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STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis West U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mid Continent Ecology Division, Duluth MN MNWI Invasive Species Conference St. Paul MN, Nov. 2010. U N I T E D S T A T E S E N V I R O N M E N T A L P R O T E C T I O N A G E N C Y

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Page 1: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR

Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson,Joel Hoffman,John R. Kelly, Corlis West

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,Mid Continent Ecology Division, Duluth MN

MN–WI Invasive Species Conference St. Paul MN, Nov. 2010.

UNITED STATES

EN

VIR

ON

ME

NTAL PROTECTIO

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NC

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Page 2: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Goal: Develop a generalized approach to early detection monitoring for aquatic non-indigenous species (NIS) in vulnerable coastal ecosystems

Technical Challenge:Finding “rare” before it becomes “common”, doing so efficiently without knowing what to look for (not targeting particular species or pathways)

Objectives of This Presentation:- Report on NIS found- Describe their abundance & distribution- Examine habitats and sampling gears they occurred in- Discuss challenges in determining invasion status

Page 3: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Duluth-Superior Harbor (St. Louis R. Estuary) as case study

Introduction Vectors Shipping - ballast water, tank-residue, cargo hitchhikers

Recr. boating & fishing - bilge, bait-bucket, hull & trailer fouling

Population center - sewer, aquarium dumping, transport. nexus

GL’s largest shipping port, known invasion “hotspot”

Large, open, ecotone system with substantial habitat diversity and range in anthropogenic impacts.

Page 4: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Extensive sampling to amass data with which to evaluate alternative strategies. Two designs for covering space: random, targeted.

Data collectionapproach

Page 5: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Data types and sources (sampling in 2005, 2006, 2007)

fyke netbottom trawl

ponar

Fish239 separate

samples

Benthos207 separate

samples

electrofishing

Habitat(fish & benthos stations)

depth, vegetation, substrate

water quality

geospatial context

colonization plates (littoral)

benthic sledsweep net (vegetation)

beach seine

Page 6: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

19 benthic NIS detected - 8% of total taxa

quagga mussel*Lumholtz waterflea*Henslow’s pea clam*

hump-backed pea clam*2 oligochaete worms**Ischium sideswimmer

New Zealand mud snail

a colonial hydrozoanAsian clam

3 oligochaete worms

zebra musselEuropean valve snail

Moitessier’s pea clamtiger sideswimmer

greater European pea clamfasciatus sideswimmer

detected in 10 yrs prior to our study

present >10 yrs

newly detected

zebra mussel – most abundant benthos NIS

*new to L. Sup. ** new to G. Lks.

Joint press releases by U.S. EPA, Sea Grant, U.S. FWS, MN-DNR, WI-DNR

Page 7: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Example distributions for benthic NIS

adult size ~2.5 cm

USGS

Zebra mussel

Native to Eurasia.

First detected 1989.

Very abundant in lower

& middle system.

adult size 8-11 mm

USACE

Ischium sideswimmer

Native to Eurasia.

First detected 2005.

Scattered throughout system.

adult size up to 5 cm

USGS

Asian Clam

Native to Asia

first detected ~1999

Restricted, but abundant

in unique environment.

widespread, extremely abundant

spatially restricted, but abundant in unique habitat

common although not abundant

Page 8: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

10 fish NIS detected – 24% of total taxa

tubenose goby round goby

3-spine stickleback brook silverside

white perch Eurasian ruffe

freshwater drum

rainbow smeltcommon carp

alewife

present <10 yrs

present >50 yrs

round goby & eurasian ruffe – most

abundant fish NIS present 10-20 yrs

We did not catch any NIS salmonids, which are seasonal users of DSH

Page 9: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Example distributions for fish NIS

adult size: 3.5 to 6.5 cm

(max 8 cm)

U.S. EPA

Threespine stickleback

Native to east and west coasts of N.

America including Lake Ontario.

First detected 1994.

Relatively rare.

adult size 10 to 15 cm

(max 23 cm)

Eurasian ruffe

Native to Eurasia.

First detected 1986.

