Effects of Nori Aquaculture on the Marine Flora of Cobscook Bay and Selected Sites Within the Gulf of Maine
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Participants:
Arthur Mathieson | UNH - Jackson Estuarine Lab | Principal Investigator |
Christopher Neefus | UNH - Department of Biological Sciences | Co-Principal Investigator |
Anita Klein | UNH - Department of Biological Sciences | Principal Investigator |
Donald Cheney | Northeastern University - Marine Science Center | Co-Principal Investigator |
Students Involved:
Andrew West | UNH - Graduate Program in Genetics |
Brian Teasdale | UNH - Department of Biological Sciences |
Aaron Wallace | UNH - Department of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences |
Katherine Watson | Northeastern University |
Danielle Friel Cain | UNH - Graduate Program in Genetics |
To assess the impact of the fledgling nori aquaculture industry on the marine flora of Cobscook Bay and selected sites within the Gulf of Maine by:
1) Examining dispersal and persistence of Porphyra yezoensis at sites adjacent to current and new cultivation sites
2) Developing genetic profiles for the U-51 strain that has been cultivated during the past seven years within Cobscook Bay, as well as additional strains of P. yezoensis proposed for use by Coastal Plantations Inc. (CPI) in their expanded aquaculture program
3) Establishing baseline information regarding the distribution and abundance of indigenous Porphyra species within the Cobscook Bay cultivation and nursery areas, and at proposed sites (e.g., the Bagaduce River near Castine, Maine)
1) Intensive monthly surveys will be made in order to assess the seasonal and spatial abundance patterns of Porphyra yezoensis and indigenous species surrounding diverse nori aquaculture sites within the Gulf of Maine
2) Molecular methods based upon PCR-amplification of species-specific alleles will be used to positively type (identify) species
3) Amplified Fragment Length of Polymorphisms (AFLP) will be used to develop genotype profiles for the various cultivars of P. yezoensis, as well as to examine the occurrence of indigenous Porphyra species at each aquaculture site. Molecular methods are expected to be more accurate than traditional morphological/reproductive features because of the plant's extreme phenotypic plasticity and infrequent occurrence of critical reproductive stages. They are also amenable to the high through-put required for this type of ecological survey.
1) To provide regulatory agencies and the aquaculture industry with a significant basis for making decisions about the introduction of aquaculture strains/species in relation to the management of coastal resources
2) To establish a scientific basis for measuring the impact of mariculture of economically important seaweeds on native species and the marine environment
Publications
Available from the National Sea Grant Library (use NHU number to search) or NH Sea Grant
Journal Article
- West, A., A. Mathieson, A. Klein, C. Neefus and T. Bray (2005). Molecular ecological studies of New England species of "Porphyra" (Rhodophyta, Bangiales). Nova Hedwigia 80(1-2):1-24.
- Kunimoto, M., H. Kito, Y. Yamamoto, D. Cheney, Y. Kaminishi and Y. Mizukami (1999). Discrimination of "Porphyra" species based on small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequence. Journal of Applied Phycology 11:203-209.
- Mathieson, A., E. Hehre, C. Dawes and C. Neefus (2008). An historical comparison of seaweed populations from Casco Bay, Maine. Rhodora 110(941):1-102, Winter 2008.
- Neefus, C., A. Mathieson, A. Klein, B. Teasdale, T. Bray and C. Yarish (2002). "Porphyra birdiae sp. nov." (Bangiales, Rhodophyta): A new species from the northwest Atlantic. Algae 17(4):203-216.
- Klein, A., A. Mathieson, C. Neefus, D. Cain, H. Taylor, B. Teasdale, A. West, E. Hehre, J. Brodie, C. Yarish and A. Wallace (2003). Identification of Northwestern Atlantic "Porphyra" (Bangiaceae, Bangiales) based on sequence variation in nuclear SSU and plastic rbcL genes. Phycologia 42(2):109-122.
- Teasdale, B., A. West, H. Taylor and A. Klein (2002). A simple restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay to discriminate common "Porphyra" (Bangiophyceae, Rhodophyta) taxa from the Northwest Atlantic. Journal of Applied Phycology 14(4):293-298.
Thesis/Dissertation
- Cain, D. (2000). Genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of native western North Atlantic "Porphyra" using the 18S ribosomal gene. Master's Thesis, University of New Hampshire.
- West, A. (2001). Molecular and ecological studies of New Hampshire species of "Porphyra" (Rhodophyta, Bangiales). Master's Thesis, University of New Hampshire.
- Teasdale, B. (2004). An investigation of genetic variation within Northwest Atlantic "Porphyra" (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) with specific phylogeographic analysis of the common, rocky intertidal species, "Porphyra umbilicalis." Doctoral dissertation, University of New Hampshire.
- Wallace, A. (2005). The taxonomic and systematic relationships of several salt marsh "Fucus" taxa (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae) within the Gulf of Maine and Ireland examined using microsatellite markers. Doctoral Dissertation, University of New Hampshire.
Proceeding
- Watson, K., D. Cheney and I. Levine (1999). Biomonitoring of an aquacultured introduced seaweed, "Porphyra yezonensis" (Rhodophyta, Bangiophycidae) in Cobscook Bay, Maine, USA. In: Marine Bioinvasions: Proceedings of the First National Conference, J. Pederson, ed., 1999, pp. 260-264.