Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Coos Bay/OR/Isthmus Slough. Coos Bay (1995, Cohen and Carlton 1995)
Geographic Extent
Coos Bay/OR/Isthmus Slough. Coos Bay, (1995 Cohen and Carlton 1995); Coos Bay/OR/Haynes Inlet (1998, Davidson 2006); Bayview/OR/South Slough (1999, Davidson 2006); Coos Bay area/OR/Coos River (40 river miles from mouth, Davidson et al. 2006)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Shipping/Boating | |
| In Coos Bay, burrowing by S. quoianum destroyed one floating dock with Styrofoam floats, and is damaging wooden pilings (Davidson 2006; Davidson 2008). Damage to plastic floats was extensive in Yaquina and Coos Bays, OR (Davidson 2012). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Burrowing by S. quoianum is accelerating erosion of marsh banks and sandstone terraces in Coos Bay, Oregon. Burrows were present at 75% of the sites sampled within the Bay (Davidson 2006; Davidson 2008). Burrowed areas had rates of erosion that were 300% higher than those of adjacent unburrowed areas (Davidson and de Rivera 2010). Burrows in marsh peat were, on average, 15X individual body volume, but only 2.5X body volume in wood. Individual impacts are smaller than those of some other borers and burrowers, but high abundances can result in large population impacts (Davidson and de Rivera 2012). Boring by S. quoianum in plastic foam floats contributes to pollution from plastic particles, with adverse consequences for marine food webs (Davidson 2012). In experiments, the extent of burrowing (per amphipod) varies with temperature, greatly reduced below 10C, reaching a maximum between 15 and 20C, declining at higher temperatures. Projected global warming is likely to increase erosive impacts of S. quoianum in Coos Bay by 15-38% (Davidson et al. 2013). | ||