Potential control of invasive species of orange cup coral Tubastrea coccinea Lesson, 1829 using a synthetic natural compound

Abstract

Non-toxic defence against marine biofouling species including invasive species is urgently required. The effect of a synthetic natural compound “1-hydroxy-2-O-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine” was tested against larvae of the invasive orange cup coral T. coccinea Lesson, 1829. The larvae were placed in 24-well microtiter plates immediately after their release and subjected to the compound at concentrations of 0.5, 5, 10, 50, and 100 μg mL-1 and three treatments (copper sulfate, solvents, and seawater). Larval mortality ranged from 35% (100 μg mL-1) to 3% (5 μg mL-1), and their average of lethal concentration (LC50) was 142.2 μg mL-1. The results of this study show that compound is a potential option to be applied in the management and control of T. coccinea on artificial structures.