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Invasive Species of Long Island Sound Scroll
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Invasive species occur in many different habitats within the waters and around the shores of LIS and come in an astonishing variety of sizes, shapes and forms, from the tiniest microscopic parasites to very large organisms. The following sampling will provide a glimpse of the array of non-native species now occupying LIS and its surrounding coastlines |
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Common reed,
stout grass Phragmites australis Description: Stalks reach heights of 6-12 feet; color of inflorescence is purple to light brown. Found at edges of marshy areas, both fresh and brackish water, along roadsides, or in open disturbed areas Pathway: natural immigration Current Distribution: Found in all of the New England states; native to some parts of the U.S.; has been in New England for at least 4000 years. Non-native strains were also introduced and are believed to be the ones with the invasive tendencies. Impact: Forms huge monocultures that exclude native species |
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Bread-crumb sponge Halichondria bowerbanki Description: benthic; brown, yellow, or olive green in color; forms colonies with fingerlike projections; reaches 30 cm long, 5 cm thick; grows on rocks, pilings, and algae Pathway: fouling organism introduced from Europe; first reported in Long Island Sound in 1871 Current Distribution: Impact: Fouls hulls, dock pilings etc;
displaces native species |
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Photo: James T. Carlton |
Orange striped anemone Diadumene lineata (formerly known as Haliplanella lineata) Description: benthic; blackish bodies with orange, red, white or yellow vertical stripes; generally small (up to 1.5" tall), 25-50 tentacles; found in tidal marshes and protected subtial areas, on intertidal rocks, seaweeds, and hard structures like pilings, docks, and floats Pathway: Native to Japan; came to New England via ship hulls in 1890s; found in New Haven harbor Current Distribution: Maine to Florida Impact: localized displacement of native
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Common periwinkle Littorina littorea Description: gastropod mollusk found on intertidal rocks; brown, black, or grey in color; reaches up to 3 cm; herbivore; also known as European periwinkle Pathway: introduced via ballast, rocks, or intentionally as food; introduced to eastern Canada in early 1800s, reached Cape Cod to Long Island Sound by 1870s Current Distribution: Labrador to Virginia Impact: one of most dominant intertidal
omnivores, particularly on rocky shores; competes with native Littorina
species; densities can reach 1,000 per square meter; grazes on algae |
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Photo credit: Giorgio Griffon |
European flat oyster Ostrea edulis Description: shells are widers and rounder than eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica); reaches up to 20 cm; also known as edible oyster or Belon Pathway: introduced from Europe; intentionally released in Maine; found in Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound (2002). Current Distribution: Maine to Long Island Sound in estuarine habitats; intertidal and subtidal zones Impact: compete with native oysters
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Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus Description: also known as Japanese shore crab; reaches 7-8 cm, brown striped legs with red spots on claws, with three spines on either side of carapace Pathway: introduced from Asia to eastern seaboard most likely by ballast water; discovered in New Jersey in 1988; spread north and south; reported in Long Island Sound in 1993 Current Distribution: Maine to North Carolina; prefers rocky cobble Impact: dominant rocky intertidal crab;
consumes juvenile mussels and oysters, green crabs, snails, polychaetes,
algae, hydroids, barnacles |
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Green crab Carcinus maenas Description: one of most common crabs on lower energy rocky shores, also known as European shore crab; dark green with yellow, brown, and orange blotches; reaches 8 cm; carapace has five spines along each side; omnivore - consumes barnacles, clams, hermit crabs, worms, algae, organic debris Pathway: introduced by end of 18th century from Europe, probably via shipworm burrows in ship hulls; reported in LIS in 1817. Current Distribution: Gulf of St. Lawrence to Delaware; lives on rocky shores, quiet backwaters, marshes, estuaries, brackish waters or coastal waters Impact: voracious predator and scavenger; consumes juvenile shellfish (may have caused decline of softshell clam industry in Maine and even Long Island Sound); competes with native crabs.
