Marine Invasives of Kachemak Bay, Alaska

1. Kachemak Bay Research Reserve National Estuarine Research Reserve System Marine Invasives of Concern for Kachemak Bay KACHEMAK BAY RESEARCH RESERVEa unit of theNational Estuarine Research Reserve System Fostering stewardship through integrated research & education

3. Generalist diet- Mature quickly #2 cause of extinction in the U.S.

5. GREEN CRAB Mature very quickly Female can lay 200,000 eggs. Aggressive Eat other crabs as large as themselves Voracious Eat young crab Very good at opening mussels and clams Can eat 40 ½” clams per day Broad ecological tolerances Wide range of salinities Wide range of temperatures

9. What is a tunicate? Tunicates named for their tunic, a tough fleshy shield that surrounds the barrel-shaped body of the animal. Closely related to vertebrates. This is evidenced by their larvae bilateral tadpole-like larvae w/ simple nerve cord. Larvae is free swimming with several vertebrate characteristics including; notochord, gill slits, dorsal nerve cord post anal tail Phylum chordata, subphylum Urochordata. Adult tunicates are sessile, larval tunicates float/swim in the water column.

10. solitary or colonial

11. Tunicates native to Alaska

12. Invasive Tunicates -Fouling organisms (tunicates) -many originate in Asia -Cause problems for marine infrastructure including boats and aquaculture -Out-compete native benthic organisms -Difficult to remove Botryllid Tunicates

13. Club Tunicates (Styelaclava)

14. Club Tunicates (Styelaclava)

16. Solitary Tunicates (Cionasavigney)

17. Colonial Tunicates (Didemnum sp.)

18. Colonial Tunicates (Didemnum sp.)

22. How are invasives getting here: Vectors Shipping has contributed to ~80% of over 300 non-native species of invertebrates and algae introduced to North America

24. What do tunicates and green crab have in common? Planktonic stage in life history -Free floating in the water column and at the mercy of tides and currents for at least part of their lives.

25. Ballast water discharge -12 billion metric tons of ballast discharged annually

28. Volumes of ballast water discharged from ships in Alaska by country or sea of origin of the ballast water and exchange status of the ballast at discharge (NBIC data, July 1999 to December 2003).

29. Volumes of ballast water discharged by arrival port in Alaska (NBIC data, July 1999 to December 2003). Discharge for Valdez is segregated ballast data from ADEC.

33. But… Heavy shipping only began in AK began w/ start-up of Valdez terminal.

34. In Kachemak Bay… E. Gray G. Ashton Caprella mutica (2000, 2007) Botrylloides violaceus (2000)

35. What can we do? Top-down (prevention) Regulation -mid-ocean ballast exchange (currently coastwise, and tanker traffic exempt) -ballast treatment (engineering challenges) Bottom-up (response) - Monitoring aimed at early detection/rapid response

36. Regulation: mid-ocean exchange Exchange coastal water with open ocean water 200 miles off shore Coast wise traffic exempt Oil tankers exempt Safety exemption

37. Ballast water treatment Ship-based treatment Shore-based treatment

38. Early Detection Rapid Response

39. K-Bay Aquatic Invasive Monitoring European green crab Tunicates/fouling organisms

41. Green Crab Monitoring

42. Tunicates/fouling organisms Settling plates PVC square, brick, line, tag Deploy/retrieve/re-deploy quarterly: 1m from surface

43. Take Home Message: 1) Ballast water is a major vector for marine invasives, Alaska receives large quantities of untreated ballast water 2) Community monitoring aimed at early detection and rapid response is a the most immediate and valuable tool we have for combating marine invasives.