Greetings,
Exotic species, that is species introduced to an area
and taking hold, have become an universal prob,
thanks, to a large extent, to the aquarium trade & the
greater speed of ships used in shipping.

The larvae tend to B the issue when shipping &
ballasts R involved.  The #s of a spp that is being
introduced R large, assuring a healthy breeding stock.
 Once the larvae find the right environment they take
hold.  A well known case is the zebra mussel.  The
ecological impact is still under study & much debate.
The divers, however, R loving it as the viz in Lake
Erie has improved.

The Black Sea fish harvest is suffering from a
Ctenophore wh/, putatively, was introduced via ballast
water.  The ctenophore, apparently, is, merrily,
munching away @ anchovy larvae.

The aquarium trade has been responsible for Caulerpa
toxifolia, a very durable algae that is doing a # in
the Med & has been found off San Diego.  It is an
aggressive organism & it appears that it has no
natural predator - @ least as of yet :->

Fish of various spp have been discharged into sewer
systems or directly into the ocean/lake, etc by
aquarists.  Some take hold, a process that is
facilitated if a male & female R introduced or the
female is carrying fertilized eggs.  There have been
reports of Moorish idols & other Pacific spp in the FL
Keys.

The survivability of those introductions & their
taking hold requires that many factors come together.
Genetic diversity would B lacking if only 2-3
individuals were introduced, making long term survival
suspect even if the environment was perfectly
hospitable.

Iterant spp is a common occurence on the N Atl shores
of the US.  Tropicals, usually juveniles, appear to
hitch a ride in the Gulf Stream & through the eddies,
arrive at ther wrecks off VA, DE, MD & even wind up in
the estuaries of New Jersey.  They are unable to
winter & die when the temps become to cold for their
survival, but R a treat for divers  - colorful
butterflyfish in an otherwise relatively monochrome
environment.

Safe bubbles
Esat Atikkan
--- David Strike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On Saturday, April 14, 2001 11:41 PM, Chuck wrote:
>
> > Last time I looked, there were no boundary lines
> UW and no customs
> > inspectors.  It is always possible that it got
> there in the bilges of a
> > merchant vessel.  Look at the zebra mussel
> infestation in the Great Lakes
> > here.
>
> It could've 'hitched' a ride.  We've had jellyfish
> from Malaysia and
> starfish from Japan that arrived in the water
> ballast - it's just that I
> never thought of shelled critters as being
> hitch-hikers!  :-)
>
> >OTOH, maybe you need to take a picture so everyone
> can see it or
> > perhaps you need a better book. ;-)
>

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