Monitoring for Invasive Crabs in Seagrass Habitat in the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Skagit County, Washington

摘要

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (N.E.R.R.S.) was established in 1972 under the Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act. It includes 25 sites around the coastal United States. The purpose of these sites is research, education, and stewardship in estuaries. The Padilla Bay N.E.R.R. was designated in 1980 and is located north of Seattle, Washington. It consists of approximately 180 upland acres and 10,600 acres of tide flat which includes about 7,500 acres of seagrasses (Zostera marina and Zostera japonica). Dr. Andrew Lohrer (North Inlet-Winyah Bay N.E.R.R.,South Carolina) received funding from the NOAA Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to coordinate an invasive crab monitoring effort that included eight N.E.R.R. sites (North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR, SC; ACE Basin NERR, SC; Sapelo Island NERR, GA; Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR, FL; Rookery Bay NERR, FL; Padilla Bay NERR, WA; South Slough NERR, OR; San Francisco Bay NERR, CA; and Elkhorn Slough NERR, CA). Dr. Dave Bushek (University of South Carolina) was the Principal Investigator for the project. The database from that project will be posted to a website This current report contains only the data collected at Padilla Bay NERR.