First report of Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson,1867 in the Dominican Republic, an invasive species that continues to expand across the Caribbean

Abstract

Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson,1867 is a seagrass species native to the Red Sea and the Persian-Indian Ocean, introduced 150 years ago into the Mediterranean Sea. H. stipulacea was first reported in the Caribbean in 2002; and in less than 15 years, it expanded across small island nations and Venezuela. Expected to continue expanding across its invasive range, monitoring programs aimed at spotting new geographic areas where H. stipulacea has successfully settled are vital. Here, we report for the first time an extensive meadow of H. stipulacea in Punta Salinas, Bani, Peravia Province, Dominican Republic (La Hispaniola). In November 2024, the species was spotted drifting inside Las Calderas Bay, and soon after, detected in a meadow located at the exposed side of Punta Salinas. After taxonomic confirmation, we conducted a survey during December 2024 to check for the presence of H. stipulacea meadows We observed a large H. stipulacea patch (1500 m) established on muddy sediments mixed with Dictyota spp., dead Halimeda spp. and other macroalgae. On average, the alien species covered 67.5 ± 36.7 %, whereas Thalassia testudinum covered < 5 % of the substrate. While the impacts of H. stipulacea in La Hispaniola remain unknown, our results confirm that H. Stipulacea continues to expand, successfully invading coastal habitats across the Caribbean region.