Establishment of an Immigrant Barnacle in British Coastal Waters

Foreign barnacles transported to New Zealand on an oil platform

“…The most likely coloniser may be the cool-temperate Northern Hemisphere species Balanus improvisus, which has been spread by shipping to American and North Pacific ports (Henry & McLaughlin 1975). It has been recorded in Australian ports (Bishop 1951), but its continued survival in Australia has not been confirmed.…”

“…Sometimes the introduction is known to be deliberate, as with the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), released into Australian waters by commercial interests (Thomson 1952); but how this oyster arrived in New Zealand is not clear (Dinamani 1971). Many species of marine invertebrate have been transported in fouling communities on ships, e.g., the barnacle Elminius modestus Darwin from Australasian waters to Europe (Bishop 1947, Crisp 1958, the bryozoan Watersipora arcuata Banta from California to Australia and thence to New Zealand (Allen 1953, Ryland 1967, the tubeworm Hydroides norvegica Gunnerus from Australia to New Zealand (Allen 1953), and the opisthobranch Thecacera pennigera Montagu from (presumably) European seas to Australia (Allen 1953) and New Zealand (Willan 1976). Some new arrivals are probably dispersed naturally by oceanic currents carrying larvae or adults, but this mode of dispersal is virtually impossible to confirm.…”

“…The dispersal of marine organisms by shipping has long been used in interpreting the biogeography of marine invertebrates (Bishop 1951, Allen 1953, often in retrospect once a foreign species is found established. Usually the exact mode and time of introduction are uncertain.…”

The neozoanElminius modestus Darwin (Crustacea, Cirripedia): Possible explanations for its successful invasion in European water

“…Elminius modestus Darwin, a natural inhabitant of waters around N e w Zealand and southern Australia, was first recorded in E u r o p e a n waters in 1945 on fouling plates in Chichester harbour in West Sussex, E n g l a n d (Bishop, 1947). From there, E. modestus spread rapidly along the English coast and was soon found in France and Holland.…”

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ABSTRACT: Comparison of data from the literature has provided evidence that eurythermaI and euryhaline adaptation of larvae and adults in combination with a long seasonal breeding period, high fecundity and short generation time have given Elminius modestus an advantage over indigenous cirripede species, allowing a rapid spread throughout European waters.

I N T R O D U C T I O NElminius modestus Darwin, a natural inhabitant of waters around N e w Zealand and southern Australia, was first recorded in E u r o p e a n waters in 1945 on fouling plates in Chichester harbour in West Sussex, E n g l a n d (Bishop, 1947). From there, E. modestus spread rapidly along the English coast and was soon found in France and Holland.

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