Elizabeth J Cottier-Cook

Scottish Association for Marine Science · Ecology/ Education

Cottier-Cook, E.J., Nagabhatla, N., Asri, A., Beveridge, M., Bianchi, P., Bolton, J., Bondad-Reantaso, M.G., Brodie, J., Buschmann, A., Cabarubias, J., Campbell, I., Chopin, T., Critchley, A., De Lombaerde, P., Doumeizel, V., Gachon, C.M.M., Hayashi, L., Hewitt, C.L., Huang, J., Hurtado, A.Q., Kambey, C., Kim, G.H., Le Masson, V., Lim, P.E., Liu, T...

A decline in seaweed production in Tanzania is attributed to a rising prevalence of pathogens that have subsequently reduced the quantity and commercial value of the crop. This constraint has led to severe socio-economic implications for the seaweed industry, threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farmers. Despite the growing demands f...

This study evaluated on-farm implementation and effectiveness of Malaysian seaweed aquaculture policies and regulations that applied the biosecurity concept. The knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) survey tool was utilised to assess the effectiveness of the biosecurity measures adopted by seaweed stakeholders, including 67 seaweed farmers and ten gov...

Marine invasive non-native species (NNS) are one of the greatest threats to global marine biodiversity, causing significant economic and social impacts. Marinas are increasingly recognised as key reservoirs for invasive NNS. They provide submersed artificial habitat that unintentionally supports the establishment of NNS introduced from visiting rec...

Knowledge of biofouling typical of marine structures is essential for engineers to define appropriate loading criteria in addition to informing other stakeholders about the ecological implications of creating novel artificial environments. There is a lack of information regarding biofouling community composition (including weight and density charac...

Glacial retreat at high latitudes is exposing new coastlines where mariculture might help satisfy demand for protein and provide economic opportunities for a locally expanding human population. Scottish sea-farming takes place along a previously glaciated coast. Based on experience here, we propose a general framework for sustainable mariculture ba...

The Dodecanese region has a high prevalence of marine alien species due to its close proximity to the Suez Canal and associated Suez shipping lanes, as well as its location at biogeographical border between sub-tropical and tropical biota. This region is therefore very important for the early detection of alien species entering the Mediterranean Se...

The European Union Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (IAS) establishes an EU-wide framework for action to prevent, minimise and mitigate the adverse impacts of IAS on biodiversity and centres around the development of a list of IAS of EU Concern. The initial list of IAS of EU concern will be based on available risk assessments com...

The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world – during the last year 17,148 ships passed through the Canal – reducing emissions, saving time, and operating costs to shippers. The rapid increase in ship size from the " Post-Suezmax " (> 12,000 TEU) to the latest container vessels (> 19,000 TEU) now requires enlargements of port...

Assessment of the ecological and economic/societal impacts of the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) is one of the primary focus areas of bioinvasion science in terrestrial and aquatic environments, and is considered essential to management. A classification system of NIS, based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts, was recentl...

In this study, we compiled existing records of fouling marine non-native species in Scotland, and created a national checklist of these species. We then targeted a selection of these species (excluding those that could not be reliably identified) in a rapid assessment survey of 27 harbours in the north of Scotland. Collation of existing records rev...

In this study, we compiled existing records of fouling marine non-native species in Scotland, and created a national checklist of these species. We then targeted a selection of these species (excluding those that could not be reliably identified) in a rapid assessment survey of 27 harbours in the north of Scotland. Collation of existing records rev...

''Egypt to build new Suez canal… 'This giant project will be the creation of a new Suez canal parallel to the current channel' said Mohab Mamish, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, in a televised speech.''-build-new-suez-canal, viewed August 13, 2014). This is ominous news. Expected to double the capacity of the Suez Canal, the expansion is...

Invasive alien species ( IAS ) are considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, particularly through their interactions with other drivers of change. Horizon scanning, the systematic examination of future potential threats and opportunities, leading to prioritization of IAS threats is seen as an essential component of IAS management. Our...

Table S1. The highest-risk future alien invasive species in Great Britain (based on their likelihood of arrival, establishment and impact on native biodiversity over the next 10 years) derived from consensus-building among experts. Dreissena bugensis was unanimously considered to be the highest ranking species. The others are ranked equally within...

