Mnemiopsis leidyi activities in

1

• Mnemiopsis leidyi activities in
• the Caspian Environment Programme
• Five years behind

2

• The possibility of M. leidyi introduction in the
  Caspian Sea was discussed during the GESAMP
  meeting in 1994 for the first time
• The ctenophore was reported to be present in the
  Caspian Sea by November 1999. It was probably
  transported to the Caspian via ballast waters
  from the Black and/or Azov seas

3

• Within two years of introduction, significant
  decreases in the quantity and quality of
  mesozooplankton communities were reported.
• Notable decreases in pelagic fisheries (mostly
  kilka fisheries) occurred in all Caspian
  countries, but particularly in I.R. Iran and
  Republic of Azerbaidjan. Economic losses of kilka
  fisheries in I.R. Iran were estimated to be
  about 7 mln. US in 2002.

Kideys et al., 2005
4

• July, 2000 At the 2nd Biodiversity Meeting, CEP
  discussed M. leidyi issues and established a
  Working Group
• April, 2001 First CEP Workshop on the M. leidyi
  invasion
• The issue was considered as a serious threat to
  the ecosystem
• EIA plan was envisaged
• Follow-up strategies for further studies of Beroe
  ovata before any introduction were proposed
• Regional M. leidyi Advisory Group was recommended

5

• September, 2001 The viability experiments of B.
  ovata in the Caspian water were conducted by
  transporting B. ovata from the Black and Marmara
  Seas to the Caspian (Kideys et al., 2004)
• Physiological data suggested that B. ovata was
  able to grow and ingest M. leidyi and decrease
  its abundance sharply
• In contrast with adult ctenophores, B. ovata
  larvae, however, did not grow
• The need for additional studies (e.g., on
  parasites, feeding with other native organisms,
  and modelling) were seen as necessary.
• December, 2001 1st CEP M. leidyi AG meeting
• Faster than in the Black Sea ctenophore
  development in the Caspian Sea
• Urgent need for control actions
• Introduction of B. ovata as the sole biological
  agent to control M. leidyi
• Laboratory studies of B. ovata development in the
  Caspian water conditions needed.

6

• June, 2002 A NATO ARW Workshop The invasion of
  the Black, Mediterranean and Caspian Seas by the
  ctenophore M. leidyi a multidisciplinary
  perspective held in Baku
• B. ovata as the sole agent to combat development
  of M. leidyi in the Caspian was re-assured
• A book was published.
• June, 2002 2nd CEP RISAG Meeting
• Review of the situation with M. leidyi from 1999
  to 2002
• The risk (and responsibility) of not introducing
  B. ovata is by far overweight the risk of
  introducing
• EIA outline presented

7

• February, 2004 Regional Technical Meeting on
  possible introduction of B. ovata into the
  Caspian Sea
• Plan for action discussed among many
  stakeholders
• Technical agreement was achieved and ToR for
  setting up release programme by March 2004 was
  requested
• EIA presented.
• September, 2004 1st BISRAG Meeting
• Time for academic discourse has finished,
  however, policy makers are not convinced
• Some signs of optimism that mnemiopsis population
  has passed its peak numbers
• I.R. Iran was prepared to take lead in
  implementing Plan of Action to introduce B. ovata.

8

• April, 2005 2nd BISRAG Meeting
• No decision on the introduction of B. ovata
  taken
• Proposal to initiate studies on the monitoring of
  M. leidyi and B. ovata in the three Southern
  Caspian countries starting from August 2005 over
  four months period.
• July-August, 2005 Coordination Meeting of the
  Monitoring teams
• Timeline, sampling procedures and stations were
  approved
• Personnel was nominated
• Training was provided and equipment delivered.
• December, 2005 Final Meeting of the Monitoring
  teams
• Results of the monitoring
• Recommendations of follow-up actions.

9

• Auxiliary Activities
• June, 2005 Interagency Agreement with the
  International Maritime Organization to assess the
  traffic of invasive species into and from the
  Caspian via the Volga River and pre-feasibility
  study to build a ballast water reception facility
  in Astrakhan port signed
• September, 2005 1st Regional Project Task Force
  Meeting held.
• November, 2005 Training workshop for ballast
  water sampling and monitoring conducted.
• November, 2005 through May, 2006 Review of
  national legislation on introduction of alien
  species and recommendations for the formation of
  a Caspian Regional Body to evaluate and authorize
  the introductions was initiated.

10
Where we are after five years of research and
policy measures?
11

• Highlights of 2005 monitoring (details to be
  corrected)
• B. ovata was not reported in the Caspian water
• The average and maximum biomass of M. leidyi in
  August 2005 in the Southern Caspian was about 215
  g m-2 and 1290 g m-2, respectively. Similar data
  for August 2001 are 120 and 351 g m-2,
  respectively (Kideys and Moghim, 2003)
• The maximum recorded abundance of M. leidyi was
  2285 ind. m-2 over the entire sea in August 2001,
  while in August 2005 it was more than 4000 ind.
  m-2 along the Iranian coast in October 2005
• While the total biomass of M. leidyi in the
  Caspian Sea did not reach the peak values of the
  summer of 1989 in the open Black Sea (1.5-2 kg
  m-2) due to its small size, the total abundance
  of the ctenophore in the Caspian Sea far exceeds
  values measured in the Black Sea.

12

• Other factors that have to be considered
• September 2005 experienced the first in the
  Caspian history large open-water cyanobacterial
  potentially toxic bloom along the Iranian coast,
  which was most probably associated with the
  increased nutrient content in the surface waters

Photo courtesy of Dr. Roohi
13

• Other factors that have to be considered
• I.R. Iran is the leading Middle Eastern country
  in the consumption of fertilizers. Due to the
  liberalization of fertilizer usage, the
  consumption has probably increased since 2003.

14

• Other factors that have to be considered
• Due to decreased grazing of phytoplankton by
  zooplankton which is voraciously preyed by
  Mnemiopsis leidyi, Kideys et al. (2005) suggested
  that higher phytoplankton biomass in 2001
  compared to those in 1998 could be due to both
  eutrophication and M. leidyi invasion. Since M.
  leidyi is well-known to be abundant in fertile
  areas, the higher impact on phytoplankton
  composition is expected to be in the Southern
  Caspian
• During the expedition in the Middle Caspian Sea
  in April 2004, Shiganova et al. (2005) have found
  several invasive phytoplankton species from the
  Black Sea. Among them is Pseudo-nitzschia
  seriata, a toxin producing diatom.

15

• Take-home messages
• There is a growing evidence that the introduction
  of M. leidyi continues to trigger significant
  negative impacts on the Caspian ecosystem. The
  earlier data that the situation is stabilized
  seems to be unfounded in the light of the recent
  data
• These impacts are superimposed and enhanced now
  by the ongoing eutrophication and/or quantitative
  and structural changes in plankton communities

16

• Policy interventions
• Continue monitoring of the situation including
  biological components such as phyto- and
  zooplankton and nutrients dynamics
• Continue studies on the adaptation and survival
  of B. ovata in the Caspian water and develop
  technically-feasible introduction strategy
• Develop an appropriate legislation mechanisms on
  invasive species introduction
• Develop invasive species control systems such as
  ballast water reception facilities

17

• Objectives of the current meeting
• Critically review the results obtained during the
  August-November 2005 M. leidyi monitoring
  surveys
• Review these results together with other relevant
  information (changes in plankton communities and
  nutrient concentrations, the appearance of the
  harmful algal bloom and etc.)
• Among several policy interventions, recommend the
  most needed
• Finalize the Report and develop recommendations
  for M. leidyi activities to be taken to BISRAG