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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Media Relations UNH Publications and Documents 5-4-2017 UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat UNH Today Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/news Recommended Citation UNH Today, "UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat" (2017). UNH Today. 4923. https://scholars.unh.edu/news/4923 This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the UNH Publications and Documents at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu. 5/18/2021 UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2017/05/04/unh-researchers-find-significant-increase-invasive-seaweed-changing-sea 1/3(HTTPS://UNH.EDU)UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase ofInvasive Seaweed Changing Sea HabitatThursday, May 4, 2017DURHAM, N.H. – Walking along the beaches of New England, it is easy to spot large amounts of a finered seaweed clogging the coastline, the result of sweeping changes in the marine environmentoccurring beneath the water. To further investigate, researchers at the University of New Hampshirelooked at seaweed populations over the last 30 years in the Southwestern Gulf of Maine and found theonce predominant and towering kelp seaweed beds are declining and more invasive, shrub-likespecies have taken their place, altering the look of the ocean floor and the base of the marine foodchain.In the study (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.12775/full), recently published inthe Journal of Ecology, researchers compared photos ofsections of the sea floor, collected over 30 years, at severalsubtidal sites in the Southwestern Gulf of Maine. They alsocollected individual seaweed species to determine theircomplexity and the biodiversity of meso-invertebrates (smaller ocean species that fish and shellfish, such as crabs, feed on) associated with each seaweed species.The data showed that the seaweed community, as well as the number and types of small creatures, had significantly changed. The invasive fiber-like red seaweeds(Dasysiphonia japonica ) had covered up to 90 percent of some areas, altering the visual landscape, and the newly created habitat structure now supported two tothree times more small creatures at the base of the food chain.“We were very surprised by what we saw,” said Jennifer Dijkstra, research assistant professor in the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at UNH and the leadauthor of the study. “In some areas, what was once a forest of tall blades of kelp with a high canopy height was now composed of bushy invasive seaweed specieswhich had a much shorter canopy and a very di erent physical form.”Studies have found that kelp forests are one of the most productive systems in the ocean with high biodiversity and ecological function. They occur along thecoastlines of most continents. Kelp provides a long three dimensional structure that o ers protection and a source of food for many juvenile species of fish(pollock, cod, and flounder), juvenile and adult shellfish (lobsters and crabs), seals and birds (terns and gulls).(HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOU=HTTPS%3A%2F%2FWRESEARCHERS-FIND-SIGNIFICANT-INCREASE-INVASIVE-SEAWEED-CHANGING-SEA)(HTTPS://TWITTETEXT=UNH 0RES ARCHERS-FIND-SIG IFICANT-INCREASE-INVASIVE-SEAWEED-CHANGING-SEA)(M IL O:?SUBJECTES ARCFIND-SIG IFICAINCREASINVASIVESEAWEEDCHANGINSEA)THIS PHOTO SHOWS WHAT A SEAWEED COMMUNITY LOOKS LIKE AFTER INTRODUCTION OF INVASIVE SEAWEED.  PHOTO CREDIT: KRISTEN MELLO/ UNHNEWSROOM(//WWW.UNH.EDU/UNHTODAY/NEWS)(/unhtoday/a5/18/2021 UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2017/05/04/unh-researchers-find-significant-increase-invasive-seaweed-changing-sea 2/3“While the changing seascape has dramatically altered and increased the diversity and number of small creatures at the base of the marine food web, we still don’tknow how these changes in the ecosystem will propagate through the entire chain. Even though there may be more creatures at the base, it’s not clear what theire ects will be on fish or other crabs in the habitat, and how much protection the new landscape will provide,” said Dijkstra.Researchers say on-going studies are looking at the e ects of the invasive types of seaweed and why they are so successful in the Gulf of Maine. They speculatethat a number of events that relate to historical fishing practices, both commercial and recreational, combined with the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine maybe increasing the negative e ects of the growth of kelp.Co-authors on this study, all from UNH, are Larry Harris, professor of zoology; Kristen Mello ‘14, research technician; Amber Litterer ‘16, Shoals Marine Laboratory;Christopher Wells, former research technician currently at the University of Washington; and Colin Ware, director of the Data Visualization Lab at the Center forCoastal and Ocean Mapping.This project was supported by the Rutman Foundation through the Shoals Marine Laboratory (https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org/), the School of MarineSciences and Ocean Engineering (https://marine.unh.edu/) and NOAA (NA14NOS4830001). The University of New Hampshire is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and humanservices, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH’s research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH,receiving more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. Editor's Notes: Images to Download:https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/dasysiphonia_japonica_amberlitterer.jpg(//www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/dasysiphonia_japonica_amberlitterer.jpg) Image of one species of invasive seaweed, Dasysiphonia japonica. Photo credit: Amber Litterer/UNHhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/larry_harris.jpg (//www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/larry_harris.jpg) Photo of historical kelp forest bed (before introduction of invasive seaweed).Photo credit: Larry Harris/UNHhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/kristenmello.jpg (//www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/kristenmello.jpg) Photo of what seaweed community looks like a er introduction of invasive seaweed (Dasysiphonia japonica) Photo credit: Kristen Mello/UNHVIEW ALLLATEST NEWSMedia Advisory: University of New Hampshire 2020 and 2021 Commencements (/unhtoday/news/release/2021/05/18/media-advisory-university-new-hampshire-2020-and-2021-commencements)May 18, 2021UNH Research Estimates 1.4 Million Children Have Yearly Violence-Related Medical Visits (/unhtoday/news/release/2021/05/12/unh-research-estimates-14-million-children-have-yearly-violence-related)May 12, 2021UNH RIFC 50 Franchise Index Surges in Q1 With Red Robin, Avis and Joint Chiropractic (/unhtoday/news/release/2021/05/11/unh-rifc-50-franchise-index-surges-q1-red-robin-avis-and-joint-chiropractic)May 11, 2021UNH Partners with Smuttynose Brewing Co. on New Lager (/unhtoday/news/release/2021/05/10/unh-partners-smuttynose-brewing-co-new-lager)May 10, 2021UNH Announces 2020 and 2021 Granite State Award and Honorary Degree Recipients (/unhtoday/news/release/2021/05/07/unh-announces-2020-and-2021-granite-state-award-and-honorary-degree)May 7, 20215/18/2021 UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2017/05/04/unh-researchers-find-significant-increase-invasive-seaweed-changing-sea 3/3  SUBSCRIBE TO UNH TODAY (HTTPS://WWW.UNH.EDU/MAIN/UNH-TODAY-SUBSCRIPTION) (https://www.unh.edu)UNH Today is produced for the UNH community and for friends of UNH. 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UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat

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UNH Researchers Find Significant Increase of Invasive Seaweed Changing Sea Habitat

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