[MAIPC] FW: [Aliens-L] re Recent articles of interest 'Diversity and Distributions' focus on pathways and vectors

[Marc Imlay]

  _____  

Fowler, A. E., Blakeslee, A. M. H., Canning-Clode, J., Repetto, M. F.,
Phillip, A. M., Carlton, J. T., Moser, F. C., Ruiz, G. M., Miller, A. W.
(2015), Opening Pandora's bait box: a potent vector for biological invasions
of live marine species. Diversity and Distributions. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12376


Keywords: biological invasions; bloodworm; introduced; marine; Mid-Atlantic
(USA); packing algae; wormweed


Abstract


Aim: For over 80 years, the Maine baitworm trade has shipped live polychaete
worms and packing algae 'wormweed' to distributors world-wide, while also
consistently transferring a wide diversity and abundance of hitchhiking
organisms of all life stages to numerous recipient communities. Here, we
investigate this potent, yet underestimated, invasion vector using an
important recipient region (the Mid-Atlantic) to examine the stepwise
species transfer and survival along four stages of the vector.


Location: Maine and Mid-Atlantic region (New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia and North Carolina), USA.


Methods: We quantified taxonomic identities and abundances of organisms
associated with packing algae at four stages along the vector pathway during
summer 2011: (1) Maine source habitats; (2) bait boxes from Maine
distributors; (3) bait boxes from distributors in five Mid-Atlantic States;
and (4) bait bags from retailers in five Mid-Atlantic States. We also
examined functional diversity based on significant physical and life history
characteristics and assessed genetic diversity for two common hitchhiking
snail species.


Results: We identified 17,798 live macro-organisms across 58 taxa, including
marine macro-invertebrates, macroalgae, vascular plants and semi-terrestrial
or aquatic invertebrates, present in bait boxes and bags. In all measures of
diversity and abundance, we observed decreases of live marine
macro-invertebrates across sequential stages of the vector from source to
recipient regions. Significant differences in community composition were
also observed between stages and were driven by isopods (taxonomic
diversity) and isopods, amphipods and some gastropods (functional
diversity).


Main conclusions: The lack of management in the face of the sheer magnitude
and diversity of organisms that are transported via the live marine bait
trade underscores how this is an underappreciated vector that could be a
considerable source of successful invasions globally


 



---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20151109/f656b529/attachment.htm>