South Beach Marina Walkabout - May 2, 2010

Spending time walking the docks at the South Beach Marina situated below the Yaquina Bay Bridge yielded clear examples of an invasive bryozoan new to our surveys-Cryptosula pallasiana. Readily accessible on the bottom of floats, it competed for space with Botrylloides violaceus.

B. violaceus demonstrates remarkable resilience to adverse environmental conditions with mature colonies two feet up in the air at low tide here on pilings and on rocks at the first jetty finger west of the bridge. A later recreational dive much further west, beyond the turnaround along the south jetty, showed the botryllid to be common not only in the crevices subtidally but out on the rock faces as well, despite the swell and surge in this exposed location. Colonies could also be found on suitable substrate out on the river bottom.

INVASIVE “TUNICATE” APPEARS IN OREGON’S COASTAL WATERS

(OSU News Release 5-13-10)

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An aggressive, invasive aquatic organism that is on the state’s most dangerous species list has been discovered in both Winchester Bay and Coos Bay, and scientists say this “colonial tunicate” – Didemnum vexillum – has serious economic and environmental implications.

Its propensity to foul surfaces of boats, fishing nets, water intakes, docks and buoys could make it costly to control, and its ability to smother shellfish beds and sensitive marine environments threatens other marine life.

Hatfield MFC Experiment Maintenance, and, of course, Invasive Tunicate Survey - May 7, 2010

Vallorie and Lorne inspected and performed maintenance on one of OSU's chambered benthic microbial fuel cells (MFC), located subtidally in Yaquina Bay. With the experiment dependent on anaerobic activity and supplemental biomass, they checked on the integrity of the housing and injected algae.

Yaquina Bay Invasive Tunicate Survey - May 7, 2010

A scientific diving team from the Oregon Coast Aquarium conducted a survey for invasive tunicates at Yaquina Bay, Oregon on May 7th, 2010. The target for the day: South Beach Marina. Five divers examined the west breakwater, the brewery dock and docks A, D, and G.

Botrylloides violaceus was found to be pervasive. An invasive sponge, Halichondria or Haliclona, was also noted. The two invasives were more abundant at A dock than the other locations.

Yaquina Bay Invasive Tunicate Survey - April 19, 2010

On Monday, April 19, 2010 a team of divers from the Oregon Coast Aquarium conducted an invasive tunicate survey at Yaquina Bay, Oregon.  Three buddy pairs dove at the Embarcadero Marina.  Two pairs surveyed docks and boat hulls while the third pair examined the breakwater jetty wall.  On the breakwater an invasive bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata was found at 18 to 25 foot depths.  The Watersipora was strongly present at the east end of the breakwater and lightened westward.  Perhaps a 100 foot section of the breakwater wall was surveyed.  The invasive tunicate Botrylloides violaceus was also noted at the breakwater.

Winchester Bay Invasive Tunicate Survey - April 26, 2010

On Monday, April 26th, 2010 an Oregon Coast Aquarium science diving team surveyed for invasive tunicates in Salmon Harbor at Winchester Bay, Oregon.  We selected some dozen sites within the harbor as well as the navigational markers at their entrances. Teams surveyed by shore and by boat.  Later in the day, three teams reinforced their training in Didemnum vexillum identification by viewing known examples on different portions of the oyster farm and rock jetty (south wall of the Winchester Bay jetty).