Coffin Box Bryozoan

Have you heard of our Clean Drain Dry program? It is a campaign that encourages boaters and anglers to Clean, Drain and Dry their gear before launching in a new body of water. By practicing CDD, you can help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, like Coffin Box Bryozoan.

Coffin Box Bryozoan is a marine organism that consists of tiny individual filter-feeding invertebrate animals. They are ‘coffin’ shaped and live in encrusting circular colonies of hundreds to thousands. The Coffin Box Bryozoan typically grows in shallow subtidal water with strong currents, to depths of up to 10 m. Colonies can grow on the surface of kelp and seaweeds, rocks, boat hulls, and other underwater surfaces. They are especially detrimental to kelp forests, which are otherwise known to be highly productive marine habitats. Coffin Box Bryozoan can starve kelp by absorbing nutrients, blocking light needed for photosynthesis, and reducing the kelps’ ability to release reproductive spores.

Coffin Box Bryozoan first appeared in Nova Scotia in the early 1990s. It spreads mostly in the larval phase when it can easily be picked up in ballast water. It has also been known to raft to new locations on dislodged kelp and drift plastic. To reduce the spread of Coffin Box Bryozoan, regularly clean and disinfect boats and boating gear. Avoid transporting water between locations.

Have you seen Coffin Box Bryozoan? Be sure to report your observation here on our iNaturalist project!

Visit our website for more information on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species: https://nsinvasives.ca/clean-drain-dry/

Posted on May 24, 2022 10:08 AM by jgilice1