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Small boats as vectors of marine invasion: experimental test of velocity and desiccation as limits

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Abstract

Secondary transport of introduced species can be important in dispersing potentially invasive species, and vectors of transport are often the fouled hulls of small fishing and recreational boats. Likelihood of transport depends on many factors, including resistance of the species to drag forces due to boat velocity and resistance to desiccation. To experimentally test the importance of drag on transport, we attached plates with a preexisting, 4 months old, assemblage of species, on a boat hull that was then subjected to one of three speeds (5, 15 and 20 knots) for 20 min. We experimentally tested desiccation tolerance with colonized plates that were exposed to the air for 3–132 h, after which they were examined for living organisms. A total of 35 taxa were identified, including introduced species, in southern Brazil: the barnacles Amphibalanus amphitrite, A. reticulatus and the octocoral Stragulum bicolor. In the drag experiment, all species survived transport. In the desiccation experiment, most species survived more than 6 h (fewer species much longer) of exposure to the air. Our results illustrate that a variety of taxa and growth forms can be transported over regional scales at speeds and travel conditions typical of small boats. They can also survive desiccation conditions typical of overland transportation of small boats. Thus, we recommend that additional management mechanisms must be put in place to reduce the probability of invasion due to secondary transport.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Caiobá Yatch Club for their many forms of support and allowing us the use of their space. We also thank the specialists that contributed with species identifications (Helena Matthews-Cascon—Mollusca, Leandro Manzoni Vieira—Bryozoa, Ana Caroline Cabral—Hydrozoa, Sula Salani—Porifera), and CAPES foundation for the scholarship to RVK and the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development—CNPq for their research support Grants for RMR (305201/2014-0) and JJR (306963/2012-4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Zoology, Zoology Department, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19020, Curitiba, Paraná, 81531-980, Brazil

    Rafael V. Kauano & Rosana M. Rocha

  2. Graduate Program Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil

    James J. Roper

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  1. Rafael V. Kauano
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Correspondence to Rosana M. Rocha.

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All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Samples were collected under the license SISBIO 10011-1.

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Kauano, R.V., Roper, J.J. & Rocha, R.M. Small boats as vectors of marine invasion: experimental test of velocity and desiccation as limits. Mar Biol 164, 27 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-3057-x

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