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Kelp bryozoan Membranipora membranacea Description: colonies found on kelp blades, also known as moss animal, lacy crust bryozoan; form large continuous mats Pathway: introduced from Europe; reported in LIS in 1990. Current Distribution: Maine to Long Island Sound Impact: encrusts kelp and other algae; weighs it down, causing it to break off or die, contributing to loss of kelp habitat
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Compound sea squirt Didemnum sp. Description: cream to white in color; colonial tunicate where microscopic individuals form large colonies (up to 45 cm long) with finger-like projections; juveniles present from July to November Pathway: introduced from the Pacific Current Distribution: Maine to Connecticut, including Georges Banks off New England coast Impact: fouling organisms, attaches to rocks, docks, pilings; forms encrusting mats on seafloor, usurping benthic habitat
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Asian stalked tunicate Styela clava Description: also known as club tunicate; brown or yellow in color with a rough and wrinkled surface; reaches up to 15 cm Pathway: native to Japan; first introduced to Europe and then the U.S. most likely via ballast water Current Distribution: Maine to New Jersey, Prince Edward Island; Narragansett Bay in 1976; LIS (1982) Impact: Fouling organisms - attach to boat hulls, piers, docks, lines, traps, buoys, seaweeds, firm structures; has taken over what used to be blue mussel (Mytilus) habitat
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Sea Grape Molgula manhattensis Description: benthic underwater organism also known as solitary tunicate; reaches up to 5 cm, grayish green color with outer covering sometimes covered with mud Pathway: introduced from Europe via west coast of North America; reported in Long Island Sound in 1838; may be cryptogenic species (unclear whether is native or introduced species) Current Distribution: Maine to Louisiana Impact: fouling organism |
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Compound tunicate Botrylloides violaceus Description: colonial tunicate; bright orange to red or purple in color; reaches up to 10 cm; gelatinous colonies form dense clusters Pathway: introduced from Asia; from the Pacific in the 1970s Current Distribution: Maine to Virginia; reported in LIS (1980's) Impact: fouling organism - attaches to boat hulls, piers, lines, traps, buoys, seaweeds
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Golden Star Tunicate Botryllus schlosseri Description: also known as compound tunicate, star ascidian; vary in color from yellow to green, brown, or violet; colonies up to 10 cm across Pathway: introduced from Europe; reported in Long Island Sound in 1871 Current Distribution: Newfoundland to Chesapeake Bay Impact: fouling organisms - attach to
boat hulls, piers, docks, lines, traps, buoys, seaweeds, any firm structure
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Specimen credit: Charles Yarish |
Red alga Grateloupia turuturu Description: formerly known as Grateloupia doryphora; thin flat blade that is pink to maroon in color; grows up to several meter in length; both divided and undivided forms; is most abundant in October, least abundant in May Pathway: introduced from Japan; first observed in North America in 1996 in Narragansett Bay (arrived about 1994); most likely introduced as spores via ballast water discharge; reported in Long Island Sound in 2004 Current Distribution: Rhode Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound; restricted to subtidal pools, does not survive very cold temperatures Impact: major competitor of Irish moss (Chondrus crispus); in upper subtidal, could crowd out sugar kelp, (Laminaria saccharina); can block sunlight; reproduces easily
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Dead man's fingers Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides Description: also known as oyster thief, green fleece, Sputnick weed; branching green algae with spongey fingers, can reach a meter tall Pathway: introduced from Asia; appeared in New England waters coincidentally with launch of world's first satellites, Sputnik I and II, by former Soviet Union in 1957; probably came attached on hulls of ships via Europe Current Distribution: New Brunswick to North Carolina Impact: forms extensive beds in shallow bays and harbors; called "oyster thief" or "scallop thief" because holdfast grew around oyster or scallop, then as algae grew, became buoyant and drifted off with shellfish attached
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Photo
credit: Richard
Seaman |
Lionfish Pterois volitans Description: also known as zebrafish or turkeyfish; one of several species of venomous coral reef fishes; striking reddish-brown striped pattern on body and fins Pathway: native to Indian and Pacific Oceans; introductions likely the result of intentional or unintentional releases by aquarists; reported in LIS (1999) Current Distribution: Florida to Long Island Sound; seasonal invader of eastern Long Island Sound; comes in with warm core rings of water that break off from Gulf Stream; first observed by divers in Florida in 1994 Impact: venomous; no natural predator |
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Mute swan Cygnus olor Description: large white swan with yellowish-orange bill; long neck Pathway: Introduced from Europe as decorative waterfowl in late 1800s or early 1900s Current Distribution: southern Ontario to North Carolina or Florida; reported in LIS by 1920s Impact: using long necks, the swans graze
on vegetation by ripping important submerged aquatic vegetation such as
eelgrass out by the roots, damaging marsh and shallow water habitats;
overpopulated, displacing native swans. |
Carlton, J.T. (1992). Blue Immigrants: The Marine Biology of Maritime History. The Log of Mystic Seaport. 44(2):31-36. Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic CT.
Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Aquaculture. (2001). Fact Sheet on Dermo. 2pp.
Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Aquaculture. (2001). Fact Sheet on MSX. 2pp.
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. (1999). Mute Swan Fact Sheet. http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/factshts/mtswan.htm. Retrieved September 1, 2004. 2pp.
Gavio, B. and S. Fredericq. (2002). Grateloupia turuturu (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) is the correct name of the non-native species in the Atlantic known as Grateloupia doryphyra. European Journal of Phycology. 37: 349-359.
Hare, J.A. and P.E. Whitfield. (2003). An Integrated Assessment of the Introduction of the Lionfish to the Western Atlantic Ocean. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 2. 21pp.
Harlin, M.M. (1999). A Large Red Seaweed Invades Narragansett Bay. http://www.gso.uri.edu/maritimes/Back_Issues/99Winter/Text/harlin.htm. Retrieved July 28, 2004. 2pp.
Howells, R.G. (March 2004). Exotic Species Alert: Native and Exotic Oysters. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Brochure. 2pp.
Mansi, B. (July 2004). Personal communication.
Marine Biological Association. (February 20, 2004). Botryllus schlosseri. http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Botryllusschlosseri.htm. Retrieved July 27, 2004.
Mehrhoff, L. (2001). Invasive Plant Atlas of New England. http://www.ipane.org. Retrieved July 28, 2004.
MIT Sea Grant. (April 12, 2003). Introduced Species Descriptions. http://massbay.mit.edu/exoticspecies/exoticmaps/descriptions_intro.html. Retrieved July 19, 2004
New York Sea Grant. (2004). Brown Tide Research Initiative. http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/BTRI/aboutbrowntide.htm. Retrieved July 27, 2004.
Perry, M.C., Osenton, P.C. and E.J.R. Johnes. (April 13, 2001). The Exotic Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) in Chesapeake Bay, USA. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/perry/muteswan.htm Retrieved August 10, 2004.
Sears, J.R. (2002). NEAS Keys to Benthic Marine Algae. 2nd Edition. Northeast Algal Society. Express Printing, Fall River, MA. 161pp.
Scowcroft, G. (2004) Rhode Island Marine Policy and Management: Invasive species. http://omp.gso.uri.edu//doee/policy/inv1.htm#sss. Retrieved July 27, 2004.
USGS. (June 4, 2003). Halichondria bowerbanki. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSheet.asp?speciesID=1217. Retrieved July 27, 2004.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science. (2004). Non-Native Oysters: Crassostrea ariakensis. http://www.vims.edu/abc/CA.html Retrieved July 27, 2004.
Wethey, D.S. (2002). Biogeography, Competition, and Microclimate: The Barnacle Chthamalus fragilis in New England. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 42(4): 870-880.
Yarish,
C. (July 28, 2004). Electronic mail.
Last updated on June 6, 2006
