Arrival and expansion of the invasive foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington

Northwest Science
By: , and 

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Abstract

Trochammina hadai Uchio, a benthic foraminifera native to Japanese estuaries, was first identified as an invasive in 1995 in San Francisco Bay and later in 16 other west coast estuaries. To investigate the timing of the arrival and expansion of this invasive species in Padilla Bay, Washington, we analyzed the distribution of foraminifera in two surface samples collected in 1971, in nine surface samples collected by Scott in 1972–1973, as well as in two cores (Padilla Flats 3 and Padilla V1/V2) obtained in 2004. Trochanimina hadai, originally identified as the native Trochammina pacifica Cushman in several early foraminiferal studies, dominates the assemblage of most of the surface samples. In the Padilla V1/V2 and Padilla Flats 3 cores, the species' abundance follows a pattern of absence, first appearance, rapid expansion commonly seen shortly after the arrival of a successful biological invasion, setback, and second expansion. Using Q-mode cluster analysis, pre-expansion and expansion assemblages were identified. Pb-210 dating of these cores proved unsuccessful. However, based on T. hadai's first appearance occurring stratigraphically well above sedimentological changes in the cores that reflect deposition of sediments in the bay due to previous diversions of the Skagit River, and its dominance in the early 1970s surface samples, we conclude that the species arrived in Padilla Bay somewhere between the late 1800s and 1971. Trochammina hadai may have been introduced into the bay in the 1930s when oyster culturing began there or, at a minimum, ten years prior to its appearance in San Francisco Bay.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Arrival and expansion of the invasive foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington
Series title Northwest Science
DOI 10.3955/046.086.0102
Volume 86
Issue 1
Year Published 2012
Language English
Publisher Northwest Scientific Association
Contributing office(s) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description 18 p.
First page 9
Last page 26
Country United States
State Washington
Other Geospatial Padilla Bay
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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