First record of the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas (Thunberg, 1793) in the Baltic Sea proper

Abstract Since its introduction in the 1960’s for aquaculture, the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas (Thunberg, 1793) has successfully spread along almost all European coasts with far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems. Up to now, it has not been recorded from the Baltic Sea proper. This was c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMarine biodiversity records Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 1
Main Authors Ewers-Saucedo, Christine, Heuer, Nele, Moesges, Zoe, Ovenbeck, Kira, Schröter, Nicole, Brandis, Dirk
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Cambridge University Press 10.08.2020
Subjects
Aquaculture
Crassostrea gigas
Developmental stages
Environmental conditions
Larval development
Larval stage
Magallana gigas
Marine ecosystems
Marine molluscs
Morphology
Museums
New records
Oysters
Salinity
Shellfish
Species identification
Summer
Zoology
Wadden Sea
Baltic Sea
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Abstract Since its introduction in the 1960’s for aquaculture, the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas (Thunberg, 1793) has successfully spread along almost all European coasts with far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems. Up to now, it has not been recorded from the Baltic Sea proper. This was considered a consequence of the low salinity conditions, which are not suitable for larval development. Here we report our first records of Pacific oysters in the German Baltic Sea, specifically in the Kiel Bight. We confirmed their species identification by genetic barcoding. We suggest that Pacific oysters were able to settle in the Baltic Sea proper due to unusually high salinities that prevailed since the summer of 2018. Should these conditions occur more frequently in the future, or M. gigas be able to adapt to lower salinities, oysters may become established in the Baltic Sea proper.
ISSN:1755-2672
1755-2672
DOI:10.1186/s41200-020-00193-2