Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T17:08:49.518Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Spread of Elminius Modestus Darwin In North-West Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

D. J. Crisp
Affiliation:
Marine Biology StationUniversity College of North Wales

Extract

Material collected prior to 1940 indicates that Elminius modestus was not present on British coasts at that time.

Elminius increased in abundance in south-east England from 1946 to 1950 and extended its range as far as the Humber, where it halted.

Its advance westwards along the south coast was similarly halted at Portland, but by 1948 independent colonies had been established in several of the river systems of Devon and Cornwall, in Milford Haven, and in the Bristol Channel.

The first populations in the Irish Sea were in Morecambe Bay. From there Elminius spread rapidly south and west along the north coast of Wales, and more slowly north and west towards Galloway, eventually bridging the sea to the Isle of Man.

Detailed observations showed that Elminius advanced along the uniformly favourable north coast of Wales as a definite front moving at a rate of approximately 20–30 km per year. Around Anglesey where tidal currents were stronger it appeared simultaneously in many scattered centres.

A distinction is drawn between marginal dispersal taking place under the influence of normal agencies at the boundary of an existing population, and remote dispersal due to an artificial or freak transport over a long distance. In the case of Elminius the maximum distance that is likely to be bridged by marginal dispersal in the absence of strong residual drifts is about 30 miles.

Elminius probably first appeared near Southampton, and was introduced into the Thames estuary area probably by remote dispersal. Thence it spread along the east coast and was transported to Holland. Its extension into south Devon, the Bristol Channel, the Irish Sea, and to the French coast must also be attributed to remote dispersal.

The main ecological effects of Elminius result from competition for space with Balanus balanoides. Since Elminius breeds in summer, its dominance has a profound effect on the composition of the summer plankton, greatly increasing the number of barnacle nauplii, presumably at the expense of other larvae.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1958

