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RI Coastal Resources Management Council

...to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources for all Rhode Islanders

New aquatic invasive species discovered in RI

September 27, 2010, PROVIDENCE – The first Asian shrimp has been discovered in Rhode Island waters, thanks to the detective work of an amateur naturalist and invasives monitoring volunteer.

The shrimp, Palaemon macrodactylus, was discovered in the Providence River in August. Ray Hartenstine, who volunteers for the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council’s Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring Project, discovered a number of the shrimp near Gardner Jackson Park in the Providence River in August. Hartenstine also discovered the Asian Clam at Worden Pond in 2007 (though it was first reported in Tiogue Lake in Coventry in 1999).

The shrimp’s identity was confirmed by Dr. Jim Carlton at the Marine Science Center at the Williams College/Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program in Mystic, Connecticut. Carlton is widely recognized as the world’s leading marine bio-invasion expert.

The shrimp prefer to live in and around emergent marsh plants, have been responsible for the disappearance of native shrimp species in other states like California, and also have been known to carry fungi that could cause disease in native shrimp. The impacts of this invasive species on the native shrimp – an important food source for many fish species – could lead to ecosystem-level disturbances among native communities by providing a secondary food source to other species.

In addition to the Asian shrimp, the European shrimp, Palaemon elegans, the first of its kind to invade North America, was discovered in Salem, Massachusetts marina in July. The discovery was made during a Rapid Assessment Survey led in that state by Carlton. The survey was another in a series of follow-ups to the first ever conducted on the East Coast by Carlton in 2000. This year’s included international teams of top marine taxonomic experts, who this year investigated numerous sites from Rhode Island to Maine.

CRMC staff participated in this year’s survey while the team was in Rhode Island. The team investigated marinas, boat basins and fishing areas in Cranston, Newport, North Kingstown and South Kingstown, looking under docks and piers and scouring the coast on July 25 and 26. The monitoring was coordinated by the CRMC, which adopted its RI Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan (RIAIS Plan) in January 2008. The plan calls for the continued support of these surveys, in an effort to keep the state’s invasive species database updated.

In addition to the shrimp, species that have invaded Rhode Island waters include the European green crab, Asian shore crab, lace bryozoan, Codium fragile, a green algae, the red macroalgae Grateloupia turuturu, various colonial and solitary sea squirts, and several shellfish pathogens. Other invasive species of concern (due to their proximity to Rhode Island and/or those with a high potential for environmental and economic damage) include the following:

  • Veined Rapa whelk
  • Chinese Mitten crab
  • Suminoe oyster
  • Pacific oyster
  • Caulerpa sp.
  • Japanese kelp

The RIAIS Plan also addresses freshwater invaders, such as aquatic macrophytes like variable watermilfoil and curly pondweed, which have become established and are spreading in lakes and ponds. Introduced Phragmites australis and purple loosestrife are also spreading, clogging waterways and pushing out native species.

“On behalf of the CRMC, I’d like to thank Mr. Hartenstine for his diligence in discovering this new invasive species,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “Having dedicated volunteers like Mr. Hartenstine will ensure the effectiveness of our monitoring program.”

Asian Shrimp

The Asian shrimp

Photo Source

European Shrimp

The European shrimp

Photo Source

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Suite 116, 4808 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879-1900
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