When species become invasive research becomes problem oriented: a synthesis of knowledge of the stony coral Tubastraea.

Invasive species stimulate science through problem-oriented research but only a small portion of studies have discussed the impacts of biological invasions upon the science itself. Three of the ten currently recognized species of the coral genus Tubastraea are invasive and have attracted substantial research attention. Using a bibliographic survey and bibliometric approach we synthesized knowledge to examine if invasion events lead to an increase and intensification of research not mirrored in the native range. More than twice as many studies of the genus were performed in the nonnative ranges than native, most being original research recently published in the conventional literature. Brazil and the United States of America (Gulf of Mexico) (nonnative range) were most studied with oil and gas platforms the main (49%) focus of pathway and vector research. Ecological processes such as recruitment, survivorship, larval settlement, and population abundance and structure, were proportionally more studied in nonnative ranges, as were competitive interactions. This synthesis of the set of knowledge that is available about Tubastraea spp. demonstrates that invasion biology is a highly pragmatic science and as the genus has expanded its range through the world the scientific community has increasingly focused its attention on the invasion which has provided science, management and stakeholders with a wide body of information on many basic and applied aspects of the biology and ecology of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]