Abstract
We report on the first sightings of the invasive Rapa Whelk Rapana venosa in Maldonado Bay (Punta del Este Harbor and Gorriti Island) using in vivo, underwater observations and video surveys. The species was first detected in the Río de la Plata (Uruguay and Argentina) in 1999, and by 2004 it had extended its local distribution to Punta del Este at the eastern boundary of the estuary. Observations performed by SCUBA diving showed that R. venosa is preying on native mussels Mytilus edulis and Brachidontes spp., and that formerly abundant mussel beds are being seriously depleted due to a combination of human extraction, habitat deterioration and predation by the Rapa Whelk.
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Acknowledgments
The fieldwork was done with the kind collaboration of the crew of the F/V “Piruleta” (Bocha, María, and Cristhian). Financial support from The Rufford Small grants for Nature Conservation to A.C., is acknowledged. We also thank SCUBA divers J. Durán and Gonzalo Irrazabal for assistance during sampling and Yamandú Marín, Omar Defeo, Arianna Masello, Gastón Martínez and Daniel Gilardoni from National Direction of Aquatic Resources (DINARA). Mike Beck and Rob Brumbaugh (The Nature Conservancy) are acknowledged for support during fund gathering. M. Beck also checked English style and made several suggestions to improve the ms, and is specially acknowledged.
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Carranza, A., de Mello, C., Ligrone, A. et al. Observations on the invading gastropod Rapana venosa in Punta del Este, Maldonado Bay, Uruguay. Biol Invasions 12, 995–998 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9534-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9534-0