摘要：Chalinula nematifera (Porifera: Haplosclerida) is an encrusting sponge able to overgrow live corals. It was described from the Western-Central Pacific Ocean and recently has been reported along the Mexican Pacific coast, where it is considered introduced and a potential threat for corals. However, there is a lack of accurate data about the distribution and abundance of Chalinula nematifera. Here we report a first wide assessment of its effect on different coral species and its growth rate. This is a first knowledge baseline for C. nematifera, based on visual and photo surveys, along the eastern coast of the Sulawesi Island (Indonesia).
