Biological Invasions of Cold-Water Coastal Ecosystems - Aquatic ...

Chapt 9C4. Peracaridan Crustaceans, page 9C4- 3
Collections were made from three sites in Port Valdez in early spring of 1997, 46 sites
throughout Prince William Sound in June 1998, and from 23 sites in Prince William Sound,
Seward and Homer in 1999 (Ruiz and Hines 1997, Hines and Ruiz 1998) (Figure 9C4.1).
Twenty six sites were surveyed in Puget Sound, Washington in September 1998 (Cohen et al.
1998). San Francisco Bay was surveyed in early fall, late spring or summer of 1993, 1994, 1996
and 1997 at 25 regular sites plus several irregular sites (Cohen 1998, Cohen and Carlton 1995,
1997, 1998). The three systems are excellent for comparison because they have all received and
have been interconnected by significant aquaculture and shipping activities that are vectors of
NIS dispersal in at least the last century.
Figure 9C4.1. Prince William Sound, Alaska and south central Alaska rapid assessment sites with open boxes
indicating all 46 sampling sites of 1998, inset indicating the five port areas sampled in 1999 and the shaded boxes
indicating the eleven general sampling areas of the sound in 1999. (Latitudes longitudes and site descriptions are in
appendix table 9C4.5).
Each area was surveyed by the author in the same fashion. Survey samples were
collected by hand, scrapings, cores, or dredge as necessary to remove biological communities or
substratum from floats, intertidal pilings rocks and intertidal or shallow subtidal mudflats
accessible at each collection site. These samples were washed on an 0.5 mm mesh sieve directly
or decanted onto an 0.5 mm mesh sieve and washed following vigorous sloshing in buckets of