ASCIDIACEA

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2502

Class ASCIDIACEA

Several species of colonial and solitary ascidian have been recognized as introduced along South African shores. Given the fouling nature of ascidians and the fact that the majority of the species identified here as introduced have their origins in Europe, we propose that the most probable vector of all these species is ship fouling. The ascidians listed are capable of forming large monospecific aggregates and often occur in high densities in artificial hard substrata ( Rius et al. 2009a; Rius et al. 2010) and mussel farms ( Carver et al. 2003) along the South African coast. Although research is needed to investigate the ecological impacts of these species in South Africa, it is highly likely that these species are producing the same or other significant effects as seen in other parts of the world.