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Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the Tasmanian distribution and density of the introduced New Zealand porcelain crab Petrolisthes elongatus

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posted on 2017-12-06, 00:00 authored by L Gregory, Marnie Campbell, C Primo, Chad Hewitt
Petrolisthes elongatus (Milne-Edwards, 1837) was first introduced into southern Tasmania in the late 19th century putatively associated with live-oyster transfers from New Zealand. In the last century P. elongatus populations have expanded, inoculating rocky intertidal zones around Tasmania. We initially identified the scope of P. elongatus introduced range around Tasmania by visiting 57 sites to identify presence. Density of P. elongatus and populations of two native grapsid crab species was assessed at 12 sites around Tasmania to identify any biotic resistance. Abiotic factors including substrate availability and preference, and wave stress, were identified at each of the 57 sites. Our results indicate that P. elongatus as successfully invaded a large proportion of the southern and northern coasts of Tasmania, with a small number of sites on the east and none on the west coast supporting P. elongatus populations. Densities were found to be higher in southern Tasmania compared to the eastern and northern coastlines. Petrolisthes elongatus presence was found to be positively correlated with native grapsid crab presence, however, no statistically significant relationship was found between densities at scales of site or quadrat. Abiotic factors have been identified as the primary drivers of Petrolisthes distribution patterns.

History

Volume

7

Issue

4

Start Page

491

End Page

501

Number of Pages

11

eISSN

1818-5487

ISSN

1798-6540

Location

Helsinki, Finland

Publisher

Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC)

Language

en-aus

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • No

External Author Affiliations

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health; Not affiliated to a Research Institute; University of Tasmania;

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Journal

Aquatic invasions.

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