New crustacean invaders in the Schelde estuary (Belgium)
Soors, J.; Faasse, M.; Stevens, M.; Verbessem, I.; De Regge, N.; Van den Bergh, E. (2010). New crustacean invaders in the Schelde estuary (Belgium). Belg. J. Zool. 140(1): 3-10 In: Belgian Journal of Zoology. Koninklijke Belgische Vereniging voor Dierkunde = Société royale zoologique de Belgique: Gent. ISSN 0777-6276; e-ISSN 2295-0451, more | |
Keywords | Organisms > Invasive species Hemigrapsus takanoi Asakura & Watanabe, 2005 [WoRMS]; Palaemon macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 [WoRMS]; Synidotea laevidorsalis (Miers, 1881) [WoRMS] Brackish water | Author keywords | Schelde estuary; Synidotea laevidorsalis; Hemigrapsus takanoi; Palaemonmacrodactylus; invasive species |
Abstract | This paper reports on the first records of three non-indigenous crustacean species in the Zeeschelde estuary (Belgium). All three species are native to the Western Pacific Ocean and are probably transported in ballast water or hull fouling. The isopod Synidotea laevidorsalis has been recorded earlier in Europe from two locations, in the south of France and in Spain. The present records constitute a range extension of more than 1000 kilometres to the north. The crab Hemigrapsus takanoi and the prawn Palaemon macrodactylus were found for the first time in the brackish reaches of the Schelde estuary. The finding of these species demonstrates the vulnerability of the estuarine system to the invasion of exotic species. |
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