Detection of introduced sessile species on the near shore continental shelf in southern Brazil

Invasion by marine species, often considered a grave threat to marine ecosystems, occurs throughout the world as a consequence of many anthropogenic activities. In coastal Paraná, many factors including shipping, aquaculture and the use of artificial substrates provide suitable environments for the establishment and rapid spread of introduced marine species. To better understand this process, the encrusting community was studied on polyethylene plates (n = 120, 10 x 10 cm) that were placed seasonally at fixed locations on the inner continental shelf to detect non-native species. Of the 62 tax...