ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on April 8, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2008 65(5):730-741; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn049
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Multiple assessments of introduced seaweeds in the Northwest Atlantic
1 Plant Biology Department, Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant Program, 292 Main Street, E38–300, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
3 Plant Biology Department, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
4 Department of Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FA 33620, USA
5 Department of Biology, Henderson State University, Box 7571, Arkadelphia, AR 71999-0001, USA
Correspondence to A. C. Mathieson: tel: +1 603 8622175; fax: +1 603 8621101; e-mail: arthur.mathiesen{at}unh.edu and arthur{at}unix.edu
Mathieson, A. C., Pederson, J. R., Neefus, C. D., Dawes, C. J., and Bray, T. L. 2008. Multiple assessments of introduced seaweeds in the Northwest Atlantic. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 730–741.Historical and recent floristic studies, rapid assessment surveys, and molecular investigations were used to evaluate the occurrence of 20 seaweeds introduced to the Northwest Atlantic, including 2 green, 4 brown, and 14 red algae. Based on floristic comparisons of Mount Desert Island and Casco Bay, ME, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, some initial records of seaweed introductions were documented, as well as increased numbers of non-indigenous taxa. Detailed floristic studies in southern ME and NH from the mid-1960s to 2007 have revealed expansive patterns for two Asiatic taxa (Codium fragile subsp. tomentosoides and Neosiphonia harveyi). Rapid assessment surveys conducted between the Bay of Fundy and Long Island, NY, during four summers (2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007) revealed seven introduced species and a recent expansion of the Asiatic red alga Grateloupia turuturu into the Gulf of Maine. Molecular evaluations confirmed the presence of several cryptic introduced species of Porphyra from Asia. A synopsis of the dates of introduction, probable vectors, and sources of these 20 introduced taxa in the Northwest Atlantic is given, as well as comparisons of numbers of non-indigenous taxa from other geographies.
Keywords: cryptic Porphyras, F. S. Collins, introduced seaweeds, molecular evaluations, Northwest Atlantic, rapid assessment surveys
Received 25 May 2007; accepted 26 January 2008; advance access publication 8 April 2008.