Invasion
Invasion Description
None
Geographic Extent
Island of Schowen/Netherlands/East Scheldt (1992, Stock 1993, in Crassostrea gigas,Ostrea edulis, and Mytilus edulis); Island of Sylt/Germany/North Sea (Elsner et al. 2011, in Crassostrea gigas, absent in Mytilus spp., low prevalence, northernmost European record); Sylt-Westerscheldt/Netherlands/North Sea (Goedknegt, et al. 2016); Northern Ireland/Carlingford Lough (1993, Holmes 1995)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Oyster Accidental |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Parasitism | |
| Mytilicola orientalis, on the coast of the Netherlands, infected Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas at 2-43% frequency, but also were found in Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis, 3-63%), Common Cockles (Cerastoderma edule, 2-13%), and Baltic Tellins (Macoma balthica, 6-7%) (Goedknegt et al. 2017a; Goedknegt et al. 2017b). The intensity of infection in M. edulis was strongly correlated with intensity in C. gigas, indicating transmission of the parasite between Pacific Oysters and native Blue Mussels (Goedknegt et al. 2017b).
Stable isotope studies, in the Netherlands, show that M. orientalis gets much of its nutrition from tissues of its host mussel (Mytilus edulis, as well as from the ingested organic material, so that it is more of a parasite than a commensal (Goedknecht et al. 2018). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
The parasitic copepod Mytilicola orientalis, introduced into the Wadden Sea (Sylt, Gernany) with Pacific Oysters (Magallana gigas) has infected native Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) and displaced its native parasite (Mytilicola intestinalis). Mytilcola orientalis is less successful than the native parasite at infecting mussels, but the high density of Pacific Mussels allows a highrate of spllover. Also, aggergation of M. orientalis may interfere with mating of M. intestinalis , resultin in indirect competition (Feis et al. 2022)/ | ||