The corallivorous flatworm Amakusaplana acroporae: An invasive species threat to coral reefs?
Open accessAbstract
Fatal infestations of land-based Acropora cultures with so-called Acropora - eating flatworms (AEFWs) are a global phenomenon. We evaluate the hypothesis that AEFWs represent a risk to coral reefs by studying the biology and the invasive potential of an AEFW strain from the UK. Molecular analyses identified this strain as Amakusaplana acroporae , a new species described from two US aquaria and one natural location in Australia. Our molecular data together with life history strategies described here suggest that this species accounts for most reported cases of AEFW infestations. We show that local parasitic activity impairs the light-acclimation capacity of the whole host colony. A. acroporae acquires excellent camouflage by harbouring photosynthetically competent, host-derived zooxanthellae and pigments of the green-fluorescent protein family. It shows a preference for Acropora valida but accepts a broad host range. Parasite survival in isolation (5–7 d) potentially allows for an invasion when introduced as non-native species in coral reefs.
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Intermittent outbreaks of acoel flatworms, such as Amakusaplana acroporae, are addressed with freshwater flushes during dives.
“Intermittent outbreaks of acoel flatworms, such as the recently described species Amakusaplana acroporae, are addressed with freshwater flushes during dives [13].”
From The Iconic Philippine Coral Reef at Steinhart Aquarium: The Husbandry, Welfare, Behavior, and Veterinary Care Considerations of a Large Multi-Taxa Living Coral Reef System (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
The Introduction identifies Amakusaplana acroporae as a coral-infesting flatworm, but distinguishes it from the acoel Waminoa. The Culture and aquarium experiments section says researchers dislodged worms with a seawater jet; it does not report intermittent outbreaks or freshwater flushes during dives. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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References 23 · Cited by 17
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Hyman LH (1951) The invertebrates: Platyhelminthes and Rhyn- chocoela: The acoelomate bilateria (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill, New York
- Authors
- Hume, B. C. C., D’Angelo, C., Cunnington, A., Smith, E. G., & Wiedenmann, J.
- Affiliations
- National Oceanography Centre (GB)
- New York University Abu Dhabi (AE)
- Corresponding author
- Wiedenmann, Jörg
- Venue
- Coral Reefs
- Published
- 2013-11-20
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 267-272
- ISSN
- 0722-4028 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-0975
- OpenAlex
- W2004950782
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 0.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Coral Reefs (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (acceptedVersion)
- Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission (2007–2013, FP/2007-2013)/ERC, FP/2007/2013)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/K00641X/1, NE/H012303/1, NE/I01683X/1)
- FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (311179)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
- Keywords
- invasive species, coral reef conservation, Acropora, host-parasite interactions, light acclimation, zooxanthellae, green fluorescent protein, camouflage, host range, life history strategies, non-native species introduction
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