Scuba Diving club,
Southern California
Sea Sabres
New center to
fight invasive species
By Randolph E. Schmid
ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
Introduced in
the 50’s for use in aquariums. Boats dispersed plant fragments that quickly
proliferated in other states. Carpet-like
growths clog waterways, block light necessary for other plant species and
reduce spawning and feeding areas |
|
WASHINGTON, July 15 — From snakehead fish in Maryland to zebra
mussels in the Great Lakes, invasions by foreign species are a growing
problem.To better understand and control the invaders, the government is
opening a new center to study these species, and U.S. and foreign researchers
are working together to share data.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said
Tuesday it is establishing a new National Center for Research on Aquatic
Invasive Species in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“Each year, aquatic invasive species wreak billions of dollars
in damages on the U.S. economy, much of which is passed on to the consumer,”
said NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher.
Coastal waters worldwide are increasingly becoming infested
with foreign species that proliferate because they lack predators that kept
them in check at home. Often the newcomers are discharged in the ballast water
of ships.
The new NOAA center will coordinate research efforts on
invasive species and will work with other agencies.
Meanwhile, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in
Edgewater, Md., announced it has formed a partnership with CSIRO Marine
Research in Hobart, Australia. The two groups will combine their databases of
invasive species, creating a global inventory to help scientists and managers
cope with the problem.
The two database systems provide extensive information about
hundreds of marine species, said Greg Ruiz, director of the Smithsonian’s
Marine Invasions Research Laboratory.
|
Invasive species causing
problems: The veined rapa whelk, a
mollusk, has impacted shellfisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and
may threaten New England shellfisheries, as its range expands from a recent
foothold in the Chesapeake Bay. The European Green Crab has
established itself along both U.S. coasts and is a voracious shellfish
predator, impacting both commercial and noncommercial species. An invasion of tiny jellyfish
has killed hundreds of thousands of salmon at fish farms off Scotland. Northern snakehead fish,
imported from Asia and released into the wild, prompted Maryland officials to
poison three ponds before it could spread. |
By combining data from the Smithsonian and CSIRO —
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization — researchers can
learn more about species that have already threatened their waters and others
that may pose potential threats.
The Smithsonian database, called NEMESIS — National Exotic
Marine and Estuarine Information System — and its Australian counterpart
summarize the invasion history, distribution, biology, ecology and impacts of
invaders.
Ruiz said the Smithsonian wants to add other partners to the
effort, including museums, government agencies, universities and other
organizations that maintain databases on nonnative species.
NOAA’s center for research on aquatic invasive species will
be located at the agency’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann
Arbor, which has been studying invasive species for 14 years.
Stephen Brandt, research lab director, said the center will
establish regional coordinators in six major aquatic coastal regions around the
country.
Lautenbacher said Canada’s Department of Fisheries and
Oceans has indicated it plans to develop a similar Canadian Aquatic Invasive
Species Research Centre and expressed the desire to have the two centers work
together.
Two
if by Sea Invasive Species are Changing the Ocean Environment
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Posted August 19, 2003