Known for its bold, vibrant colors and harmless appearance, the sun coral (genus Tubastraea spp.) poses many threats to Brazil’s marine biodiversity. The species, first introduced to the country in the 1980s in the Campos Basin, in Rio de Janeiro, arrived via ship hulls. Between the 1980s and 1990s, the first instances of colonization and establishment of this invasive species were recorded along the Brazilian coast on oil platforms, where it demonstrated a high capacity for dispersal.
Currently, two exotic species are found in the country: Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis. With a high reproductive capacity, the sun coral now dominates spaces—particularly vertical areas of the reefs—that previously belonged to native and endemic species, causing an imbalance in the marine ecosystem and its functions.
Ilha Grande Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, is one of the regions where the sun coral has spread across its reefs in recent years. To assess and monitor the management dynamics of the species in the region, the Coral-Sol Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC) was signed in 2021 between the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and five companies. FUNBIO serves as the financial and operational manager of the initiative.
Over the next four and a half years, the Coral-Sol TAC Program will carry out, through two initiatives, actions aimed at assessing and monitoring the species Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis. These are: the Project for the Assessment and Monitoring of Sun Coral Dynamics and Management at the Tamoios Ecological Station (ESEC) and the Supplementary Project for the Assessment and Monitoring of Sun Coral Dynamics in Ilha Grande Bay.
Both initiatives call for the implementation of protocols for rapid response to the species’ dispersal, as well as testing the effectiveness of Sun Coral management, primarily by analyzing the results of the removal of Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis. In this way, the initiatives will contribute to a better understanding of the species’ behavior in the region and to more agile and assertive decision-making regarding its management.