Abundant throughout system.

localized, not abundant

widespread, very abundant

widespread, moderately abundant

adult Size: 12 to 20 cm

(max 26 cm)

White perch

Native to Atlantic slope.

First detected 1986.

Abundant throughout system.

Page 10: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Varied Places of Origin & Modes of Arrival

Eurasia2 dreissenid mussels

4 peaclams1 amphipod

3 oligochaetescolonial hydrozoa

European valve snail--

common carp2 gobies

eurasian ruffe

Africa/Pacific RimLumholtz waterfleaN. Zealand mudsnail

Asian clam

N. America2 oligochaetes2 amphipods

--brook silversidefreshwater drum

alewiferainbow smelt

threespine sticklebackwhite perch

Natural dispersal(range expansion, barriers removed)

Deliberate Introduction

Unintentional direct delivery

(shipping implicated)

2’dcarp?

Page 11: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Taxonomy & Historic Records as Challenge

Benthic surveys often not to best attainable taxonomic resolution (expensive, unnec. for biotic assessment). Can render otherwise thorough surveys uninformative w.r.t. NIS.

Ex: Extensive 1995 EMAP-type survey of DSH reported NO benthic NIS, but had IDs only to genus and only to class for oligochaetes.

Lack of historic records makes arrival date and even NIS status of some taxa unclear.

Ex: historic range of oligochaetes poorly documented; unclear if first finding of circumboreal species is range expansion or not.

Page 12: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Gear/habitat differs by NIS - benthos

4 oligochaetes

4 peaclams

Asian clam

NZ mudsnail

valve snail

2 dreissenids

1 oligochaete3 amphipods

bottom samples (ponars, benthic

sled)

littoral samples (sweep net, coln’z.

plates)

NIS gear/habitat pattern doesn’t necessarily match related native taxa; unwise to assume you know where to look.

* single instance of D. lumholtzi & colonial hydrozoa not enough to establish pattern

Page 13: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Gear/habitat differs by NIS - fish

electrofishing,

fyke nets(interm. depth)

trawling(open water,

deepest)

round goby

eurasian ruffe

common carp

3spine stickleback

brook silverside

tubenose goby

freshwater drum

rainbow smelt

white perch

beach seine(shoreline,

very shallow)Newest Eurasian invader, tubenose goby, is not vulnerable to the gear (trawls) that formed backbone of ruffe invasion monitoring.

Page 14: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Invasion status varies among NIS

3sp.stickleback

0 20 40 60 80 100

0

20

40

60

80

100

alewife

silverside

carpdrum

smelt

round goby

ruffe

tuben.goby

wh.perch

local rare

local dom.

widespread rare

widespread dom.

Fish

- Some life histories more likely problematic than others, but also depends on habitat match, competition/predation, etc.

- We don’t yet know path a given NIS will take when it is newly arrived - Ideally we want detection at the localized, rare stage

0 20 40 60 80 1000.001

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

oligo

hydrozoa, peaclam, daphnia

oligo

Corbicula

oligo

oligo

oligo

G.tigrinus

juv. Dreissena

zebra m.

G.fasciatus

E.ischnus

P.henslow.

P.moitessquagga m.

NZmudsnail

oligo

valvesnail

Benthos

Increasing % occurrence

Incre

asin

g r

el. a

bu

nd

ance

local rare

local dom.

widespread rare

widespread dom.

Invasion stage framework of Colautti & MacIsaac (2004)

Page 15: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

- Whether a NIS expands over time is highly variable. - NIS not necessarily rare when first detected. - Benchmark for monitoring effectiveness should be finding rare species.

Invasion status only weakly related to time

Years since earliest record (back from 2006)

0 20 40 60 80 120

Pe

rce

nt o

ccu

rre

nce (

be

st g

ea

r)

0

20

40

60

80

alewifesilverside

carp

drum

smelt

r.gobyruffe

3sp stickleback

t.n.goby

wh.perch

Fish

0 5 10 15 20 25

0

20

40

60

80

100

daphniaoligooligo

P.henslowanum

NZ mudsnail

peaclam

quagga m.

E.ischnus

oligo

G.fasciatus

G.tigrinus

P.Moitess.

