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Rapid colonization of new habitats in the Wadden Sea by the ovoviviparousLittorina saxatilis (Olivi)

Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 52, pages 325–335 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The intertidal periwinkleLittorina saxatilis completely lacks larval dispersal and adult vagility is low. Although this suggests a low dispersal rate,L. saxatilis is frequently found in recently established habitats “exotic” to the Wadden Sea. Populations occur on man-made structures like dikes, breakwater and groynes, some of which are not older than several years. Furthermore,L. saxatilis is found on marsh grassSpartina anglica, introduced to the Wadden Sea in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as on mats of green macroalgae, which have become an abundant feature on the tidal flats since the late 1970s. Seagrass beds are likely to be the original habitat ofL. saxatilis in the Wadden Sea. Since seagrass populations have dramatically declined over the last decades, colonization of new habitat types enabledL. saxatilis to maintain its Wadden Sea populations despite a changing environment. Colonizers can reach new habitats by means of passive transport, especially by rafting on macrophytes and by aerial dispersal attached to birds. In thew Wadden Sea, the ovoviviparously reproducingL. saxatilis has demonstrated its ability to successfully found new populations with only a few individuals. No reduction of genetic variablility (founder effect) was observed in recently established populations.

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    U. Wilhelmsen

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Wilhelmsen, U. Rapid colonization of new habitats in the Wadden Sea by the ovoviviparousLittorina saxatilis (Olivi). Helgolander Meeresunters 52, 325–335 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02908906

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Helgoland Marine Research

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