Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Recreational Boats As Potential Vectors Of Marine Organisms At An Invasion Hotspot, Ian C. Davidson, Chela J. Zabin, Andrew L. Chang, Christopher W. Brown, Mark Sytsma, Gregory M. Ruiz

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

With more than 200 aquatic nonindigenous species (NIS), San Francisco Bay (California, USA) is among the world’s most invaded harbors. Hard-substratum benthic (biofouling) organisms, which dominate NIS richness, have arrived primarily as a result of shipping and aquaculture activity over past centuries. To date there has been no assessment of the leisure craft vector in the Bay. We aimed to characterize (1) biofouling on boats’ submerged surfaces and (2) boater behavior likely to affect the risk of NIS transfers. We used an underwater pole-cam, specimen collections, and a boater questionnaire to quantify the extent and composition of biofouling on recreational …