University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Publications Stamford 1-20-2009 Multi-Component Evaluation to Minimize the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Seaweeds, Harmful Algal Bloom Microalgae, and Invertebrates via the Live Bait Vector in Long Island Sound Charles Yarish University of Connecticut - Stamford, [email protected] Robert Whitlatch University of Connecticut - Avery Point, [email protected] George Kraemer State University of New York at Purchase, [email protected] Senjie Lin University of Connecticut - Avery Point, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/ecostam_pubs Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Yarish, Charles; Whitlatch, Robert; Kraemer, George; and Lin, Senjie, "Multi-Component Evaluation to Minimize the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Seaweeds, Harmful Algal Bloom Microalgae, and Invertebrates via the Live Bait Vector in Long Island Sound" (2009). Publications. 2. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/ecostam_pubs/2 LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY EPA ASSISTANCE AWARD FINAL REPORT 1. SubmissionDateof FinalReporttoLISS: January 20,2009 2. EPAGrantNumberand Project Title: No: LI-97149601 3. GranteeOrganizationandContactName: UniversityofConnecticut,Dr.Charles Yarish 4. PublicSummary: Thegoaloftheproject wastoprotectguardLongIslandSound fromtheintroductionof non-nativeorganismsthatmaybeimportedviafishing bait worms andtheseaweedpacking materialknownas wormweed( Ascophyllum nodosum ). Theproject examinedbaitfornon-nativeinvertebrateanimals, macroalgae(alsoknownasseaweeds), andharmful,toxin-producingmicroalgae. Bait waspurchasedfromretailbaitshopsat locationsrangingfromnortheasternLongIslandSoundalongtheConnecticutshorelineto thesouthwesternpartoftheSoundinLongIsland.Usingacombinationof visualand microscopicinspection,andsophisticatedmolecularbiological techniquestodetectthe presenceofmicroalgal cells,thestudyquestionedwhether(i)non-nativeorganisms were beingimportedviabait worms,andifso whether;(ii)non-nativeorganisms varyaccording topurchaselocation,or;(iii)timeofyear. Overall,14speciesofmacroalgae,twospeciesofharmfulmicroalgae( Alexandrium fundyense, and Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries ),and23differentcategoriesofinvertebrateanimals werediscoveredamongthe wormweed.Onlyoneofthemicroalgalspecies wasnotnative toLongIslandSound.Overall,location(eastern vs. western,northern vs.southernLong IslandSound)didnotaffectthenumberofalgalorinvertebratespecies. Temperaturedid affectalgaldiversityandabundance,however,both inpost-collectionincubation(5°<15° = 25°)andseasonally(summerproducedhighestnumbers).Invertebrates weremostabundant insummeras well. TheGulfofMainenowharborsadiversesuiteofnon-nativeorganisms. Thesemaybe exportedtootherareasoftheU.S. vianationalbait wholesalersandcause ecologicalharmto thereceiving ecosystem.Inadditiontopotentialecologicalimpactsassociatedwiththe importofnon-nativeorganisms,economicharmisalsopossible.Forexample,commercial shellfishingbedsmaybeclosedwhenharmfulmicroalgaebloomin coastal waters. Withca. 470retailbaitshopsinNYandCT,thechancesof introductionofharmfulnon-nativesis nottrivial.Forexample,inour18monthstudyoffourlocations, wediscoveredtheharmful non-nativemicroalga Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries in58%ofoursamples. 5. ProjectPeriod: 6/1/2006-6/31/2009 6. Project Description: Multi-ComponentEvaluationtoMinimizetheSpreadof AquaticInvasiveSeaweeds,Harmful AlgalBloomMicroalgae,andInvertebrates via theLiveBait VectorinLongIslandSound . Theintroductionsofnon-indigenousspecies to the LongIslandSound(LIS) havethepotentialtodramatically affectboththe environmentandeconomyofthearea. One vector ofthesespeciesyettobe examined 1 completely is bait wormspackagedwith the seaweedAscophyllum nodosum . Thisseaweedcan contain adults,juvenile,and/orreproductivebodies ofinvasivemarineorganisms. Fishermen often discardtheseaweedintoLIS uponusingthe worms. This study investigatedwhetherinvasivemacro-algae,micro-algaeorinvertebratesarebeingintroduced toLISthroughthis vector. 7. Activities& Accomplishments: Withinthegeneralgoalofpreventingintroductions ofnon-indigenousspecies(NIS)andharmfulalgalbloomformingmicroalgae (HAB),this proposalexaminedbait worms asa vectorforeconomically andecologically harmfulspecies. Toevaluatebait wormsasa vector, wesuccessfully testedthefollowing specific hypotheses: Hypothesis1aH 0: WormbaitssoldalongConnecticutandNew Yorkshores ofLISdo not containNISseaweedsor HABmicroalgae;ifbaitsandseafoodfromLISarediscovered tocontainNISseaweeds and/orHABmicroalgae: Hypothesis1bH 0: Worm baitssoldinLIS containsimilartaxonomicsuitesofNISseaweeds andpotentialHABmicroalgae Hypothesis1cH 0: Wormbait vectorsshownoseasonalityinassociatedNISseaweedflora orHABmicroalgae Hypothesis2aH 0: WormbaitssoldalongConnecticutandNew YorkshoresofLISdonot contain non-nativeinvertebrateanimals;ifbaitsandseafoodfromLISarediscoveredto contain non-nativeinvertebrateanimals: Hypothesis2bH 0: Worm baitscontainsimilartaxonomicsuitesof non-nativeinvertebrate animals Hypothesis2cH 0: Wormbait vectorsshownoseasonalityinassociatednon-native invertebrateanimals. Theproject wassuccessfullycompleted, withtestsofallhypotheses. Theresultscanbe usedbyresourcemanagersto inform thedevelopmentofpoliciesforthebaitindustriesto reduceoreliminatethethreatoftheintroductionof NISbythis vector. 