Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal: the spread of Hemimysis anomala G.O. Sars, 1907 (bloody red shrimp) in the New York State canal system

Meghan E Brown ,Elinor K Stapylton ,Julia Roellke ,Brent T Boscarino ,Amalia R Driller‐Colangelo

doi:10.3391/bir.2014.3.4.07

Abstract

In Europe and North America, human-made canals and reservoirs have contributed to the spread of non-native species. The mysid shrimp Hemimysis anomala G.O. Sars, 1907, which is native to the Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia, expanded its range through intentional stocking in reservoirs and movement through shipping canals within Europe. The species later invaded the Laurentian Great Lakes, most likely through ballast transport in the early 2000s. Our survey of the New York State canal system (USA) found the species at 10 sites, spanning over 80 km of canal, which confirms the species continues to colonize human-made canal systems and that canals may catalyze its spread. We report two primary geographic areas where Hemimysis is present in the New York State canal system—in the Erie Canal east of Oneida Lake and in the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in the Finger Lakes region. Body length was significantly smaller in the western assemblage (CayugaSeneca Canal) compared to the assemblage east of Oneida Lake, but within each geographic area there were no significant differences in the proportion of juveniles relative to adults by longitude or the maximum density by longitude. Future studies should examine the role of surface-water flow and recreational boating traffic in the spread of Hemimysis as well as to what extent canal ecosystems are impacted by the establishment of this omnivorous crustacean.

Highlights

Human-manipulated water bodies, such as canals and reservoirs, contribute to the establishment and range expansion of non-native species (e.g., Ricciardi and MacIsaac 2000; Johnson et al 2008; Moy et al 2011)
We will refer to the newly reported Hemimysis found in the Erie Canal east of Oneida Lake as the eastern assemblage, and those found in the Cayuga-Seneca canal region as the western assemblage
Hemimysis has expanded its range into two areas of the New York State canal system, an assemblage in the Erie Canal and a western assemblage in the CayugaSeneca Canal

Summary

Introduction

Human-manipulated water bodies, such as canals and reservoirs, contribute to the establishment and range expansion of non-native species (e.g., Ricciardi and MacIsaac 2000; Johnson et al 2008; Moy et al 2011). Hemimysis (bloody-red mysid shrimp) was intentionally introduced to reservoirs near the Ponto-Caspian region and Baltic Sea in the 1960s to increase fish production and the species’ subsequent spread throughout Europe was aided by commercial shipping traffic transporting organisms in ballast holds (Grigorovich et al 2002; Pothoven et al 2007). Its non-native range may reflect passive dispersal through water flow and inadvertent transport by humans through boats, fishing equipment and commercial shipping ballast (Dumont 2006; Kestrup and Ricciardi 2008; Wittmann and Ariani 2009; Brown et al 2012). The morphology of Hemimysis is distinct from the only other mysid inhabiting the Great Lakes region, Mysis diluviana; Hemimysis has a flattened telson with two sharp spines (Figure 1)

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