Desiccation as a mitigation tool to manage biofouling risks: trials on temperate taxa to elucidate factors influencing mortality rates

• Published in: Biofouling (Chur, Switzerland) Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Hopkins, Grant A., Prince, Madeleine, Cahill, Patrick L., Fletcher, Lauren M., Atalah, Javier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Adults; Animals; anthropogenic spread; Biofouling; Biofouling - prevention & control; Bivalvia - physiology; Ciona; Crassostrea - physiology; Crassostrea gigas; desiccation; Desiccation - methods; Hot Temperature; Humidity; Introduced Species; invasive species management; Mortality; Mussels; Mytilus - physiology; Mytilus edulis; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Ostreidae - physiology; Oysters; Sunlight; Survival; Tolerances; treatment tools; Urochordata - physiology; desiccation; invasive species management; Biofouling; treatment tools; anthropogenic spread
• ISSN: 0892-7014; 1029-2454
• DOI: 10.1080/08927014.2015.1115484

The desiccation tolerance of biofouling taxa (adults and early life-stages) was determined under both controlled and 'realistic' field conditions. Adults of the ascidian Ciona spp. died within 24 h. Mortality in the adult blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis occurred within 11 d under controlled conditions, compared with 7 d when held outside. The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was the most desiccation-tolerant taxon tested (up to 34 d under controlled conditions). Biofouling orientated to direct sunlight showed faster mortality rates for all the taxa tested. Mortality in Mytilus juveniles took up to 24 h, compared with 8 h for Ciona, with greater survival at the higher temperature (18.5°C) and humidity (~95% RH) treatment combination. This study demonstrated that desiccation can be an effective mitigation method for a broad range of fouling taxa, especially their early life-stages. Further work is necessary to assess risks from other high-risk species such as algae and cyst forming species.