Invasion along the French Atlantic coast by the non-native, carnivorous planktonic comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi: can an impact on shellfish farming be expected?

Type Article
Date 2023-06
Language English
Author(s) Nowaczyk Antoine1, Vincent Dorothée2, Curd AmeliaORCID3, Antajan ElvireORCID4, Massé Cécile5
Affiliation(s) 1 : Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, UMR 5805, Station Marine d’Arcachon, 2 rue du professeur Jolyet, 33120 Arcachon, France
2 : Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB) – site de Brest, Direction Surveillance, Evaluation Données (DSUED), Service Évaluation Connaissances et Usages du Milieu Marin (ECUMM), espace Giraudeau, quai Tabarly, 29200, Brest, France
3 : DYNECO, Laboratory of Coastal Benthic Ecology, Ifremer - Centre de Bretagne, Plouzané, France
4 : Ifremer, Station d’Arcachon, quai du Commandant Silhouette,33120 Arcachon, France
5 : Service Patrimoine Naturel OFB-CNRS-MNHN, CP41, 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris, France
Source Bioinvasions Records (2242-1300) (REABIC), 2023-06 , Vol. 12 , N. 2 , P. 371-384
DOI 10.3391/bir.2023.12.2.02
WOS© Times Cited 2
Keyword(s) alien species, gelatinous plankton, invasion dynamics, ballast water
Abstract

The distribution range of the American comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi has expanded across Europe for several decades, particularly in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. This study aims to assess its expansion along the French Atlantic coast, mainly in the Bay of Biscay and Iroise Sea, since the first record in 2014. Mnemiopsis leidyi is now clearly established along 500 km of coastline, from the coast of Lorient to Arcachon Bay, which is the southernmost colonised area in the eastern Atlantic to date. It will likely colonise the Spanish Gulf coast in the near future through natural dispersal via currents, as has occurred between the Gironde estuary and Arcachon Bay. We quantify that this species now colonises nearly 45% of the French coastline. The invaded area includes the main estuaries of the Seine, Loire, Gironde and Rhône rivers, where M. leidyi populations may constitute reservoirs for colonising other harbours through merchant vessel traffic via ballast water. Finally, the Marennes- Oléron Bay and Arcachon Bay are the two main spat-producing regions for the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas in France. As M. leidyi consumes bivalve larvae, the potential economic and ecological impacts on this shellfish industry are discussed.

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Nowaczyk Antoine, Vincent Dorothée, Curd Amelia, Antajan Elvire, Massé Cécile (2023). Invasion along the French Atlantic coast by the non-native, carnivorous planktonic comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi: can an impact on shellfish farming be expected? Bioinvasions Records, 12(2), 371-384. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2023.12.2.02 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00827/93931/