Marine Bioinvasives of New England Shores
James T. Carlton, Professor
Williams-Mystic Maritimes Study Program
James T. Carlton works at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, and is the
editor-in-chief of the new (1999) international journal, Biological Invasions.
His research focuses on modern day marine communities and how they have changed
over time through extinctions and invasions of species. His research on global
marine bioinvasions involves their dispersal mechanisms, ecosystem impacts,
and management strategies.
Sponges
Species: Cliona vastifica
Common name: Boring sponge
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: Barnacles in ship fouling?
Sea Anemones
Species: Diadumene lineata or Haliplanella luciae
Common name: Orange striped sea anemone
Origin: Japan
How it arrived: ship fouling
Mollusks: Bivalves and Snails
Species: Ostrea edulis:
Common name: European oyster
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: originally intentionally released in Maine, spreading either
naturally or by Johnny oyster-seeds, in the 1970s and 1980s south to Rhode Island
Species:Mytilopsis leucophaeata
Common name: False mussel
Origin: Southern U.S.
How it arrived: ship fouling or ballast water, now found from Boston to the
Hudson River
Species:Littorina littorea
Common name: European periwinkle
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: probably brought over in early 19th century by British or French
colonists arriving in Canada
Species:Myosotella myosotis
Common name: European marsh snail
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: possibly in ship fouling or ballast
Opossum Shrimp (Mysids)
Species: Praunus flexuosus
Common name: Opossum shrimp
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ballast water
Crabs
Species: Hemigrapsus sanguineus
Common name: Asian shore crab
Origin: Japan
How it arrived: ballast water or ship fouling (spreading north from its discovery
in New Jersey in 1988)
Species: Carcinus maenas
Common name: European shore crab
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ship fouling or boring communities
Bryozoans and Kamptozoans
Species: Membranipora membranacea
Common name: Kelp moss animal (bryozoan)
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ballast water
Species: Barentsia benedeni
Common name: Nodding head (kamptozoan)
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ship fouling
Sea squirts
Species: Styela clava
Common name: Asian stalked seasquirt
Origin: Asia
How it arrived: arrived probably from Europe in ship fouling or ballast water
Species: Ascidiella aspersa
Common name: European seasquirt
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ship fouling or ballast water
Species: Botrylloides
"diegensis"
Common name: California compound seasquirt
Origin: Mission Bay, California
How it arrived: released into Eel Pond in Woods Hole in the early 1970s
Species: Botryllus schlosseri
Common name: European compound seasquirt
Origin: Europe
How it arrived: ship fouling
Species: Diplosoma listerianum
Common name: Compound seasquirt
Origin: Europe?
How it arrived: ship fouling
Seaweeds
Species: Grateloupia doryphora
Common name: Red seaweed
Origin: Easter Atlantic or Pacific Ocean
How it arrived: ship fouling?
Species: Codium fragile tomentosoides
Common name: Dead man's fingers
Origin: Asia, New England populations probably from Europe
How it arrived: ship fouling
N.B. This is not a complete list of marine bioinvasives in New England.