Low Salinity Weakens Predator Effects on Community Assembly in a Sub-tropical Estuary

Is Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Annelida: Serpulidae) Becoming a Nuisance in Galveston Bay, Texas?

“…In 2017, it was observed on settlement plates, together with the native F. miamiensis and the non-native F. uschakovi [7]. Between 2019 and 2022, it was regularly detected on settlement plates deployed seasonally in GB [8]. The worms were present at mesohaline stations (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) the northern and central sites of GB and ~18 ppt in West Bay), but their numbers remained low [8].…”

“…Between 2019 and 2022, it was regularly detected on settlement plates deployed seasonally in GB [8]. The worms were present at mesohaline stations (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) the northern and central sites of GB and ~18 ppt in West Bay), but their numbers remained low [8]. The first reports of F. enigmaticus in the northern Gulf of Mexico emerged in the early 1950s in reference to Corpus Christi Bay [9] and Aransas Bay [10].…”