UC San Diego Conference Proceedings Title International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference Proceedings Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/16c6578n Authors Williams, Erin Grosholz, Edwin Publication Date 2002-12-31 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference Proceedings January 31 – February 1, 2002 San Diego, California, U.S.A. This publication was supported in part by the National Sea Grant College Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic Published by the California Sea Grant and Atmospheric Administration under NOAA College Program Grant #NA06RG0142, project number A/P-1, University of California, San Diego through the California Sea Grant College La Jolla, California 92093 Program. The views expressed herein do not www.csgc-ucsd.edu necessarily reflect the views of any of those 2002 organizations. Cover photo by A. Meinesz International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference Proceedings January 31–February 1, 2002 San Diego, California U.S.A. Hosted by the University of California Cooperative Extension With Support From: California Department of Fish & Game California Sea Grant College Program U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Proceedings Assistance Provided by: California Sea Grant College Program Edited by: Erin Williams Outreach Coordinator Department of Environmental Science & Policy University of California, Davis Edwin Grosholz Associate Specialist in Cooperative Extension Department of Environmental Science & Policy University of California, Davis California Sea Grant College Program University of California La Jolla, California 92093-0232 www-csgc.ucsd.edu Publication No. T-047 ISBN 1-888691-11-5 Acknowledgments First, we would like to thank the scientists, managers, and educators for their participation during the workshop and for the considerable time invested both before and after the workshop. Without this kind of fo- cused energy and cooperation, this conference and the proceedings that we have produced would not be possible. A meeting of this magnitude would not have been possible without the sponsorship and assistance of many organizations and individuals. We thank the following organiza- tions for their substantial support of this conference: Susan Ellis and the California Department of Fish and Game, Dr. Russell Moll and the Cali- fornia Sea Grant College Program, and Sharon Gross and Sandra Keppner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. We also acknowledge support from the Marine and Coastal Re- sources Workgroup funded by the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR). Additional input to the conference was provided by members of the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team. We would like to thank San Diego City Council Member Scott Peters for his inspiring comments and participation on the first day of the conference and San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater for her insight- ful statements and participation on the second day. Finally, we thank Paul Olin and Leigh Taylor Johnson of the California Sea Grant Extension Program and Carl Bell of University of California Cooperative Extension for their help in facilitating the management, research, and education discussion sessions (respectively) on the afternoon of the second day of the conference and Elli Rilla of University of California Cooperative Extension for her assistance with developing the goals and outcomes of the conference agenda. Our additional thanks to those who assisted in on-site conference preparations and Debi Dyck, Joann Furse, and Marsha Gear at California Sea Grant who worked so diligently on the publication of these proceedings. International Caulerpa taxifolia Conference January 31-February 1, 2002 Holiday Inn San Diego Bayside 4875 North Harbor Drive San Diego, California U.S.A. Thursday, January 31, 2002 8:00 am Registration Check-in 8:30 am Introduction by Dr. Ted Grosholz, University of California, Davis Welcome by San Diego Councilmember Scott Peters 9:00 am Dr. Paul Silva, University of California, Berkeley 9:30 am Dr. Alex Meinesz, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France 10:00 am Break 10:30 am Dr. Jeanine Olsen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands 11:00 am Dr. Giulia Ceccerelli, University of Sassari, Italy 11: 30 am Ante Zuljevic, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Croatia 12:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm Dr. Alan Millar, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Australia 1:30 pm Dr. Ligia Collado-Vides, National University of Mexico 2:00 pm Dr. Valerie Paul, University of Guam Marine Laboratory 2:30 pm Dr. Cynthia Trowbridge, Oregon State University 3:00 pm Break 3:30 pm Dr. Steve Murray and Susan Frisch, California State University, Fullerton 4:00 