An Invasive Crustacean in Tasmania, Australia: a Study on the Introduced Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes Elongatus Liam Gregory Badm
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An invasive crustacean in Tasmania, Australia: A study on the introduced porcelain crab Petrolisthes elongatus Liam Gregory BAdmin (Marine and Coastal Conservation) B.App.Sc (Marine Environment) Honours Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy University of Tasmania September 2014 1 "This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright.” Liam Gregory (15/9/2014) 2 “The publishers of the papers comprising Chapter 2 hold the copyright for that content, and access to the material should be sought from the respective journals. The remaining non published content of the thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968.” 3 The following people and institutions contributed to the publication of work undertaken as part of the thesis: Candidate: Liam P Gregory - University of Tasmania Author 2: Marnie L Campbell – Central Queensland University and University of Tasmania Author 3: Carmen Primo – University of Tasmania Author 4: Chad L Hewitt – Central Queensland University and University of Tasmania Paper 1: Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the Tasmanian distribution and density of the introduced New Zealand porcelain crab Petrolisthes elongatus Located in chapter 2 Candidate was the primary author and with authors 2 and 4 contributed to the idea, its formalisation and development. Author 2, 3 and 4 assisted with refinement and presentation. Author 3 assisted in the field. Signed: ______________________ Prof Chad L Hewitt A/Prof John Purser Supervisor Director National Centre for National Centre for Marine Conservation Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability and Resource Sustainability University of Tasmania University of Tasmania Date: 15/9/2014 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Chad Hewitt, Professor Marnie Campbell and Dr. Carmen Primo. The chance to undertake this study and create a new understanding of our intertidal environment is irreplaceable. Your continued help and support throughout my candidature was invaluable and very greatly appreciated. To all RHD candidates, undergraduates and friends who made trips with me around Tasmania in the wind and rain or sunshine to collect specimens, helped out in the lab with measuring thousands of crabs, and advice given throughout my candidature it is very much appreciated. This thesis would not be possible without the help and support from all of you. Finally I would like to thank my family for the continued support throughout my candidature. 5 ABSTRACT Petrolisthes elongatus (Family: Porcellanidae) was introduced into Tasmania over a century ago from New Zealand, most probably via the dry and semi-dry ballast vector as well as associated with the live oyster trade. Since its initial introduction, P. elongatus has invaded new intertidal zones across the north, east, and southern coastlines of Tasmania and attains densities of over 200 individuals per m². There is a lack of literature that documents the impacts associated with the invasion of P. elongatus and the interactions occurring in the occupied intertidal ecosystems. This project examined the distribution and densities of P. elongatus around Tasmania’s coastline and examined how these metrics related to native grapsid crabs distribution and density (biotic) and environmental stress (abiotic) to determine if these factors influenced the range and densities of P. elongatus. Furthermore, P. elongatus carapace length between sites and coastlines was examined to determine if there were differences in morphology across the introduced range, while also examining ovigerous females and sex ratios between sites and coastlines. A monthly quadrat study from February 2012 to January 2013 was conducted at one site, Low Head in the north of Tasmania, to determine seasonal changes in morphology, ovigerous females, and sex ratios within the population. The introduced range of P. elongatus in Tasmania extends from the northwest, down along the east coast and into the southeast , with more individuals found along the north and south coast then the east coast, no individuals were observed on the west coast. Densities were found to be higher in populations along the southern coast of Tasmania when compared to northern and eastern sites. P. elongatus were observed colonising small to medium sized rocks on coastlines with low to moderate wave energy. 