Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Sausalito/CA/San Francisco Bay (Richardson 1898, cited by Carlton 1979)
Geographic Extent
CA/Bodega Harbor (1972, Rotramel 1972, cited by Carlton 1979; Graening and Rogers 2013); CA/Tomales Bay (1929, USNM 65813 , US National Museum of Natural History 2007; 1941, Copeland 1941, cited by Carlton 1979; Graening and Rogers 2013); CA/Bolinas Lagoon (1958, Riegel 1959, cited by Carlton 1979; Graening and Rogers 2013); Sausalito/CA/San Francisco Bay (Richardson 1898, cited by Carlton 1979); CA/San Pablo Bay (1912, USNM 64473, United States Museum of Natural History 2007; Graening and Rogers 2013); Rodeo/CA/San Pablo Bay (1939, Barrows 1939, cited by Carlton 1979); China Camp/CA/San Pablo Bay (2005, Robinson et al. 2011); cargo ship 'Florikan'/CA/Suisun Bay (Llanso et al. 2011); Oakland/CA/Lake Merritt (Light 1961, cited by Carlton 1979; USNM 250154, 1989, United States Museum of Natural History 2007); Point Richmond.CA/San Francisco Bay (Light 1961, cited by Carlton 1979); Dumbarton-Cut-off/CA/South San Francisco Bay (1920, USNM 89805, 1989, United States Museum of Natural History 2007); Antioch/CA/Suisun Bay (Koifoid and Miller 1927, cited by Cohen and Carlton 1995); CA/Grizzly Bay near Suisun Slough (Graening and Rogers 2013); Moss Landing/CA/Old Salinas River Channel (1998, Wasson et al. 2001; 2011, California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2014); South Marsh Trail/CA/Elkhorn Slough (1998, Wasson et al. 2001); CA/Whistlestop Lagoon, Elkhorn Slough (1998, Wasson et al. 2001); Kirby Park/ CA/Elkhorn Slough (1998, Wasson et al. 2001); Hudson's Landing/CA/Elkhorn Slough (1998, Wasson et al. 2001); Morro Bay (1974, Iverson 1974; Carlton 1979)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Shipping/Boating | |
| Sphaeroma quoianum burrows into the walls of marsh channels and levees, contributing to erosion, increasing flood threats, and also damaging Styrofoam floats in marinas. However, the extent of this damage has not been quantified (Carlton 1979; Cohen and Carlton 1995). Damage to plastic floats was extensive in San Francisco Bay and Elkhorn Slough, CA (Davidson 2012). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Sphaeroma quoianum burrows into the walls of marsh channels, contributing to erosion, and modifying the marsh habitat. Higgins (cited by Davidson 2008) observed that this isopod increased the erosion of sandstone terraces in San Francisco Bay. Carlton (1979) suggested that the isopod was responsible for the loss of 'tens or scores of meters of shoreline since the 19th century'. Boring by S. quoianum in plastic foam floats contributes to pollution from plastic particles, with adverse consequences for marine food webs (Davidson 2012). | ||