Oceanographic Conditions Limit the Spread of a Marine Invader along Southern African Shores. | - CCMAR -

Journal Article

TitleOceanographic Conditions Limit the Spread of a Marine Invader along Southern African Shores.
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsAssis, J, Zupan, M, Nicastro, KR, Zardi, GI, McQuaid, CD, Serrão, EA
Year of Publication2015
JournalPLoS One
Volume10
Issue6
Date Published2015
Paginatione0128124
ISSN1932-6203
KeywordsAfrica, Southern, Animals, Biodiversity, Ecosystem, Introduced Species, Marine Biology, Models, Theoretical, Mytilus, Oceanography
Abstract

Invasive species can affect the function and structure of natural ecological communities, hence understanding and predicting their potential for spreading is a major ecological challenge. Once established in a new region, the spread of invasive species is largely controlled by their dispersal capacity, local environmental conditions and species interactions. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is native to the Mediterranean and is the most successful marine invader in southern Africa. Its distribution there has expanded rapidly and extensively since the 1970s, however, over the last decade its spread has ceased. In this study, we coupled broad scale field surveys, Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) and Lagrangian Particle Simulations (LPS) to assess the current invaded distribution of M. galloprovincialis in southern Africa and to evaluate what prevents further spread of this species. Results showed that all environmentally suitable habitats in southern Africa have been occupied by the species. This includes rocky shores between Rocky Point in Namibia and East London in South Africa (approx. 2800 km) and these limits coincide with the steep transitions between cool-temperate and subtropical-warmer climates, on both west and southeast African coasts. On the west coast, simulations of drifting larvae almost entirely followed the northward and offshore direction of the Benguela current, creating a clear dispersal barrier by advecting larvae away from the coast. On the southeast coast, nearshore currents give larvae the potential to move eastwards, against the prevalent Agulhas current and beyond the present distributional limit, however environmental conditions prevent the establishment of the species. The transition between the cooler and warmer water regimes is therefore the main factor limiting the northern spread on the southeast coast; however, biotic interactions with native fauna may also play an important role.

DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0128124
Sapientia

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26114766?dopt=Abstract

Alternate JournalPLoS ONE
PubMed ID26114766
PubMed Central IDPMC4482700