EU peaclam

zebra m.

valve snail

Corbicula

oligo

hydrozoa

oligo

Benthos

Page 16: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

It takes substantial effort to find some species

Number of samples taken

0 20 40 600

50

100

Pro

babili

ty o

f dete

ction (

%)

zebra mussel,

pygmy peaclam

3 peaclams

an amphipod

european valve snail

1 oligochaetenew zealand

mud snail

1 amphipod

lumholtz waterflea

asian clam

Widely-distributed species are detected quickly........ rare species take many samples to detect (reliably)

Effort = cost, and can mean both in the field and in the lab (taxonomy)

Benthos - 2006 ponars

0

50

100

150

72 %

86 %

100 %

Ta

xa

accu

mu

late

d

0 20 40 60 80

Number of samples taken

Page 17: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Impression of “invasion” depends where you look

Exotic richness

0

1–2

3–5

Fish

↑ less riverine

↓ more riverine

- More NIS in lower system Disturbance? Vector proximity? Hydro. gradient?

- 2005 gave different impression than 2006

OligochaetesP. moldaviensis

P. vejdovskyi

both

Page 18: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Impression of “invasion” depends on endpoint and gear used

0

30

60

90

% N

IS b

y n

um

be

r

ponar bottom

sled

coloniz.

platessweep

net

Dreissena

other NIS

Benthos

- Richness: % NIS similar among gear despite total richness differences.- Abundance: dramatic differences in % NIS by gear

Fish

electro-

fish

fyke

nets

seine bottom

trawl

10

30

50

% N

IS b

y n

um

be

r

other NIS

ruffe

tubenose goby

round goby

Ric

hn

ess

5

15

25

35native

NIS

25-29%

NIS

0

50

100

150

Ric

hn

ess

native

NIS

6-9% NIS

Page 19: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Impression of “invasion” depends on impact on native species

Page 20: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

A complete & nuanced picture takes a thorough and multi-faceted sampling strategy- Sufficient effort to reliably detect rare species- Sufficient taxonomic resolution and thoroughness- Sampling design that enforces spatial coverage- Covering multiple habitats with multiple gear types- Examining multiple endpoints (e.g., richness & abundance)

- Status of natives gives context (so sample those too)

Summary

Duluth-Superior Harbor remains invasion hotspot- 19 benthos NIS, 10 fish NIS, 8 new detection records- Plethora of NIS from Eurasia implicates shipping as vector- Degree of “invasion” varies widely among NIS

Work informs ongoing & planned efforts by partners

Page 21: STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES …...STATUS OF AQUATIC NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR HARBOR Anett Trebitz, Greg Peterson, Joel Hoffman, John R. Kelly, Corlis

Acknowledgements • Trawling - Gary Czypinski and crew (U.S. FWS)• Field work - Charlie Butterworth, Tim Corry, Brian

Sederberg, Jon Van Alstine, Sam Miller, Mario Picinich. • Sampling design - Tony Olson (U.S. EPA - Corvallis) • GIS - Jesse Adams, Roger Meyer, Tatiana Nawrocki,

Matt Starry (CSC Corp). • Invertebrate sample processing - Wilson Env. Lab • Taxonomy – Mary Balcer, Kurt Schmude (UW-Superior),

Gerry Mackie (U. Guelph), Brett Nagle (U. Minn.), Igor Grigorovich, John Sandberg, Kevin Stroom (Wilson)

• Genetic analyses - John Darling (U.S. EPA - Cincinnati)

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More Info• Kelly et al. Early detection monitoring for vulnerable Great Lakes coastal ecosystems. TOMORROW 11:30.

• Trebitz et al., 2010, Status of non-indigenous benthic invertebrates in the Duluth-Superior Harbor and the role of sampling methods in their detection. JGLR, in press.

• Trebitz et al., 2009. Exploiting habitat and gear patterns for efficient detection of rare and non-native benthos and fish in Great Lakes coastal ecosystems. Aq. Inv. 4:651-67.

• Grigorovitch et al., 2008. The quagga mussel invades the Lake Superior basin. JGLR 34: 342-350.