Nick Partington, St. Olaf College
The problem: Invasive species come in many different shapes and sizes, with a great variety of effects on the environment. For example, some invasive species infiltrate and destroy native trees, while some are introduced into lakes where they may displace native species and absorb nutrients. Whether aquatic or terrestrial (or perhaps even extraterrestrial), invasive species have been shown to have considerable effects on the environments they invade, and have been proven to play a major role in affecting global change (Vitousek, 1996). Gracilaria vermiculophylla is an invasive seaweed that has been introduced to many regions throughout the world, including the east coast of the United States (Thomsen, 2006, 2007, 2009). It takes the form of a thin, brownish red algae and originated off the coasts of Japan, from which it has dispersed throughout the world by hitching a ride in the ballasts of commercial ships (Krueger-Hadfield, 2017). In South Carolina, it can be observed in dark patches on beaches when the tide recedes.
A patch of Gracilaria vermiculophylla on Grice Beach, where we will be collecting samples this summer.
Many small fishes use G. vermiculophylla as habitat; it provides them with food, as well as shelter from predators (Byers, 2012). Many of these fishes serve as prey to larger fishes, and eventually the energy they contain travels up the food web to commercially and recreationally important fishes across the world, including within the Charleston harbor area. That is, G. vermiculophylla provides habitat to fishes, which in turn serve as food for larger fishes that are consumed by humans. Having a good understanding of how these fishes use G. vermiculophylla as habitat can aid the conservation and fishing industries in understanding this low-level component of the food web.
My research project this summer is aimed at improving this understanding. We will be replicating the design of a study implemented in the summer of 2017 by studying fish communities occurring in patches of Gracilaria vermiculophylla. Particularly, we will be exploring differences in the abundance and diversity of fishes utilizing dense patches of G. vermiculophylla as compared to sparse patches. We are also interested in any differences that might exist between dense and sparse patches concerning habitation patterns among different developmental stages of these fish species. Our findings may support that which was discovered last summer, or they might reveal a completely new piece of information. I am excited to see what we will find!
Special thanks to Dr. Tony Harold for his guidance in this research project. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is supported by the Fort Johnson REU Program, NSF DBI-1757899.
References:
Byers, J. E., P. E. Gribben, C. Yeager, and E. E. Sotka. 2012. Impacts of an abundant introduced ecosystem engineer within mudflats of the southeastern US coast. Biological Invasions 14:2587-2600.
Krueger-Hadfield, S. A., N. M. Kollars, A. E. Strand, J. E. Byers, S. J. Shainker, R. Terada, T. W. Greig, M. Hammann, D. C. Murray, F. Weinberger, and E. E. Sotka. 2017. Genetic identification of source and likely vector of a widespread marine invader. Ecology and Evolution 7:4432-4447.
Thomsen, M. S., K. J. McGlathery, and A. C. Tyler. 2006. Macroalgal distribution patterns in a shallow, soft-bottom lagoon, with emphasis on the nonnative Gracilaria vermiculophylla and Coldium fragile. Estuaries and Coasts 29:465-473.
Thomsen, M. S., K. J. McGlathery, A. Schwarzschild, and B. R. Silliman. 2009. Distribution and ecological role of the non-native macroalga Gracilaria vermiculophylla in Virginia salt marshes. Biological Invasions 11:2303-2316.
Thomsen, M. S., T. Wernberg, P. Staehr, D. Krause-Jensen, N. Risgaard-Petersen, and B. R. Silliman. 2007. Alien macroalgae in Denmark – a broad-scale national perspective. Marine Biology Research 3:61-72.
Vitousek, P. M., C. M. D Antonio, L. L. Loope, and R. Westbrooks. 1996. Biological invasions as global environmental change. American Scientist 84:218-228.
Resilience and Response of Marine Organisms to Environmental Change 