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Long‐term patterns in the establishment, expansion and decline of invading macrozoobenthic species in the brackish and marine waters of S outhwest N etherlands
Author(s) -
Hummel Herman,
Wijnhoven Sander
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/maec.12085
Subject(s) - polychaete , biomass (ecology) , brackish water , ecology , biology , introduced species , invasive species , abundance (ecology) , salinity
The fluctuations in densities or biomass of a number of invading and native polychaete and mollusc species in the S outhwest N etherlands were compared over a period of 20 years. For recent invaders a lag phase of 7–10 years occurred after their first appearance, followed by an exponential increase in abundance or biomass for 2–3 years. High numbers and biomass then continued for about 5 years, followed by a strong decline. The total sequence from introduction to decline lasted about 15 years. The densities or biomass of invaders appearing decades or even centuries ago in the D elta area have fluctuated in a similar manner to those of native species, indicating that the densities or biomass of invading species after a 15‐year period of strong changes become governed largely by the same environmental factors as native species. The conclusion may be that after some decades, invading species can become part of a balanced co‐existence with the native species, and that this may yield a net gain in the overall diversity.