Dynamics and processes influencing recruitment of the invasive mussel Xenostrobus securis and the coexisting indigenous Mytilus galloprovincialis in north-western Spain

Agar Montes,Elsa Vázquez,Laura Peteiro,Celia Olabarria

doi:10.3391/ai.2021.16.3.02

Abstract

24 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables.-- This is an open access article distributed under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

Highlights

Recruitment of benthic invertebrates in coastal areas is spatially and temporally variable, with large differences in cohorts of diverse species on intertidal rocky shores (Roughgarden et al 1985; Scrosati and Ellrich 2016) and on artificial substrates (Smith 2010)
The results of the settlement and recruitment time-series revealed inverse distribution patterns for X. securis and M. galloprovincialis in the Ría de Vigo, which were closely linked to the distributions of adult populations (Gestoso et al 2012; Montes et al 2018)
X. securis populations were almost entirely restricted to the San Simón basin in the inner part of the Ría de Vigo, and populations of M. galloprovincialis were mainly found

Summary

Introduction

Recruitment of benthic invertebrates in coastal areas is spatially and temporally variable, with large differences (by orders of magnitude) in cohorts of diverse species on intertidal rocky shores (Roughgarden et al 1985; Scrosati and Ellrich 2016) and on artificial substrates (Smith 2010). This variability strongly influences population dynamics and community. The spread and impact of invasive species, an ecologically and economically important phenomenon, depends on recruitment (Grosholz 1996). Post-recruitment mortality may be even higher (Gosselin and Qian 1997) often leading to benthic-pelagic decoupling (Hunt and Scheibling 1997) and changes in the size of populations, with further implications for community structure and functioning (Connell 1985; Pineda et al 2010)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion