Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in assessing invasive hitchhikers on imported aquatic plants: exploring the role of plant structural complexity in facilitating introductions. Once an aquatic invasive species (AIS) becomes established, it is rarely possible to eradicate. The best way to avoid the negative impacts that invasive species can cause to a watershed's ecological function, economic value, or citizens' health is to prevent their initial entry. To date, the unintended transport of exotic species alongside imported aquatic plants, algae, and their packaging represents an underappreciated invasion pathway. The high structural complexity of many common aquarium and ornamental aquatic macrophytes reduces encounter rates with fauna which may reside within interstitial spaces and thus go undetected. This potentially problematic pathway was highlighted in the recent Marimo moss ball (Aegagropila linnaei) contamination incident carrying live hitchhiker zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and a multitude of other exotic taxa in the spring of 2021. Given that introductions of exotic aquatic species contribute to millions of dollars of damage and management costs for the U.S., the identification of potential aquatic plants, algae, and packaging with a high potential of serving as a vector for unintended hitchhikers will aid in managing this group of organisms in trade. Evaluate currently imported aquatic plants and algae for hitchhiking taxa and determine factors (e.g., plant/algae species and their structural complexity, packaging, country of origin, vendor, etc.) influencing the unintended importation of non-native species. Because the live aquarium/ornamental trade is a significant global market, this work will be landscape in nature and not specific to a geographic region and, as such, will serve to provide information that is useful on a nation-wide scale. To accomplish this by conducting a lab-based, empirical investigation of plants, algae, and their packaging for hitchhiking organisms. The products of this effort include a list of hitchhikers on the common aquatic plants and algae, along with an assessment of plants, regions, packaging materials, shipping, handling, and other factors that will most likely serve as a source of hitchhikers. This project will provide vital information that will assist in the prevention of invasive species introduction on a nation-wide, landscape scale.