8. Modeling: N/A 9. SummaryofFindings: Macro-andMicroalgae : Projectsamplingbeganon June5,2007.Boxesofbait were purchasedinNew York(Ebb TideBaitandTackle,PortChesterandDuffy’sBaitand Tackle,GlenwoodLanding)andConnecticut(Fisherman’s World,NorwalkandKen’s Tackle,Groton,CT).Onthoseoccasions whenEbb Tidecouldnotprovidebait,samples wereobtainedfromCityIslandBaitandTackle,Bronx,NY(fourtimes),fromPetPlanet, NewRochelle,NY(once),andSportsmenDen,Greenwich,CT(once). On January8,2008, Ken’sBaitandTackleburnedcompletely. WereplacedKen’s withCaptainBruce'sBaitand Tackle(Groton,CT). Sandworms( Nereis virens ) werepurchasedfromfourretailshopsfrom New York (NY)andConnecticut(CT)oneachsamplingdate, withtheexceptionofthelastdatein 2007(during whichonlythreeshops weresampled). Elevenshops weresampled throughoutthestudy(Table1),andan attempt wasmadetosamplefromtwoshopsinCT andtwoinNYoneachdate,althoughthere wereexceptions(Table2). Tostudyseasonal variationsinthepotential ofspreadingmacro-andmicro-algaetoLIS,sampling was 2 conductedtwiceamonth duringthemainfishingseason (May-Nov) andonceamonth duringthebeginningandendofthefishingseason(Table2). Bait worms werepurchasedin six½dozenboxesor3one-dozenboxes,dependingonavailability. Whenpossible,the baits werepurchasedonthesameday,howeversometimesextenuatingcircumstances sometimes requiredbaittobepurchasedthedaybeforescheduled(Table2, markedbyan superscripted a). Inthesecases,thebait waskept intheoriginalboxes at5°C untilthe followingday. Ononeoccasion,theretailshopdidnothave N. virens ,sobloodworms (Glycera dibranchiata ) weresubstitutedbecausetheyarealsopackagedwith Ascophyllum nodosum (Table2, markedbya superscripted b). Thebaits werefirsttakentotheMarineBiotechnologyLaboratory,Universityof Connecticut,Stamford,CT,USAforprocessingandsystematicevaluation. Thebait worms wereremovedfromthepackagingseaweed A. nodosum ,andthefresh weightsoftheseaweed andassociatedmarshgrass (Spartina alterniflora) were madethroughoutthestudytodetermine ifthere werelargedifferencesinquantitybetween baitshopsandsamplingdates. Ateach sample, a voucherspecimenof A, nodosum (and Fucus sp.) waspressedandsavedto documentthemorphotypefoundateachsite. The A. nodosum and S. alterniflora werethen dividedbetweenthetwo differentaspectsofthestudy:macroalgaeandmicroalgae. Table1:Retailshops,locations,andacronymsusedthroughoutthestudy. Retail Shop Acronym Latitude/Longitude Ken's Tackle (Groton, CT) KT 41°20’N, 72°30’W Captain Bruce's (Groton, CT) CB 41°20’N, 72°30’W Fishermen's World (Norwalk, CT) FW 41°6’N, 73°24’W River's End (Old Saybrook, CT) RE 41°17’N, 72°21’W Fish Tails (Stamford, CT) FT 41°5’N, 73°34’W CONNECTICUT Sportsmen's Den (Greenwich, CT) SD 41°30’N, 73°39’W Ebb Tide (Port Chester, NY) ET 41°N, 73°39’W Duffy's Bait and Tackle (Glenwood Landing, NY) DBT 40°49’N, 73°38’W Pet Planet (New Rochelle, NY) PP 40°55’N, 73°47’W Jack's Bait and Tackle (Bronx, NY) JT 40°51’N, 73°52’W NEW NEW YORK City Island (Bronx, NY) CI 40°51’N, 73°52’W Table2. Samplingdatesandsites. Eastern LIS Western LIS (CT) (CT) Far Western LIS (NY) # Sampling Date KT CB RE FW FT SD ET CI DBT PP JT 1 June 5, 2007 X X X X 2 June 18, 2007 X X X X 3 July 2, 2007 X X X a X 4 July 19, 2007 Xa X X X 5 August 8, 2007 X X X a X 6 August 23, 2007 X a X X X 7 September 10, 2007 X a X X X 8 September 24, 2007 X X X Xb 9 October 8, 2007 X X X X 3 10 October 22, 2007 X X X X 11 November 5, 2007 X X a X 12 April 22, 2008 X X X a X a 13 May 12, 2008 X X X a X a 14 June 2, 2008 X X X a X 15 June 16, 2008 X X X X 16 July 7, 2008 X X X X 17 July 22, 2008 X X X X 18 August 4, 2008 X X X X 19 August 18, 2008 X X X X asamplespurchasedthedaybefore; b3dozenbloodworms werepurchased Asummaryof commonepiphytesandendophytesfoundassociatedwith Ascophyllum nodosum alongthe coastlineofMaine wasalsoproducedfromtheUniversityofNew Hampshire AlbionR.HodgdonHerbarium(see Appendices1-3). The A. nodosum collected inthepresentstudy wasfirstexaminedtodetermine whether anyoftheseepiphyticor endophyticmacroalgaecouldbe foundpriortoincubation. Portionsofthe seaweedwere removedandculturedto promotethegrowthofthesemacroalgae:atleastthreepiecesof thallifrom eachof thebasal,apical,andbranchportionsofthe A. nodosum