Table S2. Species ranked as posing a medium risk (ranked equally within 31–93) with respect to likelihood of arriving, establishing and having an impact on native biodiversity in Britain over the next 10 years.

Many studies into the responses of early life-stages to ocean acidification utilise offspring obtained from parents reared under present-day conditions. Their offspring are directly introduced to altered-pH conditions. This study determined whether this approach is suitable by pre-exposing parent sea urchins (Psammechinus miliaris) to altered seawa...

Many early life-stage response studies to ocean acidification utilize gametes/offspring obtained from ambient-sourced parents, which are then directly introduced to experimentally altered seawater pH. This approach may produce a stress response potentially impacting development and survival. Hence, this study determined whether this approach is sui...

Psammechinus miliaris occurs in a diverse range of habitats, frequently at high densities, particularly in shallow or littoral locations. There is now a significant body of literature examining its reproduction, diet and trophic ecology, as well as the way in which these interactions are reflected in its gonad biochemistry. Hence, the species lends...

Increasing concerns over global climate change and sustainable fuel procurement are driving the search for new ways to derive energy from the seas. Globally, the offshore wind energy sector has progressed rapidly, and wave and tidal-current energy converters are now approaching deployment at commercial scales. To date, most studies of the ecologica...

The invasive bryozoan, Tricellaria inopinata d'Hondt & Occhipinti Ambrogi, 1985 was first recorded in European waters in the early 1980's and has since been reported from 166 locations from the Mediterranean Sea to the north-east Atlantic coastline. This species is typically associated with human activity, including commercial and recreational vess...

Ninety alien species have been identified from British marine and brackish environments; of which 58 are established. Their arrival has been principally due to shipping and imported consignments of cultured species. The majority of alien species were initially reported from the English Channel, with many subsequently spreading northwards to the Nor...

The trophic interactions of sea urchins are known to be the agents of phase shifts in benthic marine habitats such as tropical and temperate reefs. In temperate reefs, the grazing activity of sea urchins has been responsible for the destruction of kelp forests and the formation of 'urchin barrens', a rocky habitat dominated by crustose algae and en...

Sediment biogeochemical processes weremeasured on a transect of 4 stations FF 20W, 40W and 80W (number is metres from the fish farm, FF, to the west) at the Ardag gilthead seabream Sparus aurata farm in the Gulf of Aqaba, a highly oligotrophic system renowned for its clear water and diverse corals. At each station samples were taken for analysis of...

Marine aliens are non-native species that have been transported across major geographi-cal barriers by human activities, involving vectors that move propagules along pathways. Species may also be newly observed in a geographical area due to range shifts, generally in association with climate change. Artificial structures are considered to be either...

Marine aquaculture relies on coastal habitats that will be affected by climate change. This review assesses current knowledge of the threats and opportunities of climate change for aquaculture in the UK and Ireland, focusing on the most commonly farmed species, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). There is sparse eviden...

Macroalgae play a major role in the carbon cycle of coastal ecosystems. A significant proportion of this production is consumed in situ, representing a major pool of carbon whose ultimate fate is poorly understood. In a controlled laboratory study using fatty acid analysis, the transformation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) was...

Our oceans have become progressively more acidic over recent decades, yet we still know little about how this will affect marine biota. To survive, organisms must acclimate and adapt. Surprisingly no studies have investigated this beyond focussing on limited parts of the life-cycle and without pre-exposing parents to reduced pH conditions. Using ec...

Successful invasion must be viewed as the result of a unique sequence of events, with the established species overcoming a number of previously prohibitive obstacles, for example lack of dispersal vectors, habitat characteristics and environmental conditions of the new area, and the ability to persist in interspecific interactions in the new commun...

Information on the life history and population dynamics of non-native species is essential to understand the process of invasion and impacts on invaded ecosystems. The non-native marine caprellid amphipod Caprella mutica has successfully established populations on coastlines throughout the temperate northern hemisphere and in New Zealand in the sou...

Competition plays an important role in invasion dynamics. According to Elton's biodiversity and invasibility hypothesis, non-native species must be competitively superior to the resident species in order to successfully invade. An invader that is ecologically similar to a native species may cause intense interspecific competition as they both requi...

The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus was grown on commercial mussel long-lines with the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, at a farm in Loch Beag, on the west coast of Scotland, to investigate if enhanced sea urchin survivorship and performance (somatic and gonadal) resulted from sea urchin-mussel co-culture system. The sea urchins were fed four diets in...

This review examines interregional linkages and gives an overview perspective oil marine ecosystem functioning in the north-eastern Atlantic. It is based on three of the 'systems' considered by the European Network of Excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis (EUR-OCEANS was established in 2004 under the European Framework VI funding programme to pr...

The invasive caprellid amphipod Caprella mutica is one of the most widely dispersed marine non-native species globally. Originating in sub-boreal north-east Asia, it has now been found in both the northern and the southern hemispheres. One potential reason why this species is such a successful invader is its ability to utilise a wide variety of foo...

Shellfish aquaculture is a growing industry in Scotland, dominated by the production of the mussel Mytilus edulis, the native species. Recently the discovery of Mytilus galloprovincialis and Mytilus trossulus together with M. edulis and all 3 hybrids in cultivation in some Scottish sea lochs led to questions regarding the distribution of mussel spe...

Caprella mutica (Crustacea, Amphipoda) has been widely introduced to non-native regions in the last 40 years. Its native habitat is sub-boreal northeast Asia, but in the Northern Hemisphere, it is now found on both coasts of North America, and North Atlantic coastlines of Europe. Direct sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit...

This chapter describes the ecology of Psammechinus miliaris (P. miliaris). It occurs in a diverse range of habitats, frequently at high densities, particularly in shallow or littoral locations. The chapter discusses the omnivory of P. miliaris and presents an examination of the fatty acid profile of the gonad tissue to support the observation that...

Aquaculture is undergoing a rapid worldwide expansion. Of significant concern is the increasing use of non-native species, with subsequent escapes of these species and their associated pathogens and parasites posing a serious threat to native biodiversity, economic value and ecosystem function, particularly in regions rich in endemic species. The c...

The elevated accumulation of certain essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) during reproductive maturation can place a significant demand on lipid metabolism. As lipid metabolism is closely linked with protein metabolism, protein intake during maturation may significantly influence transport proteins and enzyme activity which is re...

Survivorship and performance was investigated for two size classes of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus grown adjacent to open-water Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) cultivation on the north-west coast of Scotland. Juvenile P. lividus were maintained for 12 months at 0 m, 50 m and 2.5 km from the mariculture activity. The sea urchins at the 0 m sta...

The invasive alga Sargassum muticum has recently been reported in the Firth of Lorn, west coast of Scotland. This represents the first sighting of the species north of the Kintyre Peninsula, a land barrier that had been expected to slow the northwards spread of S. muticum. This paper presents a thorough review of literature concerning the dispersal...

The amphipod Caprella mutica is one of the most rapidly invading species in Europe and has extended its range throughout North Sea and Celtic Sea coasts and the English Channel in less than fourteen years. It was first described from sub-boreal areas of north-east Asia in 1935 and has since spread to both northern and southern hemispheres. The firs...

Caprella mutica Schurin is an epifaunal amphipod crustacean which originates in north-east Asia and has spread throughout the world, yet very little is known about fundamental aspects of this species biology. This paper examined the survivorship of C. mutica reared under laboratory conditions at 13–14 °C, 14 h light: 10 h dark photoperiod and fed c...

Caprella mutica Schurin, 1935 was first described from sub-boreal areas of north–east Asia. In less than 40 years C. mutica has spread throughout the northern hemisphere and the first recorded sighting in the southern hemisphere is reported here. Caprella mutica has been introduced to temperate oceanic coasts between latitudes of 25 and 70 °N. Outs...

Physiological tolerances limit the distribution of marine species, with geographical ranges being set by environmental factors, such as temperature and salinity, which affect the rates of vital processes and survival of marine ectotherms. The physiological tolerances of the non-native marine amphipod Caprella mutica were investigated in laboratory...

