Does the slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicata, L.) impair oyster growth and zoobenthos biodiversity? A revisited hypothesis
Langue
EN
Article de revue
Ce document a été publié dans
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 1999-03-01, vol. 235, n° 1, p. 105-124
Résumé en anglais
The Prosobranch Gastropod Crepidula fornicata was introduced into Great Britain at the end of the 19th century from North America, upon imported oysters Crassostrea virginica. Since then, it has invaded sheltered coasts ...Lire la suite >
The Prosobranch Gastropod Crepidula fornicata was introduced into Great Britain at the end of the 19th century from North America, upon imported oysters Crassostrea virginica. Since then, it has invaded sheltered coasts of the North West Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. C. fornicata proliferation has often generated social conflicts due to three main causes: (1) trophic competition with other suspension feeders, e.g. the cultivated oyster Crassostrea gigas; (2) spatial competition with macrozoobenthos; and (3) enhancement of silt and clay sedimentation. The effects of C. fornicata on C. gigas growth and on macrozoobenthic density and diversity have been documented through field experiments in an oyster park of Arcachon Bay (France). Densities of C. gigas and biomass of C. fornicata were manipulated over a period of 247 days within field enclosures at low water level to test: (1) oyster growth, condition index and mortality; (2) zoobenthic community alterations (abundance, biomass, species richness). From this small-scale experiment, it was shown that none of these investigated parameters was significantly affected by the presence of C. fornicata. However, faunal assemblages were modified in enclosures compared to external bare sands, due to adding a hard substrata over a soft sediment.< Réduire