Bugula sp. 1

Invasion History

First Non-native North American Tidal Record:
First Non-native West Coast Tidal Record:
First Non-native East/Gulf Coast Tidal Record:

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General Invasion History:

Cohen et al. (1998) designated this unidentified species of Bugula as a probable introduced species in Puget Sound. It resembles the Northeast Atlantic species Bugula turbinata. The native range of B. turbinata is from the northern British Isles to Spain, and east to Italy in the Mediterranean Sea (Ryland 1960; Hayward and Ryland 1998).

North American Invasion History:

Invasion History on the West Coast:

Cohen et al. (1998) reported Bugula sp. 1 in a survey of nonindigenous species in Puget Sound, Washington. It was first discovered in the sound in 1993, but its occurrence and description has not been formally published (Cohen et al. 1998). We have no further information on the distribution of this bryozoan.

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Description

Cohen et al. (1998) designated this unidentified species of Bugula as ‘Bugula sp. 1’ and noted that it resembled the Northeast Atlantic species Bugula turbinata. Colonies of B. turbinata form bushy tufts 30-60 mm tall, with branches arranged spirally along the main axis. The autozooids are arranged in two series at the base of the branches, but in multiple series near the tips. The autozooids are rectangular, or narrowed towards the base, and are 0.5-0.6 X 0.15-0.20 mm in size. Most of the frontal surface is membranous. Two spines project below the distal end of the zooids, and avicularia are attached below the spines. Each zooid has 13 tentacles (Description from: Ryland 1960; Hayward and Ryland 1998).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

Life History- Bugula sp. 1 is a bush-like, calcified bryozoan, composed of many individual zooids. The zooids feed by extending ciliated tentacles from their lophophore, creating a current and driving food particles into their mouth. The food is guided along the tentacles and through the pharynx by the cilia. Larger food particles can be moved or captured by flicking or contracting the tentacles. The zooids are hermaphroditic, and produce large yolky eggs, which hatch into lecithotrophic larvae, which are planktonic for short periods (less than 1-2 days). Larvae settle on a substrate and metamorphose into the first zooid of a colony, an ancestrula (Barnes 1983).

Ecology- Bugula sp. 1 attaches to hard substrates, probably stones and pilings. The morphologically similar B. turbinata is most frequently found attached to stones in the intertidal zone (Ryland 1960; Hayward and Ryland 1998).

Food:

Phytoplankton

Trophic Status:

Suspension Feeder

SusFed

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Habitats

General Habitat	Marinas & Docks	None
General Habitat	Rocky	None
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Broad Temperature Range	None	Cold temperate
Broad Salinity Range	None	Polyhaline-Euhaline

General Impacts

No ecological impacts have been reported for Bugula sp. 1.

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References

Cohen, Andrew; and 16 authors. (1998) <missing title>, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, Washington. Pp. 1-37

Hayward, P.J.; Ryland, J. S. (1998) Cheilostomatous Bryozoa. Part 1: Aeteoidea-Cribilinoidea., Synopses of the British Fauna 10 (2nd edition): 1-366

Ryland, J. S. (1960) The British species of Bugula (Polyzoa)., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 134: 65-105

Ryland, J.S., Hayward, P.J. (1977) British anascan bryozoans, Cheilostomata: Anasca. Keys and notes for the identification of the species., Synopses of the British Fauna 10: 1-187

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