Welcome to day 3 of #INNSWEEK 2022. INNS Week is a national initiative to raise awareness of the negative impact of invasive species across the UK. Each day we will be discussing a different theme. Today we will be talking about the impact of INNS on the marine environment.
What is a Marine environment?
Marine Environments are characterized by waters with a high salt content. This includes oceans, estuaries, bays, and seas among others. Marine ecosystems account for 70% of the world surface supporting an abundance of life. All marine ecosystems are closely linked creating a large risk of invasive species. The global shipping industry around the world has greatly increased the risk of transporting invasive species into new environments. Although a large proportion of our invasive species work is focussed on terrestrial and freshwater environments as our estuary work ramps up there are certain invasive species we need to be aware of that could threaten out seagrass and oysters.
Threats to seagrass
Japanese wire weed (Sargassum muticum)
This invasive brown seaweed has a rapid growth rate and can quickly outcompete Seagrass beds for light in coastal regions. It can also change the chemical and physical characteristics of the local environment making it unsuitable for seagrass growth
Harris Mud Crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii)
Mud crab burrowing behaviour disturbs seagrass, especially when it has been recently transplanted so lacks a robust rhizome structure. They may also eat new seagrass shoots and recently planted seeds if they are not planted deep enough into the sediment
Threats to oyster
American Oyster Drill (Urosalpinx cinerea)
Although it may not look menacing this marine snail is a voracious predator. As its name suggests, this animal drills through the shells of shellfish to access the meat inside It can cause high mortality on oyster beds, especially in juveniles.
Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas)
Similar to our friend the Native oyster, these are filter feeding bivalves. They're increased growth rate means they will outcompete for resources in introduced to an area with native oysters. Unfortunately this species is already widespread in the UK adding a challenge to any oyster restoration project
Control
Due to the expansive and interconnected nature of the oceans invasive species are extremely hard to remove once they have entered an area. Unlike in many terrestrial examples, invasive species are hard to find and harder to access to try and remove. The main defence we have against invasive species in the marine environment is to stop the spread. And material or animals being moved from one part of the world to another go through strict checks and procedures to ensure no invasive species are being transported with them. We at the Tees Rivers Trust are working closely with the Fish Health Inspectorate to ensure any Oyster or Cultch we bring into the area is done so in a controlled and safe manor for the local wildlife.
#INNSWEEK #Invasivespeciesmanagement #invasivenonnativespecies #marinecosystems #environmentalmanagement #INNSNorthEast