The new potential invader Linopherus canariensis (Polychaeta: Amphinomidae) in a Mediterranean coastal lake: Colonization dynamics and morphological remarks

Cosentino, A.; Giacobbe, S.

The new potential invader Linopherus canariensis (Polychaeta: Amphinomidae) in a Mediterranean coastal lake: Colonization dynamics and morphological remarks

2011

Cosentino, A. | Giacobbe, S.

The newly introduced polychaete Linopherus canariensis Langerhans, 1881 was found in the Lake of Faro (NE Sicily), during a study comparing the macrobenthos in artificial modules with a neighboring sandy bottom assemblage. Of a total of 4465 specimens, almost 6% showed morphological variation related to branchial turfs and mean body size. The sandy bottom exhibited an average density of 41.86indL⁻¹ and a wet biomass of 30.35mgL⁻¹, whereas the artificial substratum reached levels of 205.29indL⁻¹ and 318.44mgL⁻¹. The highest estimated immigration rate was 3.7indL⁻¹d⁻¹ (5.8mgL⁻¹d⁻¹). In the artificial microhabitat, 0.4% of the population showed mid-anterior fragmentation, with anterior- (2%), mid- (<1%) and posterior- (1%) regenerating lineages, which contributed significantly to the dispersion ability of this species. L. canariensis was a selective micro-deposit feeder, even under conditions of reduced sediments. Linopherus was found to be a new potential invader of stressed environments that is probably tied to the import of oysters.

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