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ABSTRACT
This study records a new introduction of the estuarine, invasive bivalve Mytilopsis cf. sallei in southeastern Brazil. The new record lies close to the largest port of the country (the Port of Santos, in São Paulo state), raising serious concerns related to the probable expansion of this bivalve in future years. Two out of five sampling stations showed live specimens of M. cf. sallei in the soft sediment, in sites with polluted waters and salinity below 20 ppt, reaching a maximum abundance of 1983 specimens/m2. According to COI evidence, two lineages of M. cf. sallei are present in the region, one of which was previously recorded from northeastern Brazil (where it is probably exotic), and another previously recorded from Florida (native) and Asia (exotic). Potential sources for the introduction are discussed, as well as the role of ballast water vs. biofouling as vectors. Because adults of M. cf. sallei are tolerant to long periods in marine waters, it is possible that biofouling from distant sources contributed to this introduction. In order to enable a robust mitigation plan, a complete spatial evaluation for the presence of this bivalve should be conducted in the Santos Estuary.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Dr. Tom White (NHM), who photographed the syntypes of M. sallei, to the staff of the section of Herpetology (MN/UFRJ), for allowing access to the camera, and to Dr. Flávio Passos (UNICAMP), who provided insightful comments about the supposed failed invasion of Mytilopsis in the 1980s. Two anonymous reviewers made great suggestions for the improvement of the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).