Rapid assessment of marine non-native species in the Shetland Islands, Scotland

Samuel Collin,Jacqueline Tweddle,Rachel Shucksmith

doi:10.3391/bir.2015.4.3.01

Abstract

The Shetland Islands, northern Scotland, have a highly active and diverse maritime environment, and local marine industries form an important part of the local economy. The potential for damage caused by non-native species is high. As part of an assessment of the current status of non-native species in Shetland, a series of rapid assessment surveys, coupled with a settlement panel monitoring programme, were carried out at 18 sites between May 2012 and October 2014. Eight non-native species were detected in our surveys, three of which (Corella eumyota Traustedt, 1882; Bugulina simplex Hincks, 1886; and Dasysiphonia japonica (Yendo) Kim, 2012) had not been previously recorded. Observations by SCUBA also reported the first UK record of Schizoporella japonica Ortmann, 1890 growing on natural substrate. A literature review revealed three additional non-native species that have been documented in Shetland but were not detected in our survey work. The results from this study highlight the speed at which non-native species can spread over regional scales, and that more active harbours contain greater numbers of non-native species, indicating the potential of hull fouling and ballast water exchange for transporting non-native species.

Highlights

The potential for damage caused by non-native species (NNS: organisms that have been introduced to new environments outside their natural range via artificial means; Carlton 1996; Colautti and MacIsaac 2004) and the need for effective surveillance and monitoring, are becoming an increasing concern for governments, decision makers, industries, and conservationists (Mack et al 2000; Hooper et al 2005; Pimental et al 2000)
The field surveys confirmed the presence of eight non-native species in Shetland, five of which were found only in visual surveys, two on settlement panels and in visual surveys, and only one (Bugulina simplex (Hincks, 1886)) found solely on settlement panels (Table 1)
An additional three NNS had been previously recorded in Shetland (Table 2) but were absent in our survey: Diadumene lineata Verrill, 1869 (single record on muddy substrata in the Vadills in 2003, ERT (Scotland) Ltd. 2006); Asparagopsis armata Harvey, 1855; and Fenestrulina delicia Winston, Hayward and Craig, 2000

Summary

Introduction

The potential for damage caused by non-native species (NNS: organisms that have been introduced to new environments outside their natural range via artificial means; Carlton 1996; Colautti and MacIsaac 2004) and the need for effective surveillance and monitoring, are becoming an increasing concern for governments, decision makers, industries, and conservationists (Mack et al 2000; Hooper et al 2005; Pimental et al 2000). Advances in marine technology and the globalisation of maritime trade have increased the number of international vessels visiting Shetland, for shipping, oil and gas transportation, and tourism (Shelmerdine 2015), which has raised the potential for NNS introductions, through hull fouling and ballast water exchange (Carlton and Geller 1993). The high-level of international activity found in Shetland suggests it could be an initial point of entry to Europe for marine NNS from all over the world. The diverse array of national and regional maritime activity in Shetland could spread NNS to other locations in the UK and Europe through secondary transportation (Clarke Murray et al 2011; Sylvester et al 2011).

Methods

Results

Conclusion