Grateloupia turuturu an Invasive Seaweed in Eastern Long Island Sound investigation into slowing its spread
Introduction
Long Island Sound is a complex and unique environment because of its glacial history and properties as an estuary. It has the capability to be a powerhouse for primary production, unfortunately, the sound has fallen victim to invasive species. Grateloupia turuturu is one such species, tormenting the natural flow of life in the coastal waters of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York (Balcom and Yarish, 2006). This red alga grows year round and is well suited for warm waters (Mathieson, A., et al, 2008). Their ability to grow year round gives the seaweed an advantage amongst other competitors that tend to sprout in warmer …show more content…
turuturu in a controlled lab environment evaluating methods to combat continued growth of this Asian Pacific species. This species is difficult eradicate because it is well suited for the non-turbulent and low salinity waters in LIS (Heinonen 2006). The purpose behind our design is to test the replant ability of the seaweed in a lab environment and testing the viability of the plant in very cold waters. G. turuturu is a high risk invader in LIS that has the potential to devastate local ecosystems (Heinonen 2006).
We hypothesize that if this seaweed is capable of replant then it can survive moderate turbulence and steady boating traffic, which is common in the sound. If also G. turuturu can survive the low temperatures of LIS in winter months when recreated in a lab environment, then other methods need to be explored, because extraction is impossible with the growth and spore abilities of this weed. G. turuturu can generate up to 300 blades in one month (Heinonen …show more content…
We want to test the lower limits of this spectrum, holding our subjects at a range of 2°C, 4°C, and 6°C conditions to see how well the plant survives and grows.
Our prediction is that G. turuturu will be viable even at extreme temperatures like 2c, but will not maintain the healthy growth and color of the same plant in warmer water. For this experiment we will need to have been successful in transplanting G. turuturu to a lab setting and will need access to a cooler with day/night light exposure simulation capabilites which can be found at Avery Point facilities.
Broader Impact:
This experiment can provide the information necessary to isolate the conditions necessary to combat further growth of Grateloupia turuturu in LIS. The idea behind our experiment is to understand the properties of the rhodophyta species to prevent having to resort to round-up style chemicals to prevent
Introduction
Long Island Sound is a complex and unique environment because of its glacial history and properties as an estuary. It has the capability to be a powerhouse for primary production, unfortunately, the sound has fallen victim to invasive species. Grateloupia turuturu is one such species, tormenting the natural flow of life in the coastal waters of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York (Balcom and Yarish, 2006). This red alga grows year round and is well suited for warm waters (Mathieson, A., et al, 2008). Their ability to grow year round gives the seaweed an advantage amongst other competitors that tend to sprout in warmer …show more content…
turuturu in a controlled lab environment evaluating methods to combat continued growth of this Asian Pacific species. This species is difficult eradicate because it is well suited for the non-turbulent and low salinity waters in LIS (Heinonen 2006). The purpose behind our design is to test the replant ability of the seaweed in a lab environment and testing the viability of the plant in very cold waters. G. turuturu is a high risk invader in LIS that has the potential to devastate local ecosystems (Heinonen 2006).
We hypothesize that if this seaweed is capable of replant then it can survive moderate turbulence and steady boating traffic, which is common in the sound. If also G. turuturu can survive the low temperatures of LIS in winter months when recreated in a lab environment, then other methods need to be explored, because extraction is impossible with the growth and spore abilities of this weed. G. turuturu can generate up to 300 blades in one month (Heinonen …show more content…
We want to test the lower limits of this spectrum, holding our subjects at a range of 2°C, 4°C, and 6°C conditions to see how well the plant survives and grows.
Our prediction is that G. turuturu will be viable even at extreme temperatures like 2c, but will not maintain the healthy growth and color of the same plant in warmer water. For this experiment we will need to have been successful in transplanting G. turuturu to a lab setting and will need access to a cooler with day/night light exposure simulation capabilites which can be found at Avery Point facilities.
Broader Impact:
This experiment can provide the information necessary to isolate the conditions necessary to combat further growth of Grateloupia turuturu in LIS. The idea behind our experiment is to understand the properties of the rhodophyta species to prevent having to resort to round-up style chemicals to prevent