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CHIMP Fights Bioinvaders By Peter Hanlon, Massachusetts Bays Program When you were a kid, you were the one who liked to turn over rocks in the back yard just to see what lurked underneath. While other kids recoiled at the site of an odd insect or wiggling worm, you said, "Oh yeah, my mission is to identify that." Now imagine these many years later that your curiosity in all things hidden is about to lead you on an honest-to-goodness search for critters called "bioinvaders." Can your day get any better? First, don't be distracted by the primate acronym - CHIMP stands for the Coastal Habitat Invasive Monitoring Program, a program developed in 2003 by Salem Sound Coastwatch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the environment of the Salem Sound watershed. These "coastal habitat invaders" are considered one of the leading environmental and economic threats to Salem Sound. Invasive species, or "bioinvaders," often have a profound, adverse effect on marine ecosystems. Non-native species that are introduced to coastal waters, such as the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) can prey on commercially valuable shellfish, while other invaders get their kicks chewing up piers and pilings, clogging pipes, damaging fisheries, and causing public health problems. Along the coast of Massachusetts, scientists have witnessed these invasions and their effects. A 2003 assessment of marine invasive species along the Northeast U.S. coastline that included a site visit in Salem Harbor confirmed that invasives are invading our waterways (see "There Goes the Neighborhood," Coastlines, Winter 2004-2005 for more information). But as valuable as it is to have professional scientists searching for the presence of marine invasive species, a small number of experts could never keep an eye on the entire coastline on a consistent basis. That's where the CHIMP steps in. Scientists from Salem Sound Coastwatch and its partner organizations and agencies provide an ongoing training program providing CHIMP volunteers with both classroom and field training. These trainings teach volunteers about the different ways that marine invasive species are introduced into local waters, and how to identify those species. Once armed with this information, volunteers take their knowledge into the field, making periodic visits to rocky shorelines, salt marsh creeks, tidepools, docks, or pilings to observe and record any sightings of marine invaders. To help volunteers identify invasive species while out in the field, Salem Sound Coastwatch and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) have developed a set of identification cards with photos, detailed line drawings, background information, written descriptions, and clues to identification for each species (see What The *&^%?!). CHIMP volunteers look for new invasive species, and also help track the spread of known invaders throughout the region. The program is one of a small number of organized marine invasive species monitoring efforts along the coast of Massachusetts, and the information it collects is entered into an online marine invasive species database (www.marineID.org). Both the database and the CHIMP are part of a marine invasive species monitoring network being created by CZM and its partners, including Salem Sound Coastwatch and the Massachusetts Bays Program. The baseline information collected through this expanding network is essential for coastal resource experts to develop policies and plans to deal with the spread of known marine invasive species, as well as the introduction of potentially harmful new species. So for those of you who are excited by getting up close and personal with tide pools, salt marshes, or even the underside of the dock at your local marina, all in the name of helping to protect our coastal waters, Salem Sound Coastwatch has a job for you. Get in touch with them at (978) 741-7900, or learn more at www.salemsound.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Boston, MA 02114