Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: NC/Topsail Inlet (1979, Searles et al. 1984);
Geographic Extent
NC/Topsail Inlet (1979, Searles et al. 1984); NC/Masonboro Inlet (1982, Searles et al. 1984); NC/Beaufort Inlet (1981, Searles et al. 1984); Wilmington/NC/Cape Fear Sound (2009, Geraldi et al. 2014)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Alternate | Natural Dispersal |
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
| Alternate | Discarded Bait |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Codium spp. are associated with both nitrogen-fixing and denitrifying bacteria. Codium fragile, which prefers artificial substrates, supports a greater rate of denitrification than the native C. decorticatum, increasing N2 release, and decreasing nitrate concentrations, potentially decreasing eutrophication (Geraldi et al. 2014). In experiments, C. fragile in single-speacies treatments supported a lower diversity of consumers, possibly because of lower habitat complexity, or because of lower food quality (Ramus and Long 2016). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| Codium fragile was found to be a poor food source for the amphipod Ampithoe longimana, resulting in lower growth and survivorship (Cruz-Ribera and Hay 2001). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| Codium fragile appears to have replaced the native C. decorticatum on artificial substrates (concrete, bulkheads, granite seawalls) in Cape Fear and Masonboro Sounds, in comparisons with 1940s surveys. However, C. decorticatum remains abundant on natural substrates such as oysters (Geraldi et al. 2014). | ||