Abstract
Between 2004 and 2012, populations of Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) from the coastal waters of Zmiinyi Island (Black Sea) were assessed for distribution, abundance, size, and age characteristics. Compared to 2004–2005, the mussel bed cover in 2012 decreased by 75.6%, the maximum depth of occurrence reduced from 22–25 m to 10–12 m, and total biomass declined by 44.6%. There was a concurrent decrease in abundance of demersal fishes dependent upon mussels as prey. We concluded that the invasive rapa whelk has had a detrimental impact on this demersal ecosystem. The possible influence of the introduced ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi on the two mollusc’s populations has also been discussed.
Highlights
The veined or rapa whelk Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) is native to the East-Asian seas but has been unintentionally introduced into marine and brackish water areas world-wide (Ghisotti 1974; Harding and Man 1999; Kerckhof et al 2006; Carranza et al 2010)
The main prey of R. venosa in the Black Sea is the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) (Seyhan et al 2003); it has been blamed for major declines in abundance of this and other large-bodies species of bivalves in the Black Sea (Drapkin 1963; Chukhchin 1984; Zolotarev 1996)
There were, no significant correlations between variation in water-mass characteristics and biomass estimates of R. venosa and M. galloprovincialis
Summary
The veined or rapa whelk Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) is native to the East-Asian seas but has been unintentionally introduced into marine and brackish water areas world-wide (Ghisotti 1974; Harding and Man 1999; Kerckhof et al 2006; Carranza et al 2010). First reported in the Black Sea in 1947 (Drapkin 1953), R. venosa colonized the whole sea within 25 years, including a well-established population in the north-western Black Sea (NWBS) (Chukhchin 1984). The main prey of R. venosa in the Black Sea is the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) (Seyhan et al 2003); it has been blamed for major declines in abundance of this and other large-bodies species of bivalves in the Black Sea (Drapkin 1963; Chukhchin 1984; Zolotarev 1996). R. venosa is considered to be a dangerous alien species and a high priority for study on its effect on the ecosystem (Mann et al 2004)
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