Creature from the Ria de Aveiro Lagoon. Did I just catch an alien species?
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1
Portuguese Institute of Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA), Portugal
The present communication reports the occurrence of the alien soft-shell clam Mya arenaria (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon (NW Portugal). A total of 47 living specimens were collected in spring 2013 (April) and winter 2019 (January) in an intertidal mudflat located at the upstream end of Mira channel (400 32’ 23 N; 80 45’ 56 W). In this area, the soft-shell clam was able to maintain a well-established population in close coexistence with another endobenthic bivalve species, the native clam Scrobicularia plana.
The soft-shell clam Mya arenaria is native to the Atlantic coasts of North America and its probably the first marine invasive species recorded in European waters. Presumably, it was introduced in the North Sea by the Vikings in the 13th century (Peterson et al., 1992), from which it spread throughout its current distribution. At present, it is commonly found along the coasts of the North and the Baltic Seas, northern Adriatic Sea, the Black Sea, on all British and Irish coasts, France, Spain, Portugal and in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ability to survive in a wide range of habitats; the capacity to tolerate a broad set of environmental conditions at all life stages; the high fecundity levels; and the long-lived planktonic larval stage, have been proposed to explain the long-distance dispersal of this species and its success as an invader.
To our knowledge, there isn’t any scientific evidence reporting negative effects of Mya arenaria on Ria de Aveiro ecosystems. Nevertheless, some authors refer that this species has the capacity to change the surrounding environment through its burrowing, feeding and excretory activities, and it is capable to outcompete native bivalve species for space and food, reducing diversity, distribution and abundance of those species. For this reason, more research is needed to better evaluate and fully understand the long-term impacts of Mya arenaria on the native bivalve assemblages of Ria de Aveiro lagoon.
References
Petersen K.S., Rasmussen, K.L., Heinemeier, J., and Rud, N. (1992). Clams before Columbus? Nature, 359:679
Keywords:
Mya arenaria,
soft-shell clam,
alien species,
Invasions,
Ria de Aveiro lagoon,
Portugal
Conference:
XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) , Braga, Portugal, 9 Sep - 12 Sep, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Global Change, Invasive Species and Conservation
Citation:
Maia
FR
(2019). Creature from the Ria de Aveiro Lagoon. Did I just catch an alien species?.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00039
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Received:
06 Apr 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Francisco R Maia, Portuguese Institute of Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA), Lisbon, Portugal, maia.francisco@gmail.com