national management planforthe genus caulerpa（国家管理planforthe属caulerpa）.docVIP

National Management Plan for the Genus Caulerpa Submitted to the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Prepared by the Caulerpa Working Group Draft - October, 2004 Executive Summary A variety of surveys have confirmed at least twenty-one species and varieties of Caulerpa with populations in different regions of the United States (U.S.). Three species of Caulerpa are thought to be invasive due to their historic and ongoing invasions of U.S. and foreign waters; Caulerpa taxifolia (Aquarium or Mediterranean strain), Caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa racemosa. In June 2000 divers detected C. taxifolia (Mediterranean strain) in Agua Hedionda Lagoon located in Carlsbad, CA and a second population in Huntington Harbor, CA. Divers first discovered non-native C. brachypus off the coast of southern Florida in 1999. Concerns have also been raised by scientists about C. racemosa, which has spread rapidly in the Mediterranean, but has not yet produced any problematic populations in U.S. waters. The impact of Caulerpa on natural systems in U.S. waters is unknown. It is possible to infer likely impacts based on documented impacts in similar ecosystems in other regions of the world, where non-native Caulerpa species have become established. Documented impacts of invasive Caulerpa species include competition with marine plants and macroalgae, direct and indirect impacts on marine invertebrates, direct and indirect impacts on marine vertebrates and economic impacts due to control costs and costs associated with ecosystem alteration. To date, eradication efforts for C. taxifolia in California have totaled over $3.7 million in direct control costs, and over $500,000 has been allocated to study the effects of C. brachypus in Florida. The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) asked the Caulerpa Working Group (CWG) to draft a National Management Plan (NMP) that addresses the Caulerpa genus. This NMP was developed with the input of