Analysis of the Population Dynamics of Placida Dendritica and Codium Fragile in the Gulf of Maine and a Theoretical Discussion of Invasive Species
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 2020 ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF PLACIDA DENDRITICA AND CODIUM FRAGILE IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF INVASIVE SPECIES Seth Goodnight University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Goodnight, Seth, "ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF PLACIDA DENDRITICA AND CODIUM FRAGILE IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF INVASIVE SPECIES" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2546. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2546 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF PLACIDA DENDRITICA AND CODIUM FRAGILE IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF INVASIVE SPECIES BY SETH GOODNIGHT B.A.: Biology and Chemistry – University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 2006 M.S.: Zoology – University of New Hampshire, 2012 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Biological Sciences: Marine Biology Option December 2020 ii This thesis/dissertation was examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences: Marine Biology Option by: Dissertation Director: Larry G. Harris Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences. University of New Hampshire Dissertation Committee: Jessica A. Bolker Ph.D. Professor, Biological Sciences. University of New Hampshire James Haney Ph.D. Professor, Biological Sciences. University of New Hampshire Walter Lambert Ph.D. Professor, Biology. Framingham State University James Pringle Ph.D. Professor, Earth Sciences. University of New Hampshire On December 14, 2020 Approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. iii CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... viii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... x Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Naturalized species: when are invasive species no longer considered invasive? ......... 7 Terminology ................................................................................................................................ 8 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 10 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 18 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 24 Gulf of Maine as a case study ................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 2: Effects of temperature on the life history characteristics of Placida dendritica ......... 37 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 38 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 42 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 51 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 3: Population dynamics of Codium fragile and Placida dendritica ................................ 70 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 71 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 76 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 81 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 4: Modeling population dynamics ................................................................................. 100 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 101 Methods .................................................................................................................................. 103 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 110 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 115 General conclusion...................................................................................................................... 120 References ................................................................................................................................... 124 Appendix I: R-Code for Chapter IV ........................................................................................... 136 iv FIGURES Figure 1: Codium fragile ssp. fragile. ............................................................................................. 5 Figure 2: Major water currents affecting the GoM. ........................................................................ 5 Figure 3: Histograms of the number of publications per five-year period ................................... 22 Figure 4: Relative collecting frequency (RCF) for three species of seaweed in the GoM. .......... 23 Figure 5: Number of publications for C. fragile in the GoM per 5-year period. .......................... 32 Figure 6: Relative collecting frequency (RCF) of C. fragile in the GoM. ................................... 32 Figure 7: Map of collection locations for C. fragile in the GoM .................................................. 33 Figure 8: Illustration of how processes with different Q10 values are affected by temperature. .. 41 Figure 9: Map of the Maine and New Hampshire coast. .............................................................. 49 Figure 10: Example of measurement procedure. .......................................................................... 50 Figure 11: Mean calculated lengths of P. dendritica used for reproductive rate trials. ................ 50 Figure 12: Box and whisker plot of the rate of egg mass production as a factor of temperature. 56 Figure 13: The average cumulative number of egg masses over 30 days. ................................... 56 Figure 14: Scatter plot showing the relationship between image size and egg count. .................. 57 Figure 15: Box and whisker plot of the numbers of eggs per egg mass ....................................... 58 Figure 16: Number of eggs in a mass as a function of the animal size. ........................................ 58 Figure 17: Number of eggs per egg mass vs. the sequential number of that egg mass. ............... 59 Figure 18: Total egg mass count per pair of P. dendritica. .......................................................... 59 Figure 19: Box and whisker plot showing the duration of embryonic development .................... 60 Figure 20: Recruitment at depth array. ......................................................................................... 79 Figure 21: Abundance of Codium fragile at Cape Neddick, ME. ................................................ 85 Figure 22: Photographs of C. fragile abundance at Cape Neddick, August 2015. ....................... 85 Figure 23: Recruitment rates of Placida dendritica at two sites. ................................................. 86 Figure 24: Comparison of C. fragile abundance and P. dendritica recruitment........................... 87 Figure 25: Recruitment of P. dendritica by depth at CML........................................................... 87 Figure 26: Average settlement by depth. ...................................................................................... 88 Figure 27: Chlorophyll a concentration in the GoM ..................................................................... 98 Figure 28: Conceptual flowchart depicting the population dynamic model. .............................. 108 Figure 29: Comparisons of model output based on changing Q10 values. .................................. 112 Figure 30: Comparison