The sea urchins Psammechinus miliaris and Paracentrotus lividus were fed three macroalgal diets with varying protein content over a 90-day period. These diets were the red alga Palmaria palmata, which had been grown in seawater enriched with two levels of ammonia-N and contained a protein content of either 41% (High-N) or 32% (Low-N) and the brown...

This study investigated the growth and fatty acid composition of the sea urchin larvae Psammechinus miliaris fed on four types of diets: the microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta, two types of microencapsulated formulated feed (L and F) and a concentrated algal paste. The fastest growth rate was obtained from D. tertiolecta, but there was no significan...

This study investigated the growth and fatty acid composition of the sea urchin larvae Paracentrotus lividus fed on four types of diets: the microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta, two types of microencapsulated formulated feeds and a concentrated algal paste. The larvae were successfully raised to metamorphosis on three diets, including the microalgae...

The development of fouling communities was assessed to investigate the influence of caged mariculture on sublittoral epibiota. Artificial structures were deployed within 10 in of caged mariculture and at a "reference" location between 150 and 500 ill of the study site at four coastal locations (Oban, Scotland; Sitia, Crete; Piran, Slovenia; and Eil...

The pollution effects of cage aquaculture represent an external cost to society, and the challenge for environmental economists has been to estimate the magnitude of these costs and to suggest ways in which they can be mitigated or 'internalised'. One possible mitigation strategy involves the development of integrated production systems based on po...

To determine the importance of recreational boating as a vector for distributing marine organisms, including non-native species, the extent of hull fouling species on recreational yachts in Scotland was assessed. In August 2006, up to 100 yachts in each of the ten largest marinas in Scotland were ranked using a fouling index. 23 yacht owners were a...

In August 2006, the ten largest marinas in Scotland were surveyed for the presence of seven non-native species, known to occur at other locations within the UK: the crustaceans Caprella mutica and Eriocheir sinensis, ascidians Perophora japonica and Styela clava, the green alga Codium fragile subsp. tomentosoides, and brown algae Sargassum muticum...

Sayer MDJ, Cook EJ, Wilson CM, Barrington J. Analysing dive-computer profile integrations from incidents of suspected and actual decompression illness using cumulative nitrogen loading. SPUMS J. 2005; 35: 59-66.) The depth/time data derived from the dive computers of 48 divers presenting with actual or suspected decompression illness at the Dunstaf...

Man-made structures deployed either deliberately or accidentally into the sea are subject to levels of biofouling. The resultant communities are usually dominated by sessile marine invertebrates that tend to utilize suspension-feeding for nutritional gain from the water column. Not all suspension-feeders are filtration-feeders but in general terms...

A large caprellid amphipod recently discovered at a salmon farm in the Lynne of Lorne near Oban, Scotland, has been identified as Caprella mutica, a species indigenous to north-east Asia. The caprellid population appears to have become established in the last four years at the site with a high abundance of animals occurring year round on the farm n...

This chapter elaborates about Psammechinus miliaris that occurs in a diverse range of habitats, frequently at high densities, particularly in shallow or littoral locations. Its omnivory is well documented. The grazing activity of Psammechinus miliaris has a profound impact on the biodiversity and distribution of subtidal and intertidal entrusting i...

The fatty acid compositions of gonadal material was examined for the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris (Gmelin) held in aquaria and fed either salmon feed pellets or the macroalga, Laminaria saccharina for 18 months. Gonadal material was also examined from P. miliaris collected from four field sites, including commercial scallop lines encrusted with...

The effect on somatic growth of a commercially manufactured diet (salmon feed) compared to a macroalgal diet (Ulva lactuca or Laminaria saccharina) was studied for three stages in the life history of the green sea urchin, Psammechinus miliaris (Gmelin). Three size classes were studied; 0.89 to 1.1 mm, 15.3 to 15.8 mm and 21.3 to 21.7 mm. The effect...

SUMMARY - A significant proportion of mariculture is undertaken in Europe under intensive farming conditions in open cage culture. Wastes are dispersed from cage farms in terms of particulate organic carbon and nutrients, dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nutrients. These enrich the surrounding ecosystem and may lead to a stimulation of both p...