Is long-distance dispersal of talitrids (Amphipoda) in the North Atlantic feasible?

Three talitrid species were found on both northwestern and northeastern Atlantic coastal regions: Orchestia gammarellus , Platorchestia platensis and P. monodi . We used the predictive surface drifter model Adrift.org.au to determine the feasibility of long-distance dispersal in either direction acr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crustaceana
Main Authors: Wildish, David J., Chang, Blythe D.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Brill 2017
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003636
https://brill.com/view/journals/cr/90/2/article-p207_6.xml
https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/cr/90/2/article-p207_6.xml
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Summary:Three talitrid species were found on both northwestern and northeastern Atlantic coastal regions: Orchestia gammarellus , Platorchestia platensis and P. monodi . We used the predictive surface drifter model Adrift.org.au to determine the feasibility of long-distance dispersal in either direction across the North Atlantic. Driftwood was the only rafting platform which could support talitrids, such as Platorchestia but not Orchestia , for long enough to survive a North Atlantic crossing. It is feasible that both Platorchestia platensis and P. monodi , physiologically adapted to a driftwood dispersal platform, could undertake rafting from west to east, but not from east to west. We cannot exclude the possibility of synanthropic dispersal for Platorchestia sp., which remains a viable alternative hypothesis.