Transcript Spread of the Non-Native Seagrass, Halophila stipulacea

Spread of the Non-Native
Seagrass, Halophila stipulacea, in
the Caribbean
Dr. Lisamarie Carrubba
NOAA Fisheries, Caribbean Field Office,
Protected Resources Division
History of Spread
• Native to western Indian Ocean – Red Sea and
Persian Gulf, as well as coastal islands of Eastern
Africa and Southeast coast of Indian subcontinent
• In 1800’s began toEggs
invade Eastern
Mediterranean
Sea
Larvae
Juveniles
Adults
via Suez Canal
• Reached Malta in 1970, Ionian Sea in 1992, and
north coast of Sicily in 1997
• First reported in Caribbean in 2002. Thought to have
originally come from pleasure yacht traffic between
Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Atlantic Cod EFH
History of Halophila stipulacea in Caribbean
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Observed in Flamingo Bay, Grenada in 2002 (Ruiz and Ballantine 2004)
Documented in Dominica and St. Lucia in 2009, including competition with
Syringodium filiforme (manatee grass) (Willette and Ambrose 2009)
Reported from Aruba, Curaçao, Grenadines (Grenada), St. Eustatius, St. John
(USVI), St. Martin (France), and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Willette et al.
2014)
Site of Westin Hotel, Cruz Bay, St. John surveyed in 2005, 2012, and 2013 for
dock replacement project – no seagrass in footprint. Site resurveyed in March
2015and approximately 0.4 acre area around dock colonized by Halophila
stipulacea.
Benthic surveys for projects in Charlotte Amalie and Crown Bay areas, St.
Thomas, found it dominates in portions of Long Bay and Crown Bay (2014-2015)
Site inspections by NMFS to Flamingo Bay (dominant species) and Honeymoon
Bay (patch), Water Island (July 2015)
UVI tracking it in Brewers Bay (2010 – not present, now spreading)
Recently observed in 3 locations around Culebra and
associated islands/cays (July 2015)
Characteristics of Halophila stipulacea
1. Can tolerate a wide range of salinities
2. Can grow in very shallow water as well as depths
greater than 50 m
3. Can grow in a range of substrate types
4. Speculated survival for extended periods as floating
fragments and in vessel anchor wells
5. Rapid vegetative expansion
6. Adaptation to high irradiance
7. Male and female and have been observed flowering
in Caribbean
Capacity for Spread
• Preliminary experiments off St. John in 2014
showed lateral growth up to > 6 m/day
• Up to 50% increase in biomass in 7 days
• Fish and invertebrates preferentially grazed
on native seagrass species
• Density up to > 10,000 shoots/m2
Capacity for Spread
Steiner and Willette (2014) observed an
increase and replacement of native species
over 5 years and extension into reef halos
Opportunity
NOAA CRCP FY16 RFP includes jurisdictional
priority from USVI DPNR to “to support the
investigation of effects and management of
invasive species, such as addressing key gaps for
improving the understanding of ecosystem
impacts from Halophila stipulacea”
Collaboration
• Partners: UVI, NPS, and Dr. Willette (UCLA)
• Education and Outreach:
• updates to UVI webpage for reporting sightings
(http://geocas.uvi.edu/citseagrass.php)
• Workshop to discuss potential impact in region (led by Dr. WyllieEcheverria who led work on Zostera japonica in Northeast Pacific)
• Questions:
• Degree to which Halophila stipulacea provides habitat to marine
organisms (nutritional content, herbivory levels, habitat use)
• Whether it co-exists or out-competes native seagrass species
• Dispersal predictions based on data on current spread
Regulatory Context
• CFMC categorizes seagrass as EFH – no
species-specific designation
• ESA language about habitat for green sea
turtle also discusses broad category of
seagrass
• More projects with impacts to Halophila
stipulacea affect EFH and ESA consultations
and mitigation decisions
Questions?
Flamingo Bay, Water Island
M. Padover
Dakity, Culebra Island