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A boat hitchhiker’s guide to survival: Cabomba caroliniana desiccation resistance and survival ability

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Abstract

Cabomba caroliniana is a submersed macrophyte that has become a serious invader. Cabomba predominantly spreads by stem fragments, in particular through unintentional transport on boat trailers (‘hitch hiking’). Desiccation resistance affects the potential dispersal radius. Therefore, knowledge of maximum survival times allows predicting future dispersal. Experiments were conducted to assess desiccation resistance and survival ability of cabomba fragments under various environmental scenarios. Cabomba fragments were highly tolerant of desiccation. However, even relatively low wind speeds resulted in rapid mass loss, indicating a low survival rate of fragments exposed to air currents, such as fragments transported on a boat trailer. The experiments indicated that cabomba could survive at least 3 h of overland transport if exposed to wind. However, even small clumps of cabomba could potentially survive up to 42 h. Thus, targeting the transport of clumps of macrophytes should receive high priority in management. The high resilience of cabomba to desiccation demonstrates the risk of continuing spread. Because of the high probability of fragment viability on arrival, preventing fragment uptake on boat trailers is paramount to reduce the risk of further spread. These findings will assist improving models that predict the spread of aquatic invasive macrophytes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Queensland Government and The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC, Project No. PRJ-006986. Cameron Clarke and Christine Perrett provided invaluable assistance with conducting the experiments. I wish to thank an anonymous reviewer for the constructive comments that assisted greatly in improving this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Invasive Plant and Animal Science, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Ecosciences Precinct, GPO Box 267, Brisbane, QLD, 4001, Australia

    Tobias O. Bickel

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  1. Tobias O. Bickel
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Correspondence to Tobias O. Bickel.

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Guest editors: Sidinei M. Thomaz, Katya E. Kovalenko, John E. Havel & Lee B. Kats / Aquatic Invasive Species

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Bickel, T.O. A boat hitchhiker’s guide to survival: Cabomba caroliniana desiccation resistance and survival ability. Hydrobiologia 746, 123–134 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1979-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1979-1

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