Vessel biofouling as an inadvertent vector of benthic invertebrates occurring in Brazil.

This article reviews the literature involving benthic invertebrates that are cited in association with hull fouling, reporting the species that occur on the Brazilian coast and evaluating the importance of this vector for the introduction of nonindigenous and cryptogenic invertebrates in Brazil. It discusses some of the strategies that were used by the species that allowed for their overseas transport and made it easier to cross natural barriers that otherwise would have been obstacles to their dispersion. The compiled data list 343 species (65% nonindigenous and 35% cryptogenic), mainly from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.