Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island
Invasive species are a serious threat to biodiversity worldwide. The relatively simple ecological systems of the subantarctic have the potential to be significantly damaged by predatory species that invade. Two species of exotic, predatory, terrestrial flatworms were first collected in 1997 from two...
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ftanucanberra:oai:digitalcollections.anu.edu.au:1885/49708 2023-05-15T17:09:55+02:00 Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island Greenslade, Penelope Stevens, Mark I Edwards, Robert 2015-12-10T22:12:32Z http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49708 unknown Springer 0722-4060 http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49708 Polar Biology Keywords: flatworm invasive species range expansion species occurrence Australasia Australia Eurasia Europe Macquarie Island New Zealand Pacific islands Pacific Ocean Tasmania United Kingdom Western Europe Arthurdendyus Platyhelminthes Arthurdendyus vegrandis Distribution Earthworms Kontikia andersoni Predators Quarantine Journal article 2015 ftanucanberra 2015-12-21T23:30:34Z Invasive species are a serious threat to biodiversity worldwide. The relatively simple ecological systems of the subantarctic have the potential to be significantly damaged by predatory species that invade. Two species of exotic, predatory, terrestrial flatworms were first collected in 1997 from two localities only 2 km apart, in the southeast of subantarctic Macquarie Island. The species were later identified as Kontikia andersoni and Arthurdendyus vegrandis. We report here the results of fieldwork in 2004 that established that both species now occupy about a seventh of the southeast of the island which has a total area of only 170 km2 and that there seem to be no barriers to further expansion. The island was first discovered in 1810 and so it is likely the species were introduced by means of human intervention within the last 200 years. We provide evidence to show that both species originated in New Zealand and have probably been on the island for ∼years giving an average rate of spread of about 10 m per year. Other species of Arthurdendyus have been introduced from New Zealand to the United Kingdom where they prey on earthworms. The quarantine significance of A. vegrandis for Australia is discussed and recommendations made to reduce the probability of it entering Tasmania where it has the potential to become an agricultural pest. Article in Journal/Newspaper Macquarie Island Polar Biology Australian National University: ANU Digital Collections New Zealand Pacific |
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Australian National University: ANU Digital Collections |
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topic |
Keywords: flatworm invasive species range expansion species occurrence Australasia Australia Eurasia Europe Macquarie Island New Zealand Pacific islands Pacific Ocean Tasmania United Kingdom Western Europe Arthurdendyus Platyhelminthes Arthurdendyus vegrandis Distribution Earthworms Kontikia andersoni Predators Quarantine |
spellingShingle |
Keywords: flatworm invasive species range expansion species occurrence Australasia Australia Eurasia Europe Macquarie Island New Zealand Pacific islands Pacific Ocean Tasmania United Kingdom Western Europe Arthurdendyus Platyhelminthes Arthurdendyus vegrandis Distribution Earthworms Kontikia andersoni Predators Quarantine Greenslade, Penelope Stevens, Mark I Edwards, Robert Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
topic_facet |
Keywords: flatworm invasive species range expansion species occurrence Australasia Australia Eurasia Europe Macquarie Island New Zealand Pacific islands Pacific Ocean Tasmania United Kingdom Western Europe Arthurdendyus Platyhelminthes Arthurdendyus vegrandis Distribution Earthworms Kontikia andersoni Predators Quarantine |
description |
Invasive species are a serious threat to biodiversity worldwide. The relatively simple ecological systems of the subantarctic have the potential to be significantly damaged by predatory species that invade. Two species of exotic, predatory, terrestrial flatworms were first collected in 1997 from two localities only 2 km apart, in the southeast of subantarctic Macquarie Island. The species were later identified as Kontikia andersoni and Arthurdendyus vegrandis. We report here the results of fieldwork in 2004 that established that both species now occupy about a seventh of the southeast of the island which has a total area of only 170 km2 and that there seem to be no barriers to further expansion. The island was first discovered in 1810 and so it is likely the species were introduced by means of human intervention within the last 200 years. We provide evidence to show that both species originated in New Zealand and have probably been on the island for ∼years giving an average rate of spread of about 10 m per year. Other species of Arthurdendyus have been introduced from New Zealand to the United Kingdom where they prey on earthworms. The quarantine significance of A. vegrandis for Australia is discussed and recommendations made to reduce the probability of it entering Tasmania where it has the potential to become an agricultural pest. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Greenslade, Penelope Stevens, Mark I Edwards, Robert |
author_facet |
Greenslade, Penelope Stevens, Mark I Edwards, Robert |
author_sort |
Greenslade, Penelope |
title |
Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
title_short |
Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
title_full |
Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
title_fullStr |
Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic Macquarie Island |
title_sort |
invasion of two exotic terrestrial flatworms to subantarctic macquarie island |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49708 |
geographic |
New Zealand Pacific |
geographic_facet |
New Zealand Pacific |
genre |
Macquarie Island Polar Biology |
genre_facet |
Macquarie Island Polar Biology |
op_source |
Polar Biology |
op_relation |
0722-4060 http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49708 |
_version_ |
1766066280749596672 |