Invasion
Invasion Description
1st record: San Diego/CA/Mission Bay (McDonald 1969, cited by Carlton 1979)
Geographic Extent
CA/Port Hueneme (2001, Fairey et al. 2002); Venice/CA/Marina del Rey (1998; Ranasinghe et al. 2005; 2001, Fairey et al. 2002); Los Angeles-Long Beach/CA/Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbors (1998, Ranasinghe et al. 2005; 2017, Ruiz and Geller 2021, 6 of 10 sites sampled); Long Beach/CA/Rainbow Lagoon (2000, Cohen et al. 2002); CA/Alamitos Bay (1998, Ranasinghe et al. 2005); Long Beach/CA/Colorado Lagoon (2009, Burnaford et al. 2011); Huntington Beach/CA/Huntington Harbor (2001, Fairey et al. 2002; 2011, California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2014); CA/Newport Bay (1977, Carlton 1979; 1998, Ransinghe et al. 2005); CA/Oceanside Harbor (2000, Fairey et al. 2001); San Diego County/CA/Los Peñasquitos Lagoon (1980s-mid 1990s, Novoa et al. 2016); San Diego/CA/Mission Bay (McDonald 1969, cited by Carlton 1979; Crooks 1998; Crooks and Khim 1999; Dexter and Crooks 2000; Kushner and Hovel 2006); San Diego/CA/San Diego Bay (1976, Carlton 1979; 2011, California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2014); Chula Vista Boat Ramp, San Diego/CA/San Diego Bay (2000, Cohen et al. 2002); San Diego/CA/San Diego Bay (1998, Ranasinghe et al. 2005); San Diego/CA/Tijuana River Estuary (NOAA Marine Sanctuaries Program 2001, http://www.perl.sdsu.edu/Reports/TJReports/THE_Jan-Jun_2001.pdf; deRivera et al. 2005); Ensenada/Mexico/Papilote Bay (1970, Carlton 1979); Baja California/Estero de Punta Banda (1994, Cohen 2005)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| The invasion of Arcutatuls senhousia was accompanied by the disappearance of the native bivalve Chione fluctifraga. In experiments, survival and growth of C. fluctifraga and C. undatella was reduced in the presence of A. senhousia's mats. Competition for food with M. senhousia may be a factor in the decline of these suspension-feeding clams (Crooks 2001). In experiments in Mission and San Diego Bays, settling young of M. senhousia out-compete native bivalves (Chione undatella and Laevicardium substriatum) for space, by overgrowing them (Castorani and Hovel 2015). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Arcuatula senhousia's mats cover large areas of subtidal flats in Mission Bay, San Diego, California. These mats increase the shear strength and stability of the sediment, favoring increased densities of other benthic organisms in the mats, including the tanaid, Leptochelia dubia, and the gastropod Barleia subtenus. The mats provide structure for tube-building organisms such as L. dubia. The mats also concentrate organic matter, favoring deposit-feeding organisms. (Crooks 1998; Crooks and Khim 1999). Negative impacts of A. senhousia are not obvious or numerous, but negative correlations were seen with the deposit-feeding bivalve Solen rostriformis, and the polychaetes Euchone limnicola and Diplocirrus sp. (Dexter and Crooks 2000). Alteration of sediments by A. senhousia may be a factor in the decline of Chione fluctifraga and C. undatella (Crooks 2001). In San Diego Bay, A. senhousia had both negative and positive effects on the eelgrass Zostera marina, in experiments, reducing rhizome growth, but increasing sediment ammonium and enhancing leaf growth (Dexter and Williams 1998). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| Arcuatula senhousia populations in Mission Bay decline in a seaward direction, as a result of predation by Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus interruptus) and murex snails (Pteropurpura festiva) (Cheng and Hovel 2011). However, effects on predator populations are not known. | ||
| Ecological Impact | Trophic Cascade | |
| One factor in the replacement of native bivalves by Arcuatula senhousia is that the heavy settlement of the mussel attract native predators (Castorani and Hovel 2015) | ||