pm Dr. Susan Williams, Bodega Marine Lab, University of California, Davis 4:30 pm Dr. Lars Anderson, USDA, Exotic and Invasive Weed Research, Summary of U.S. Invasion and Management 4:45 pm Dr. Alex Meinesz, Summary of Mediterranean Invasion and Management 5:00 pm Dr. Alan Millar, Summary of Australian Invasion and Management 5:15 pm Questions and Discussion of Research: All Speakers 6:00 pm Dinner Reception at the Berkeley Ferry Boat (bus transportation provided) Friday, February 1, 2002 8:00 am Registration Check-in 8:30 am Introduction by Dr. Ted Grosholz, University of California, Davis Welcome by San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater 8:45 am Management Successes and Failures in the Mediterranean Dr. Alex Meinesz and Dr. Thierry Thibaut, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France 9:10 am Management Successes and Failures in Australia Dr. Alan Millar, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Australia 9:30 am Management Successes and Failures in the U.S. Bruce Posthumus, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board Keith Merkel, Merkel and Associates 10:00 am Break 10:30 am Discussion and Development of Management Options for Caulerpa Invasions in Southern California 12:00 pm Outreach and Education in the U.S., Europe and Australia Dr. Ted Grosholz, Dr. Alex Meinesz, and Dr. Alan Millar 12:30 pm Lunch 1:30 pm Prioritizing Management Strategies for Caulerpa Management in U.S. Facilitator, Leigh Johnson, California Sea Grant Extension Program 1. Prioritize options for eradication/control 2. Prioritize options for monitoring importers and retailers 3. Criteria for transition from eradication to long-term control 4. Future regulatory and political goals 3:00 pm Break 3:20 pm Prioritizing Caulerpa Research Needs in U.S. Facilitator, Dr. Paul Olin, California Sea Grant Extension Program 1. Criteria and methods for evaluating success of treatment options 2. Methods for discriminating Caulerpa taxa 3. Measuring collateral impacts of eradication 4. Growth rates, mechanism of spread, invasibility in other habitats 4:15 pm Developing a Strategy for Caulerpa Education in the U.S. Facilitator, Carl Bell, University of California Cooperative Extension 1. Increase awareness, commitment, leadership in recreational public 2. Educate and involve aquarium industry regarding Caulerpa alternatives 3. Develop new management practices to minimize future introductions 4. Educate agencies, wardens, customs staff about regulations/findings 5:00 pm Conclusions and Wrap-up Introduction Among the many invasions that have stressed coastal marine systems in recent years, none have had such broad-reaching biological and politi- cal impacts as the Caulerpa taxifolia invasions of the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, and the United States (U.S.). From its initial invasion of the northwest Mediterranean in 1984, to its discovery in Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Huntington Harbour in the summer of 2000 in California, this invasive alga has produced dramatic changes both in the biological landscape of coastal bays and estuaries and the political landscape of invasive species management. Few could have predicted the coordinated response and the wealth of resources that have been directed to the C. taxifolia invasion in Southern California over the last two years. And though the efforts in Southern California in many ways represent a model of successful eradication for future invasions, many questions remain unanswered about the details of the eradication process and how the management, research, and educa- tion efforts here compare with similar efforts in Europe and Australia. In order to evaluate the status of the eradication efforts, we felt it was important that the C. taxifolia eradication efforts in the U.S. learn from the successes and failures experienced in the other Caulerpa taxifolia invasions and that this information would help guide future efforts in the U.S. Much of the information from the European and Australian invasions had not been published or was not easily accessible in the U.S. Consequently, we brought key researchers, managers, and educators from Europe, Australia, and the U.S. who have been involved with C. taxifolia, or generally with introduced species issues in their region, to participate in a two-day conference. The main objective was to allow the opportunity for researchers, managers, and educators to share their experiences and expertise with one another with the overall goal of informing those involved in the current struggle to eradicate and prevent the further spread of C. taxifolia in California. With these goals in mind, we sponsored this two-day conference in San Diego, California with financial assistance from the California Depart- ment of Fish and Game, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,