 |
|
          |
 |
|
Aquatic
Nuisance Species Rapid Assessment
|
|
|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 25, 2003 What:
Alabama Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team Contacts:
Lee Yokel / David Yeager Mobile Bay NEP 251-431-6409 ********************************* BEGIN ******************************* MOBILE BAY HOME TO ALIENS? No, not the kind from outer space but non-native aquatic plant and animal species that may have taken up residence in our coastal waters. Identifying these “aliens” is the goal of an intensive survey announced today by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. The newly formed Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team (AMRAT) will conduct a rapid assessment survey of non-native plant and animal species in Mobile Bay during September 2-5, 2003. During this survey, the first of its kind on the Gulf Coast, researchers will conduct a variety of sampling activities including: trawling, seine netting, hand netting, hand picking of animals, and scraping of fouling organisms from surfaces. Ballast water samples will also be taken from ships in port. The goal is to collect and identify as many different non-native organisms as possible during the survey period. Over 50 researchers and technicians from several institutions and agencies will take part in this intensive 4-day field and laboratory effort. It will result in a “snapshot” inventory of coastal species from which potentially invasive or nuisance species can be identified. The inventory will also provide insight into the ways these plants and animals arrive in our area and can serve as a basis for development of management plans to deal with potential nuisance species. Aquatic invasive species are not a new phenomena. Non-native species have been introduced, both intentionally and unintentionally, into habitats of the United States, and indeed world wide, for hundreds of years. Although agricultural pests have long been recognized as a significant economic burden to our domestic farming industry, more recently, other non-native aquatic species have invaded our marine environment and produced significant economic and environmental concerns. These include nutria, zebra mussels, the Australian Spotted Jellyfish, giant Salvinia, Hydrilla, and water hyacinth to name a few. These species spread rapidly, produce serious environmental impacts, out compete native species, and result in economic and social losses to our nation. The National Research Council has identified the invasion of non-indigenous aquatic species as “one of the five most critical environmental issues facing the ocean’s marine life.” Broad efforts are underway nation-wide to combat the entry of new species into our country and to effectively control and manage those that have already made their way here The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Fisheries Research and Development (Gulf Coast Research Laboratory), the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the Alabama Department of Conservation’s Marine Resources Division and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Program lead the Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team (AMRAT). The survey is being coordinated with the Gulf of Mexico Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, itself created to makes recommendations to the National Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, a multi- agency federal panel for guiding invasive species work nationally. The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission administers the Gulf Regional Panel. The other organizations represented on the AMRAT and participating in the survey include: Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the University of South Alabama, the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Researchers or technicians from all these organizations will be participating in the survey. The current effort got its start a year ago during a meeting of the Gulf Regional Panel when several members took it upon themselves to establish the Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team (AMRAT) with the goal of conducting rapid assessments of non-native species in Alabama and Mississippi coastal waters over a two year period, beginning with Mobile Bay. The survey is also one of the priority actions identified in the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Mobile Bay. Lessons learned from the Mobile Bay effort will be applied to a second year assessment of Mississippi coastal waters. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab will host the teams during the Alabama survey and provide housing and laboratory facilities. Funding and in-kind services and support are being provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and by all participating AMRAT organizations. *********************************** END *******************************
|
|
 |
|
|
This site best view at
800X600 with Netscape 6.0 or Explorer 5.5 or higher |
|