The world is their oyster:differences in epibiota on sympatric populations of native Ostrea edulis and non-native Crassostrea gigas ( Magallana gigas ) oysters

In this study we aimed to assess the relative effects of native Ostrea edulis and non-native Crassostrea gigas and their associated epibiotic biodiversity. We recorded epibiont location on the shell as well as the upper or lower valve. Epibiont species richness was significantly lower on C. gigas ....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Sea Research
Main Authors: Guy, C., Blight, A., Smyth, D., Roberts, D.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/publications/7644ede3-c14f-4427-be11-d682914599f6
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2018.07.002
https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/18046/1/Guy_2018_JSR_epibiota_AAM.pdf
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Summary:In this study we aimed to assess the relative effects of native Ostrea edulis and non-native Crassostrea gigas and their associated epibiotic biodiversity. We recorded epibiont location on the shell as well as the upper or lower valve. Epibiont species richness was significantly lower on C. gigas . The epibiota communities differed significantly between the two oyster species. The continued spread of C. gigas may potentially impact the epibiont biodiversity associated with oyster species in Strangford Lough. Management strategies should prevent sustained population expansion and associated changes in colonisation habitat.