Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: dredge 'Chinook'/VA/Hampton Roads (1923, Visscher 1928)
Geographic Extent
dredge 'Chinook'/VA/Hampton Roads (1923, Visscher 1928); Gloucester Point /VA/York River (1962, Wass 1963; Calder, in Wass 1972); Virginia Beach/VA/Lynnhaven Bay (Otsuka and Dauer 1980; Ruiz et al., unpublished data); VA/Mobjack Bay (Andrews 1973; Ruiz et al., unpublished data); Eastern Shore/VA/Lower Chesapeake Bay (Ruiz et al., unpublished data); Norfolk/VA/Hampton Roads (Calder and Brehmer 1967)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Fisheries | |
| Botryllus schlosseri was 'a fast-growing pernicious pest' on oyster trays in lower Chesapeake Bay, but is absent or rare on natural oyster beds, presumably because of siltation (Andrews 1973). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| B. schlosseri is abundant and occasionally dominant in spring-early summer fouling communities in the lower Bay (Andrews 1973; Ruiz et al. unpublished data). When fouling plates in Lynnhaven Bay were covered with wire mesh to exclude larger predators, B. schlosseri became dominant during December-March (Otsuka and Dauer 1982). | ||