Meeting Abstract
P3.63 Saturday, Jan. 5 Caulerpa versus Chaetomorpha: Is the latter a safer choice for home aquarium enthusiasts based on fragment success? LEISSING, J.J.**; WALTERS, L.J.; University of Central Florida, Orlando; University of Central Florida, Orlando j.leissing@gmail.com
Aquarium releases, both purposeful and accidental, have facilitated the dispersal of non-native species around the globe. One such example of an aquarium-released, invasive species is Caulerpa taxifolia, a green macroalga that is popular in the aquarium industry for its attractive appearance and nutrient scrubbing capacity. In the Mediterranean Sea and numerous coastal lakes in Australia, invasive Caulerpa is now the dominant organism, altering the abundances of native seagrasses and other macroalgae. As outreach efforts halt the use of the genus Caulerpa, the aquarium industry is now promoting another green alga, Chaetomorpha, as a replacement for Caulerpa taxifolia. However, no one has determined the potential for Chaetomorpha to also become invasive. One characteristic that makes C. taxifolia so successful is its ability to disperse asexually via vegetative fragmentation. To determine if Chaetomorpha fragments are equally successful, laboratory trials were run with fragments ranging in length from 1 to 10 mm. At the end of the first eight-day trial, we found that 1 mm fragments maintained at least partial green coloration and that new growth was visible on fragments 2 mm or longer. After eight days, the mean length of fragments that started at 10.0 mm was 15.8 mm. We also found that commercially-supplied Chaetomorpha had three species epiphytizing it. In addition to cyanobacteria, there was a mean of 0.1 tubeworms in the genus Hydroides and 1.1 tubeworms in the genus Spirobis per gram Chaetomorpha. Overall, our results suggest that Chaetomorpha is potentially invasive and could cause problems if released. This documents the importance of scientists and the aquarium industry working together to avoid future, large-scale, environmental problems.