6 No direct interaction was found between densities of P. elongatus and two native grapsid crabs Paragrapsus quadridentatus and Paragrapsus laevis at either the site or quadrat scales. Morphology between coastlines of Tasmania revealed larger carapace lengths at northern sites (U [1] = -7.57, p<0.001); furthermore sex ratios were found to be equal at all sites except for Dunalley and Dover (south Tasmania). Northern sites produced a higher proportion of ovigerous 2 females compared to southern sites (χ [10] = 42.4; p<0.001). Potential seasonal changes were evident within the Low Head (north Tasmania) population with larger carapace lengths in the warmer months (F[1,10] = 26.394; p<0.001). Rapid declines in ovigerous females were observed during winter with large increases into warmer months. Sex ratios become more female dominated into spring and summer. This study begins our understanding of the demography of this introduced crustacean, revealing its ability to successfully invade and produce high densities of individuals in recipient ecosystems. The need for continued research is important to further develop our understanding on the possible impacts and future spread of Petrolisthes elongatus in Tasmania and mainland Australia. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1…………………………………………………………………………...….…13-31 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….…….....13 o Ballast ……………………………………………………………………………….15 o Hull Fouling ………………………………………………………….………….......16 o Secondary Spread …………………………………………………………………...18 Impacts ……………………………………………………………………………….….18 o Environmental Impacts ………………………………………………………….…..19 o Economic and Socio-Cultural Impacts ………………………………………….…..21 o Management …………….……………………………………………………….…..22 Crab Invasions ……………………………………………………………………….….23 o Petrolisthes Introductions ………………………………………………………......26 Conclusions and Aims ………………………………………………………………….28 CHAPTER 2 ……………………………………………………………………………….32-51 Preface …………………………………………………………………………………32 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………...33 Materials and Methods ……………………………………………………………….36 o Distribution and Density …………………………………………………………...36 o Biotic Factors ………………………………………………………………………37 o Abiotic Factors ……………………………………………………………………..38 Results …………………………………………………………………………………38 o Distribution and Density Patterns …………………………………………………38 o Biotic Factors ……………………………………………………………………...41 o Abiotic Factors …………………………………………………………………….44 Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………..46 CHAPTER 3 ………………………………………………………………………………52-84 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………..52 o Aims and Hypotheses ……………………………………………………………...58 . Morphometrics …………………………………………………………….58 . Sex Ratio ……………………………………………………………….…..58 . Ovigerous Females ………………………………………………………...58 . Annual Trends ……………….…………………………………….………58 8 Materials and Methods ………………….…………………………………………...59 o Morphometrics ……………………….……………………………………………59 o Sex Ratio …………………………………………………………………………..60 o Ovigerous Females ………………………………………………………………..62 o Annual Trends ……………………………………………………………………..63 Results ………………………………………………………………………………...64 o Morphometrics …………………………………………………………………….67 o Sex Ratio …………………………………………………………………………..70 o Ovigerous Females ………………………………………………………………..71 o Annual Trends ……………………………………………………………………..72 Discussion …………………………………………………………………………….76 o Morphometrics ……………………………………………………………………76 o Sex Ratio ………………………………………………………………………….78 o Ovigerous Females ……………………………...………………………………..80 o Annual Trends …………………………………………………………………….81 Conclusion ……………………………………………………...……………………84 CHAPTER 4 ……………………………………………………………………………...85-95 Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………85 o Decapod Invasions ……………………………………………………………….87 o Anomuran Invasions ……………………………………………………………..88 o Petrolisthes elongatus Invasion ………………………………………………….90 o Future Work ……………………………………………...………………………92 o Eradication ………………………………………………………………………94 o Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….95 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………...96-128 APPENDIX ………………………………………………………………………………..129 9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A) Tasmanian distribution of Petrolisthes elongatus (introduced species). Filled circles represent presence; open circles represent absence; squares represent sites found within the literature with P. elongatus presence. Black bars represent the separation of north, south, east and west. B) Tasmanian distribution of Paragrapsus quadridentatus and Paragrapsus laevis (native species). Filled circles represent the presence of both Paragrapsus species; top half-filled circles represent the presence of P. quadridentatus only; bottom half-filled circles represent the presence of P. laevis only; open circles represent absence of Paragrapsus species. See Annex 1 for additional information ……………………………………………………………………….40