Impacts of introduced seaweeds

By Britta Schaffelke, C. Hewitt. 2007

193 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract We analyzed 69 publications on the impacts of introduced seaweeds. The predominant impacts were changed competitive relationships in the recipient habitat, indicated by high abundances of invaders, resultant space monopolization, and reduced abundances/biomass of native macrophytes. Changes in biodiversity, effects on fish and invertebrate fauna, toxic effects on other biota, and habitat change were also identified. The mechanisms underlying the manifestation of impacts are uncertain and inferences about common patterns were hampered because impact studies were available for only a few introduced seaweeds, covered only a fraction of their introduced distribution and generally were conducted over short time scales. There was no information about evolutionary effects or changes of ecosystem processes. Knowledge of socio-economic impacts of invasive seaweeds is poor. We collated costs associated with control/eradication activities and for national spending on marine biosecurity in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Prevention of impacts is the driving force for costly surveillance, eradication and control programs. Until we are able to understand, predict and measure impacts of introduced seaweeds, the management of species incursions needs to remain focused on early detection, rapid response and control to reduce the likelihood of negative impact effects.

Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, Oceanography

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d0ce1ab8371c117fbad82441769ee977f838758a

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In Global and Planetary Change

In Oceanography

Citations in the corpus

Marine range shifts and species introductions: comparative spread rates and community impacts (2010, methodology): “In addition to conducting impact searches using BIOSIS Previews, we also found studies of impacts of introduced marine disease using Google Scholar and of impacts of introduced seaweeds in two recent comprehensive reviews (Schaffelke & Hewitt, 2007; Williams & Smith, 2007).”
Distribution differences and active habitat choices of invertebrates between macrophytes of different morphological complexity (2011, background): “…structuring macrophytes due to anthropogenic disturbances, such as the introduction of non-native plant species (Houston and Duivenvoorden 2002; Schaffelke and Hewitt 2007), increased nutrient levels (Schramm and Nienhuis 1996; Hemminga and Duarte 2000; Scheffer 2004; Micheli et al. 2008), and…”
Production and properties of agar from the invasive marine alga, Gracilaria vermiculophylla (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) (2010, background): “An increasing number of marine macroalgae has been reported to be invasive and threaten the ecological balance of coastal ecosystems (Schaffelke et al. 2006; Schaffelke and Hewitt 2007; Williams and Smith 2007).”
A framework to study the context-dependent impacts of marine invasions (2011, background): “A few reviews have also focused on impacts associated with specific taxonomic groups such as oysters (Ruesink et al., 2005; Padilla, 2010) or seaweeds (Schaffelke and Hewitt, 2007; Williams and Smith, 2007; Thomsen et al., 2009).”
Effects of the alien algae Undaria pinnatifida (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) on the diversity and abundance of benthic macrofauna in Golfo Nuevo (Patagonia, Argentina): potential implications for local food webs (2011, background): “…modify a wide range of physical and environmental factors at a local spatial scale (Bolam and Fernandes 2002; Bolam et al. 2000; Chemello and Milazzo 2002; Forrest and Taylor 2002; Gribben and Wright 2006; Gribben et al. 2009; Schaffelke and Hewitt 2007; Schmidt and Scheibling 2007; Stuart 2004).”
Ecological impacts of invading seaweeds: a meta‐analysis of their effects at different trophic levels (2015, background): “In the last few years, some progress has however been made through qualitative syntheses and quantitative meta-analyses of available information (Schaffelke & Hewitt, 2007; Williams & Smith, 2007; Gaertner et al., 2009; Thomsen et al., 2009, 2014; Powell et al., 2011; Vil a et al., 2011).”