Non-native marine sessile benthic species from the coastal upwelling ecosystem of Arraial do Cabo, Brazil

Marine bioinvasions are human-mediated events that have modified landscapes and altered the composition and structure of native communities. Arraial do Cabo is an Extractive Marine Protected Area located on the Southeastern Brazilian Coast with unique environmental features due to the influence of a coastal upwelling phenomenon. The presence of a small port complex probably facilitated the introduction of non-native species (NNS). This study compiled a list of NNS from Arraial do Cabo based on published and unpublished studies. Our findings compiled 45 non-native benthic species belonging to eight taxonomic groups: Rhodophyta (3); Porifera: Calcarea (3); Anthozoa (4); Serpulidae (2); Mollusca: Bivalvia (5) and Gastropoda (2); Cirripedia (4); Bryozoa (6) and Ascidiacea (16). Three of which occurred exclusively in Arraial do Cabo – Didemnum sp. carpet, Thylaeodus sp., and Tubastraea sp. – and 13 were re-examined and are now categorized as NNS. Since the distribution is based on environmental conditions of water, forty-four NNS were found in warmer waters and only one was exclusively recorded in sites exposed to the cold waters – the red algae Pyropia suborbiculata . Based on those results, we updated the list of NNS on the Brazilian coast from 77 to 99 benthic sessile NNS. Our results also provide a tool for a connected environmental network for private and public sectors in order to mitigate impacts in a high-value conservation area that can be considered a relevant NNS hotspot of the southeastern Brazilian coast.