Characterising biofouling communities on mussel farms along an environmental gradient: a step towards improved risk management

Watts, Ashleigh Marie; Goldstien, Sharyn J.; Hopkins, Grant A.

doi:10.3354/aei00159

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 77 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…A greater focus on avoiding biofouling will yield production benefits by reducing both the direct impacts of fouling organisms, and the frequency and intensity of treatments. In locations with predictable seasonal fouling patterns, spatial and temporal avoidance of biofouling may be feasible Sievers et al 2014;Holthuis et al 2015), and considerable recent effort has gone into monitoring biofouling development at farms around the world (eg Carraro et al 2012;Antoniadou et al 2013;Watts et al 2015;Casso et al 2018;das Chagas et al 2018). Modelling biofouling settlement and development is also paving the way for sophisticated avoidance strategies.…”

Section: Preventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review of recent research and developments

et al. 2019

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Biofouling in marine aquaculture is one of the main barriers to efficient and sustainable production. Owing to the growth of aquaculture globally, it is pertinent to update previous reviews to inform management and guide future research. Here, the authors highlight recent research and developments on the impacts, prevention and control of biofouling in shellfish, finfish and seaweed aquaculture, and the significant gaps that still exist in aquaculturalists' capacity to manage it. Antifouling methods are being explored and developed; these are centred on harnessing naturally occurring antifouling properties, culturing fouling-resistant genotypes, and improving farming strategies by adopting more sensitive and informative monitoring and modelling capabilities together with novel cleaning equipment. While no simple, quick-fix solutions to biofouling management in existing aquaculture industry situations have been developed, the expectation is that effective methods are likely to evolve as aquaculture develops into emerging culture scenarios, which will undoubtedly influence the path for future solutions. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Preventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review of recent research and developments

et al. 2019

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“…Biofouling may also be indirectly addressed through the suggested depths of culture. As an increase in biofouling is expected when water temperature is warmer [100], this environmental suitability analysis based upon lower temperature thresholds is also expected to help decrease fouling intensity and promote farming improvement when mussel ropes are set deeper in the water column [101].…”

Section: General New England Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Depth Selection and In Situ Validation for Offshore Mussel Aquaculture in Northeast United States Federal Waters

Mizuta

Wikfors

2019

JMSE

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As mariculture progresses offshore in the US Exclusive Economic Zone, technical and ecological challenges need to be overcome, such as the choice of suitable sites that favor the production of target species. The offshore culture of blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, is performed with submerged longlines and mussels need to withstand more motion than on coastal sites. Temperature affects the ability of the byssus to adhere to farming rope, while chlorophyll concentration provides an estimation of food availability. Together, these are important factors in predicting the suitability of offshore mussel farms. To identify suitable depth of submersion for mussel ropes in New England federal waters, historical oceanographic data of temperature and chlorophyll a from 2005 to 2012 were used. The results suggest that mussel ropes were submerged during summer to a minimum depth of 15 m in northern and a 20-m depth in southern areas of New England where temperature is at a species-optimum and phytoplankton biomass is abundant. For the site offshore Massachusetts, in situ biodeposition measurements validated predicted depth, confirming satisfactory mussel performance. Promising local areas have shallow thermoclines, such as offshore Long Island, Cape Ann and New Hampshire. Recommended depths can be adjusted to future temperature increases associated with climate change.

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“…Despite biogeographical variations, the most important sessile species found in shellfish and finfish farms are bivalves especially mussels, hydroids, algae, and tunicates (Cook et al, 2006;CRAB, 2007;Fitridge et al, 2012;Giangrande et al, 2020). Additionally, main free-living and epifaunal inhabitants are crustaceans, polychaetes, gastropods, and echinoderms (e.g., Hodson et al, 2000;Hincapié-Cárdenas, 2007;Guenther et al, 2010;Gonzalez-Silvera et al, 2015;Watts et al, 2015). Amphipods are however without doubt the most reported group of mobile fauna in aquaculture facilities, notably caprellids and tube-building amphipods (Hodson et al, 2000;Cook et al, 2006;Greene and Grizzle, 2007;Fernandez-Gonzalez and Sanchez-Jerez, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connectivity Patterns for Direct Developing Invertebrates in Fragmented Marine Habitats: Fish Farms Fouling as Source Population in the Establishment and Maintenance of Local Metapopulations

2021

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Artificial structures can be considered as high spatially structured habitats in the marine pelagic system, where patch connectivity would be strongly dependent on the exchange of larvae or dispersing individuals. Fish-farms located offshore may alter ecological connectivity, modifying trophic resources, and species dispersal among patches. High population densities of invertebrates can be found associated with fish-farm fouling communities, which can act as a seed source, contributing to the patterns of connectivity through individuals exchange between subpopulations or with sink populations. A field experiment was performed to analyse the role of fish-farms in the colonisation of new uninhabited habitats (floating experimental units) located at different positions relative to the fish farm and the main current, containing artificial habitats with and without feed pellets similar to those used in the fish farm. Amphipods were used as example of direct developing invertebrates for studying dispersing individuals from the fish farm to the new habitats. The richest and most abundant populations in this study were found close to and downstream of the fish farm, surpassing 1,000 amphipods at their maximum. Moreover, some floating habitats located more than 2 km from the fish farm were colonised in only 15 days. Thus, the role of fish farms has been shown to extend beyond a ‘stepping-stones’ effect in species dispersal, and have an additional effect on ecological connectivity by increasing population sizes and acting as population source. Our study aims to provide recommendations for coastal zone management in order to predict potential spread from fish farms to other platforms in the future and promote solutions related to interactions and consequences of connectivity within and between marine facilities.

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Characterising biofouling communities on mussel farms along an environmental gradient: a step towards improved risk management

Cited by 14 publications

References 77 publications

Biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review of recent research and developments

Biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review of recent research and developments

Depth Selection and In Situ Validation for Offshore Mussel Aquaculture in Northeast United States Federal Waters

Connectivity Patterns for Direct Developing Invertebrates in Fragmented Marine Habitats: Fish Farms Fouling as Source Population in the Establishment and Maintenance of Local Metapopulations

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