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Species
Bugula neritina (Linnaeus, 1758)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Bugula neritina is an erect bryozoan that forms luxuriant tufts up to 8 cm high. The colonies are composed of dichotomous branches, which have a light spiral growth at the tip. The colonies are a vivid purplish-brown when alive, and a distinctive translucent brown when they have been preserved.
Autozooids are large and narrow towards the base. They lack spines or avicularia; all other British Bugula species have avicularia.
The species colonises a range of substrates including pier piles, ships’ hulls, buoys and similar artificial submerged structures, where it can reach a very high abundance. Small modified zooids which resemble rootlets (rhizoids) are used to attach to the colony to the substrate.
The species is recognised as a serious fouler, and can grow freely in ships’ intake pipe and condenser chambers. It settles readily on immersed test surfaces and has become invasive in New Zealand ports. The native range of the species remains uncertain. Today, B. neritina is widely distributed in warm-temperate and subtropical coastal waters. In Britain, it has been recorded from southern coasts, the east coast up to Lowestoft and on the west coasts as far as the Firth of Clyde.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Sally Rouse, Bryozoa of the British Isles |
Source | http://britishbryozoans.myspecies.info/node/2268 |
Genomic DNA is available from 2 specimens with morphological vouchers housed at British Antarctic Survey
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.oglf.org/catalog/details.php?id=T00238 |
B. neritina is an erect, arborescent bryozoan whose colonies form brown or reddish tufts on whatever substratum they encounter. It is a common and abundant member of the fouling community (Winston 1995). Zooids are large and measure an average of 0.97 X 0.28 mm. Zooids alternate biserially on branches, with individual zooids tapering proximally. A membrane covers the frontal surface. B. neritina differs from other species in this genus in that it possesses no avicularia and no spines. Rather, its zooids have sharp points in the distal corners. The lophophore measures an average of 0.764 mm in diameter and bears 23 tentacles.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Bugula_neriti.htm |
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Bugula+neritina |
Een zuiderse soort van havens, op palen en havenhoofden, scheepsrompen, boeien en ondergedompelde voorwerpen. Te verwachten op jachten die uit Zuid- Europa komen en als tijdelijke of permanente introductie in havens. In België éénmalig levend op een jacht aangetroffen in de Mercatorjachthaven in Oostende in 1999 (Kerckhof, 2000). In april 2007 zijn overwinterende koloniedelen ontdekt in de jachthaven in Burghsluis, in augustus van hetzelfde jaar komt ze er massaal voor (Faasse, 2007). Overwinterende koloniedelen groeien in maart 2008 weer uit. Uit deze meer permanente vestiging is een snelle verspreiding in jachthavens in Zeeland te verwachten. Oudere meldingen uit België en Nederland zijn niet geloofwaardig.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License |
Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=111158 |
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Bugula+neritina |
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Bugula+neritina |
Benefit in IRL: Bryozoans are ecologically important in the Indian River Lagoon due to their feeding method. As suspension feeders, they act as living filters in the marine environment. For example, Winston (1995) reported that bryozoan colonies located in 1 square meter of seagrass bed could potentially filter and recirculate an average of 48,000 gallons of seawater per day.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Bugula_neriti.htm |
B. neritina is a highly cosmopolitan and abundant species throughout warm water areas of the world and is considered a troubling fouling organism. B. neritina occurs throughout the Indian River Lagoon and along the Florida coast.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Bugula_neriti.htm |
Bugula neritina is part of a field guide created by students at High Tech High School in San Diego, CA as part of an invasive species monitoring project.
View the Biodiversity of San Diego Bay Field Guide
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Tracy Barbaro, Tracy Barbaro |
Source | http://fieldguides.eol.org/fieldguide-view.php?guidekey=206 |