Extensive Fouling of Eelgrass ( Zostera marina L.) Reproductive Shoots by Invasive Tunicates—A Potential Threat to Meadow Reproductive Output?
Karina Scavo Lord, Morgan Bennett‐Smith, Alyssa B Novak · 2025
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Description
Karina Scavo Lord, Morgan Bennett-Smith, and Alyssa Novak report invasive sea squirts smothering the seed-bearing shoots of eelgrass in a Cape Cod meadow. Tunicates have fouled New England coasts for decades and shade eelgrass leaves, but coating the reproductive shoots themselves had not been documented in the region. Their 2025 field note records the fouling in late spring and early summer, with photographs and first surveys of coverage.
The worry is mechanical: a crust of tunicates could block seed release or weigh down the shoots that spread seed, cutting the meadow's next generation. The fouling level at this site was new in the observers' experience. Bay water there has warmed measurably since 2006, though only slightly in total, and the authors wonder whether tunicate peaks are shifting earlier into the eelgrass seed season. They set the observation down as a baseline and a warning flare.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Karina Scavo Lord, Morgan Bennett‐Smith, Alyssa B Novak |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 18 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |