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Invasion success by an alien species is dependent upon rate of reproduction, growth, mortality, physical characteristics of the environment, and successful competition for resources with native species. For sessile, epibenthic marine species, one critical resource is space. We examined competitive success in two invasive Indo-Pacific corals involved in competition for space in the northern Gulf of Mexico— Tubastraea coccinea and T .  micranthus —on up to 13 offshore oil/gas platforms south of the Mississippi River. Still-capture photos of thousands of overgrowth interactions between the target corals and other sessile epibenthic fauna were analyzed from ROV videos collected at 8–183 m depth.  T .  micranthus  was observed overgrowing >90% of all sessile epibenthic species which it encountered. Frequencies of competitive success varied significantly between platforms.  T .  coccinea  was competitively superior to all competitors pooled, at the 60% level. There was little variability between  T .  coccinea  populations.  T .  coccinea  encountered the following species most frequently—the encrusting sponges  Xestospongia  sp. (with the commensal  Parazoanthus catenularis) ,  X .  carbonaria ,  Dictyonella funicularis ,  Mycale carmigropila ,  Phorbas amaranthus , and  Haliclona vansoesti —and was found to be, on average, competitively superior to them. Both  T .  micranthus  and  T .  coccinea  appear to be good competitors for space against these species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Competitive success in  T .  micranthus  was highest in the NE part of the study area, and lowest in the SW area near the Mississippi River plume.  T .  coccinea ’s competitive success peaked in the SW study area. This suggests that variation in competitive success both within and between populations of these species may be due to differences in local environmental factors.

Success in Competition for Space in Two Invasive Coral Species in the western Atlantic – Tubastraea micranthus and T. coccinea