Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: CA/Morro Bay CA/Morro Bay (1st planting 1932, population status unknown, commercial operations continuing, Carlton 1979, Morro Bay National Estuary Program 2005 http://www.mbnep.org/index.php; Conte 2007)
Geographic Extent
CA/Morro Bay (1st planting 1932, spawning observed 1943, population status unknown, commercial operations continuing, Carlton 1979, Morro Bay National Estuary Program 2005 http://www.mbnep.org/index.php; Conte 2007)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Oyster Intentional |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Fisheries | |
| Culture of M. gigas in Morro Bay started in 1932 and continues to the present (Barrett 1963; Conte 1996; Morro Bay National Estuary Program 2005 http://www.mbnep.org/index.php). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Parasite/Predator Vector | |
| Parasite-Predator vector- Although M. gigas has not become definitely established in Morro Bay, its introduction has been a possible/probable vector for a number of oyster foulers or predators, including the parasitc copepod Mytilicola orientalis (widespread), the mussel Musculista senhousia, the bryozoan Schizoporella japonica, and the tunicates Botrylloides violaceus, Didemnum vexillum, and Styela clava (Carlton 1979; Needles 2007) | ||