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnes, H. & Powell, H. T. 1953. The growth of Balanus balanoides (L.) and B. crenatus Brag, under varying conditions of submersion. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 32, pp. 107–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, H. & Crisp, D. J. 1956. Evidence for self fertilization in certan species of barnacles. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 35, pp. 631–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bassindale, R. 1947. Zoological notes.Elminius at Blue Anchor and Cardiff. Proc. Bristol Nat. Soc, Vol. 27, pp. 223–4.Google Scholar
Beard, D. M. 1957. Occurrence of Elminius modestus Darwin in Ireland. Nature, Lond., Vol. 180, p. 1145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, M. W. H. 1947. Establishment of an immigrant barnacle in British waters. Nature, Lond., Vol. 159, p. 501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, M. W. H. 1954. Elminius modestus in France. Nature, Lond., Vol. 173, p. 1145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, M. W. H. & Crisp, D. J. 1958. The distribution of Elminius modestus Darwin in France (in the Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boschma, H. 1948. Elminius modestus in the Netherlands. Nature, Lond., Vol. 161, pp. 403–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, H. O. 1950. Personal communication.Google Scholar
Carruthers, J. M. 1930. Further investigations upon the water movements in the English Channel. Drift bottle experiments in the summers of 1927, 1928 and 1929, with critical notes on drift bottle experiments in general. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 17, pp. 241–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connell, J. H. 1955. Elminius modestus Darwin, a northward extension of range. Nature, Lond., Vol. 175, p. 954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, D. J. 1954. The breeding of Balanus porcatus (Da Costa) in the Irish Sea. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 33, pp. 473–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, D. J. 1958. A further extension of Elminius modestus on the west coast of France (in the Press).Google Scholar
Crisp, D. J. & Chipperfield, P. N. J. 1948. Occurrence of Elminius modestus Darwin in British waters. Nature, Lond., Vol. 161, p. 64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, D. J. & Davies, P. A. 1955. Observations in vivo on the breeding of Elminius modestus grown on glass slides. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 34, pp. 357–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, D. J. & Knight-Jones, E. W. 1955. Discontinuities in the distribution of shore animals in North Wales. Rep. Bardsey Observatory, year 1954, pp. 2934.Google Scholar
Crisp, D. J. & Molesworth, A. H. N. 1950. Habitat of Balanus amphitrite var. denticulata in Britain. Nature, Lond. Vol. 167, p. 489.Google Scholar
Crisp, D. J. & Southward, A. J. 1953. Isolation of intertidal animals by sea barriers. Nature, Lond., Vol. 172, p. 208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Den Hartog, C. 1953. Immigration, dissemination, and ecology of Elminius modestus Darwin in the North Sea, especially along the Dutch Coast. Beaufortia, Vol. 4, pp. 920.Google Scholar
Den Hartog, C. 1956. Speculations on the immigration of the barnacle Elminius modestus in France. Beaufortia, Vol. 5, pp. 141–2.Google Scholar
Edgell, J. 1943. North Sea Currents. London: Admiralty Hydrographic Department.Google Scholar
Fischer-Piette, E. & Prenant, M. 1956. Distribution des Cirripèdes intercotidaux d'Espagne septentrionale. Bull. Cent. Rech. sci. Biarritz, T. 1, pp. 719.Google Scholar
Fischer-Piette, E. & Prenant, M. 1957. Quelques données écologiques sur les Cirripèdes du Portugal, de l'Espagne du Sud et du Nord du Maroc. Bull. Cent. Rech. sci. Biarritz, T. 1, pp. 361–8.Google Scholar
Johnson, M. W. 1939. The correlation of water movements and dispersal of pelagic larval stages of certain littoral animals, especially the sand crab Emerita. J. mar. Res. Vol. 2, pp. 236–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, L. W. G. & Crisp, D. J. 1954. The larval stages of the barnacle Balanus improvisus Darwin. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., Vol. 123, pp. 765–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight-Jones, E. W. 1948. Elminius modestus: Another imported pest of east coast oyster beds. Nature, Lond., Vol. 161, p. 201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight-Jones, E. W. 1952. Reproduction of oysters in the Rivers Crouch and Roach, Essex, during 1947, 1948 and 1949. Fish. Invest. Lond., Ser. 2, Vol. 18, No. 2, 48 pp.Google Scholar
Knight-Jones, E. W. 1953. Laboratory experiments on gregariousness during setting in Balanus balanoides and other barnacles. J. exp. Biol Vol. 30, pp. 584–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight-Jones, E. W. & Crisp, D. J. 1953. Gregariousness in barnacles in relation to the fouling of ships and anti-fouling research. Nature, Lond., Vol. 171, pp. 1109–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight-Jones, E. W. & Stevenson, J. P. 1950. Gregariousness during settlement in the barnacle Elminius modestus Darwin. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 29, pp 281–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kühl, H. Von 1954. Über des Aufreten von Elminius modestus Darwin in der Elbmündung. Wiss. Meeresuntersuch, Abt. Helgoland, Bd. 5, pp. 53–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leloup, E. & Lefèvre, S. 1952. Sur la presence dans les eaux de la côte beige du Cirripède, Elminius modestus Darwin. Bull. Inst. Sci. nat. Belg., T. 28, pp. 16.Google Scholar
Meulen, H. Van Der 1946. Het. Zeepaard, T. 7, Nos. 6–7.Google Scholar
Moore, L. B. 1944. Some intertidal sessile barnacles of New Zealand. Trans. roy. Soc., N.Z., Vol. 73, pp. 315–34.Google Scholar
Purchon, R. D. 1947. Studies on the biology of the Bristol Channel. Proc. Bristol Nat. Soc. Vol. 27, pp. 285310.Google Scholar
Skellam, J. G. 1955. The mathematical approach to population dynamics, in The Numbers of Man and Animals. London: Institute of Biology Publication, Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar
Southward, A. J. 1953. The ecology of some rocky shores in the south of the Isle of Man. Proc. Lpool biol. Soc. Vol. 59, pp. 149.Google Scholar
Southward, A. J. 1955a. Feeding of barnacles. Nature, Lond., Vol. 175, pp. 1124–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southward, A. J. 1955b. On the behaviour of barnacles. I. The relation of cirral and other activities to temperature. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 34, pp. 403–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southward, A. J. 1957. On the behaviour of barnacles. III. Further observations on the influence of temperature and age on cirral activity. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 36, pp. 32334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southward, A. J. & Crisp, D. J. 1952. Changes in the distribution of the intertidal barnacles in relation to the environment. Nature, Lond., Vol. 170, pp. 416–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southward, A. J. & Crisp, D. J. 1954. Recent changes in the distribution of the intertidal barnacles Chthamalus stellatus Poli and Balanus balanoides L. in the British Isles. J. Anim. Ecol. Vol. 23, pp. 163–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southward, A. J. & Crisp, D. J. 1956. Fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of intertidal barnacles. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 35, pp. 211–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steers, J. A. 1946. The Coastline of England and Wales. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stubbings, H. G. 1950. Earlier records of Elminius modestus Darwin in British waters. Nature, Lond., Vol. 166, pp. 277–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sverdrup, H. U.Johnson, M. W. & Fleming, R. H. 1942. The Oceans, their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology, Chapter 13. New York: Prentice Hall Inc.Google Scholar
Tait, J. B. 1938. Hydrography in relation to Fisheries, being The Buckland Lectures for 1938. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
Thorson, G. 1950. Reproductive and larval ecology of marine bottom invertebrates. Biol. Rev. Vol. 25, pp. 145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, A. L. 1938. Some notes on the plankton of the Thames estuary. J. Anim. Ecol. Vol. 7, pp. 105–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williamson, D. I. 1956. Irish Sea plankton in 1951 and 1952. Bull. mar. Ecol. Vol. 4, pp. 87114.Google Scholar