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You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Striaria attenuata

Striaria attenuata

Algae

brown alga

The brown alga Striaria attenuata is native to the European coast from northern Spain to Norway, including the western Mediterranean. It was discovered in New York in the 1800s (1848-1881) and in Massachusetts in the 1930s. By 1937 it was known to occur from Staten Island to southern Massachusetts. It is likely that its spread along the coast occurred prior to the 1930s because this small and threadlike species is easy to miss. Algae often grow on the bottom of boats and hull fouling was likely responsible for its spread, as well as ballast water discharge and natural dispersal from the introduction site. By 1968 it had made its way to Burton's Bay, VA and later to Chincoteague Inlet, Ocean City, MD, and on Smith Island, Northampton County, VA just outside the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. By the mid 1980s it was reported from Newfoundland south to North Carolina. So far there have been no economic or ecological impacts reported for this species and it remains rare in much of its introduced range.

Image Credit: © Herre Stegenga (Stegenga@nhn.leidenuniv.nl)

Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description


Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Protista Phaeophyta Phaeophyceae Dictyosiphonales Striariaceae Striaria

Synonyms

Solenia attenuata

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
1968 Established Stable Introduced Regular Resident Western Atlantic Eastern Atlantic Shipping(Fouling Community. Ballast Water); Natural Dispersal(Natural Dispersal)

History of Spread

The brown alga Striaria attenuata was listed by Taylor (1937, 1957) as being among a group of 'exotic' seaweeds which appear to have been recent arrivals in the flora of MA, and presumably, on the Atlantic Coast of North America generally. Its range on the European coast, its presumed native region, is from northern Spain to Norway, including the western Mediterranean (Caram and Nygren 1970; South and Tittley 1986). As of the late 19th century, S. attenuata was known from only one Northwest Atlantic collection (Bailey 1848; Harvey 1853; cited by Farlow 1881), but by 1937, it was known to occur from Staten Island to southern MA (Taylor 1937). Its present East Coast range is Newfoundland to NC (South and Tittley 1986; Schneider and Searles 1991). It was apparently first collected in NC after 1957. Since seaweed collections in NC began in the late 19th century (Schneider and Searles 1991), Striaria attenuata appears to have been a recent arrival there. This alga has been collected in Australia and New Zealand, where it probably has been introduced by shipping (Skinner and Womersly 1983).

Chesapeake records:

Bay Mouth and Ocean Region Northwards- Striaria attenuata was first collected in Burton's Bay VA in winter of 1968 (Rhodes 1970). It was later collected in Chincoteague Inlet and in a marsh at Ocean City MD (Ott 1973), and on Smith Island, Northampton County VA, just outside the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in 1971-1973 (Zaneveld and Willis 1976; Humm 1979)

History References - Caram and Nygren 1971; Farlow 1881; Humm 1979; Ott 1973; Rhodes 1970; Schneider and Searles 1991; Skinner and Womersly 1983; South and Tittley 1986; Taylor 1937; Taylor 1957; Zaneveld and Willis 1976

Invasion Comments

First Record - The date of arrival of this alga is unknown because systematic collections of macroalgae, in Chesapeake Bay, did not start until the 1960's.

Invasion Status- Taylor (1957) notes that of all the Atlantic coastline regions, only MA has a sufficiently long record of seaweed collections to detect early introductions. It is possible that S. attenuata simply increased in abundance or extended its range, but its apparent introduction to Australia and New Zealand and its apparently recent appearance in NC (Fiore 1969; cited by Schneider and Searle 1991), a region with a longer history of macroalgal studies than the Chesapeake, all support introduced status.

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC) -2.0 32.0 15.0
Salinity (‰) 4.0 45.0 15.0 45.0
Oxygen
pH
Salinity Range poly-eu

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm) 60.0 60.0
Typical Adult Size (mm) 70.0 70.0
Maximum Adult Size (mm) 500.0 500.0
Maximum Longevity (yrs) 1.0 1.0
Typical Longevity (yrs 1.0 1.0

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Striaria attenuata has no known economic impacts in the Chesapeake Bay region.


Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Striaria attenuata is apparently uncommon to rare in its probable introduced ranges in North America, Australia, and New Zealand (Skinner and Womersley 1983; Taylor 1957). No ecological impacts of its introduction have been reported.

References - Skinner and Womersley 1983; Taylor 1957


Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Striaria attenuata appears to be relatively rare in the Chesapeake Bay region. Its ecological impacts on native species are unknown.


Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Impacts of Striaria attenuata on other introduced seaweeds or fauna in the Chesapeake Bay region are unknown.


References

Bold, Harold C.; Wynne, Michael J. (1978) Introduction to the Algae: Structure and Reproduction, , Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Pp.

Caram, B.; Nygren, S. (1970) A propos de la reproduction comparee en France et en Suede d'une Pheophycee-Pheosporee: le Striaria attenuata, Helgolander Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen 20: 130-135

Caram, Bernadette (1965) Recherches sur la reproduction et le cycle sexue de quelques pheophycees, Vie et Milieu, Series A 16: 21-221

Farlow, W. G. (1881) Marine Algae of New England, , Washington, D.C.. Pp.

Humm, Harold J. (1979) The Marine Algae of Virginia, , Charlottesville. Pp.

Nygren, Sven (1975) Influence of salinity on the growth and distribution of some Phaeophyceae on the Swedish west coast, Botanica Marina 18: 143-147

Ott, Franklyn D. (1973) The marine algae of Virginia and Maryland including the Chesapeake Bay area, Rhodora 75: 258-296

Peters, A. F., Breeman, A. M. (1993) Temperature tolerance and latitudinal range of brown algae from temperate South America, Marine Biology 115: 143-150

Peters, Akira F. (1991) Primer registro de Striaria attenuata (Phaeophyceae, Dictyosiphonales) en Sudamerica y su ciclo de vida wn cultivos de laboratorio., Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 64: 261-269

Rhodes, Russell G. (1970) Seasonal occurrence of marine algae on an oyster reef in Burton's Bay, Virginia, Chesapeake Science 11: 61-71

Schneider, Craig W.; Searles, Richard B. (1991) Seaweeds of the Southeastern United States, , Durham. Pp.

Skinner, S.; Womersly, H. B. S. (1983) New records (possibly introductions) of Striaria, Stictysiphon, and Arthrocladia (Phaeophyta) for southern Australia, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 107: 59-68

South, G. Robin; Tittley, Ian (1986) A checklist and distributional index of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean., , St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and London. Pp.

Taylor, William Randolph (1937) Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America, , Ann Arbor. Pp.

Taylor, William Randolph (1957) Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America, , Ann Arbor. Pp.

Zaneveld, Jacques S.; Willis, William M. (1976) Marine algae of the American coast between Cape May, N. J. and Cape Hatteras, N. C. III. The Phaeophycophyta, Botanica Marina 19: 33-46


Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

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