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Refuting a controversial case of a human‐mediated marine species introduction
Author(s) -
Wares John P.,
Goldwater Deena S.,
Kong Bo Y.,
Cunningham Clifford W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2002.00359.x
Subject(s) - littorina , subfossil , intertidal zone , ecology , biology , invertebrate , marine invertebrates , nova scotia , natural (archaeology) , historical ecology , geography , holocene , mollusca , archaeology , paleontology
Human activities have strongly impacted natural communities through the introduction of non‐native species in historical times. A frequently cited marine example is Littorina littorea , a common intertidal gastropod that was first reported in North America in 1840. The seemingly sudden appearance and rapid geographical spread of this species southward from Nova Scotia has led many researchers to consider L. littorea a human‐mediated species introduction. This is despite allozyme and subfossil evidence that the `European periwinkle' was in North America long before 1840. Our mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data confirm that L. littorea has been in continuous residence in North America for at least 8000 years. It appears most likely that ecological interactions, rather than oceanographic or climatic forces, maintained the limited geographical distribution of L. littorea prior to the 19th century.