (Faxon, 1884) was reported recently as an aquarium species, but its presence in the natural environmental is currently unknown. One alien species has been introduced each decade since the 1960s. Some species (the barnacles Amphibalanus improvisus (Darwin, 1854), Amphibalanus reticulatus (Utinomi, 1967), and the copepod Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758) were reported as alien species for Ecuador but need verification regarding their current status. Additionally, the barnacle Dosima fascicularis (Ellis and Solander, 1786) presented an occasional record in the Galapagos Islands, but due to its dispersal ability and open ocean habitat it is not possible to conclude that this really is an alien species. The list of alien crustacean species recorded in Ecuador is considered incomplete due to both scarce published work regarding this topic and taxonomic problems. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out more research to establish a complete list of the alien species present in Ecuador and assess their impact on aquatic ecosystems.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000707121800001

Bibliographic citation

Zambrano, R.; Ramos, J. (2021). Alien crustacean species recorded in Ecuador. Nauplius 29: e2021043. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2358-2936e2021043

Is peer reviewed

true

Access rights

open access

Is accessible for free

true