Species Regional Summary
Gracilaria vermiculophylla
Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras ( NA-ET3 )

Invasion History Vectors Impacts References

Invasion

Invasion Description

1st Record: Northampton County/VA/Hog Island Bay (1998, Thomsen 2004; Thomsen et al. 2005; Tyler et al. 2005; Thomsen and McGlathery 2006)

Geographic Extent

Capt. Nathaniel Wixon Dock, W. Harwich/MA/Herring River (2011, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 39 29N,70 06 550W); Sea Gull Beach, W. Yarmouth/MA/Lewis Pond (2000, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 38 12N, 70 13 40W); Popes Island Marina, New Bedford/MA/Buzzards Bay (2013, Wells et al. 2014; 2010, 2013, Mathieson et al. 2016, 41 38 19 N, 70 54 44 W); Oakland Beach, Warwick/RI/Greenwich Bay (Guidone et al. 2014, 41°41.216?N, 71°24.143?W); Warwich City Park, Warwick/RI/Greenwich Bay (Guidone et al. 2014, 41°41.263?N, 71°24.381?W), Budlong Farm, Warwick/RI/Greenwich Bay, Narragansett Bay (10/2007, Saunders 2009); Goddard State Park, Warwick/RI/Greenwich Cove (2007, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 40 03N, 71 25 52 W); Budlong Farm, Warwick/RI/Greenwich Bay, Narragansett Bay (10/2007, Saunders 2009); Kings Beach, Newport/RI/Rhode Island Sound (2010, MacIntyre et al. 2010; Kings Beach, Newport/RI/Rhode Island Sound (2010, MacIntyre et al. 2010; Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management 2013)); Bass Rock, Narragansett/RI/Narragansett Bay (2007, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 24 18N, 71 27 27W); South Kingston/RI/Potter Pond (2009, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 22 56 N, 71 32 04 W); Cove Island State Park, Stamford/CT/Holly Pond, Long Island Sound (2010, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 29 57 N 73 30 08W); Seaside Beach, Bridgeport/CT/Long Island Sound, Nettleton et al. 2013, 41 09 10 73 12 39W); Savages Ditch Rd, Bethany Deach/DE/Rehoboth Bay (2013, Krueger-Hadfield et al. 2013, 38.629817 -75.07173); Crab Meadow Beach, Long Island/NY/Long Island Sound (2015, Krueger-Hadfield et al. 2017); southern Assateague Island/VA/Toms Cove (2006, Thomsen et al. 2009); Chincoteague/VA/Chincoteague Channel (2006, Thomsen et al. 2009); Northampton County/VA/Hog Island Bay (1998, Thomsen 2004; Thomsen et al. 2005; Tyler et al. 2005; Thomsen and McGlathery 2006); Northampton County/VA/Castle Ridge Creek, Hog Island Bay (2006, Thomsen et al. 2009); Northampton County/VA/Oyster Harbor, Hog Island Bay (2006, Thomsen et al. 2009); Fishermans Island/VA/Chesapeake Bay-Atlantic Ocean (2006, Thomsen et al. 2009); MD-VA/Chesapeake Bay, but the extent of its distribution and abundance is still being studied (James Norris, Department of Botany, USNMNH, personal communication, 2005); is still being studied (James Norris, Department of Botany, USNMNH, personal communication, 2005). Somerset County/MD/Ape Hole Creek (2015, Kureger-Hadfield et al. 2013; 37.958073, -75.824408); Gloucester Point/VA/York River (2007, Falls 2008); Sandy Point/VA/York River (2007, Johnston and Lipcius 2012, 37°15’52.00’’N, 76°23’49.46’’W); VA/Perrin’s Creek, York River (2007, Johnston and Lipcius 2012, 37°15’43.78’’N, 76°25’22.14’’W); Carmine's Island/VA/York River (2007, Johnston and Lipcius 2012, 37°17’04.55’’N, 76°31’59.95’’W)

Vectors

Level Vector
Alternate Ballast Water
Alternate Hull Fouling
Alternate Oyster Accidental

Regional Impacts

Ecological ImpactHabitat Change

Gracilaria vermiculophylla was incorporated into tubes of Diopatra cuprea, a tube-building polychaete. Reduced biodiversity was seen in mobile fauna in drift masses of A. vermiculophyllum in Virginia (Atlantic Bay mudflats (Thomsen et al. 2009). Mats of G. vermiculophylla had increased concentrations of Vibrio bacteria compared to surrounding sediments (Gonzalez et al. 2014). Fouling of the tubes is causing high mortality of D. cuprea, and altering the topography of mudflats (Berke et al. 2014). The Eastern Mud Snail Ilynassa obsoleta prefers Gracilaria vermiculophylla over the native red alga Ceramium virgatum as a surface for egg deposition, potentially increasing the abundance of this omnivorous snail (Guidone et al. 2014). The algal mats reduced water flow, increasing sediment stability, favoring further deposition (Volaric et al. 2023).

However, in Chesapeake Bay, patches of G. vermiculophylla may offer refuges from predation for small Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus), partially compensating for the decline of seagrasses in the Bay. Reduced predation, compared with bare sediment, was seen both in mesocosm and field experiments (Falls 2008). Patches of this alga were superior both to bare sediment and native eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds for protection of young Blue Crabs from predation (Johnston and Lipcius 2012). T

 
Ecological ImpactFood/Prey
Agarophyton vermiculophylla mats increase the organic matter deposited in marshes and lagoons and could increase nitrogen release from decaying drift masses (Thomsen et al. 2009; Gulbranson and McGlathery 2013). In marshes on Skidaway Island, VA, detritus of G. vermiculophylla was utilized more rapidly than that of the native grass Spartina alterniflora (Haram et al. 2020). Agarophyton vermiculophylla is grazed at lower rates than native Ulva spp., but at similar rates to native Gracilaria tikvahiae. There appears to be ltiile biotic resistance to this invasion (Berke et al. 2020).
 
Economic ImpactFisheries
In 2009, 'hairballs' of algae, tentatively identified as this species (by Karen McGlathery), clogged crab nets in Tangier Sound, lower Chesapeake Bay (Bay Daily 2009).
 
Ecological ImpactCompetition
Growth rates of Gracilaria vermiculophylla from Long Island Sound were lower than those of native G. tikvahiae at 20-29 C, but much higher at 34 C. Gracilaria vermiculophylla also maintains higher nitrogen concentrations than G. tikvahiae (Gorman et al. 2017). Egg deposition by the Eastern Mud Snail Ilynassa obsoleta inhibits the growth of the native red alga Ceramium virgatum but does not affect the growth of Gracilaria vermiculophylla, even though this alga attracts more snail egg capsules. This gives a competitive advantage in areas of high I. obsoleta, typical of mudflat habitats (Guidone et al. 2014).
 

References

Full Reference List for Gracilaria vermiculophylla

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