Author: Witte Sophia
Publisher: Springer Publishing Company
ISSN: 1387-3547
Source: Biological Invasions, Vol.12, Iss.10, 2010-10, pp. : 3579-3589
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Abstract
Invading alien species may have to await appropriate conditions before developing from a rare addition to the recipient community to a dominance over native species. Such a retarded invasion seems to have happened with the antipodean cirripede crustacean Austrominius</i> modestus</i> Darwin, formerly known as Elminius modestus</i>, at its northern range in Europe due to climatic change. This barnacle was introduced to southern Britain almost seven decades ago, and from there spread north and south. At the island of Sylt in the North Sea, the first A. modestus</i> were observed already in 1955 but this alien remained rare until recently, when in summer of 2007 it had overtaken the native barnacles Semibalanus balanoides</i> and Balanus crenatus</i> in abundance. At the sedimentary shores of Sylt, mollusc shells provide the main substrate for barnacles and highest abundances were attained on mixed oyster and mussel beds just above low tide level. A. modestus</i> ranged from the upper intertidal down to the subtidal fringe. Its realized spatial niche was wider than that of the two natives. We suggest that at its current northern range in Europe a long series of mild winters and several warm summers in a row has led to an exponential population growth in A. modestus</i>.
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