Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Cohassett/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1893, Bryant 1906)
Geographic Extent
Scituate/MA/Massachusetts Bay (O'Connor 2013);; Cohassett/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1893, Bryant 1906); Bay Pointe Marina, Quincy/MA/Massachusetts Bay (2000, MIT Sea Grant 2003); Nahant/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1902, Bryant 1906); Lynn/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1902, Bryant 1906); Constitution Marina, Boston/MA/Massachusetts Bay (2000, Introduced, Established, MIT Sea Grant 2003); Salem/MA/Massachusetts Bay (2003, Introduced, Established, MIT Sea Grant 2003); Tucks Point Marina, Beverly/MA/Massachusetts Bay (2000, MIT Sea Grant 2003); Manchester/MA/Lobster Cove (Massachusetts Bay) (Trusell and Nicklin 2003); Gloucester/MA/Annisquam River (Massachusetts Bay) (1935, Dexter 1947)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Dry Ballast |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Alternate | Natural Dispersal |
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Predation | |
| Shells of Littorina obtusata (Smooth Periwinkle) collected in Nahant, Massachusetts Bay, before 1900, and in 1982-84, show a change in morphology (high-spired to low-spired) indicative of natural selection by Carcinus predation (Seeley 1986). In L. obtusata, the shell thickness is increased after the snail is exposed to odors of C. maenas and is larger when accompanied by the odor of crushed L. obtusata, and this response is greater in southern Gulf populations (Trussell and Nicklin 2002). In a system of tidepools at Nahant, Littorina littorea (Common Periwinkle) responded to increased C. maenas density by moving to other pools (Trussell et al. 2004). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Trophic Cascade | |
| In a system of tidepools at Nahant, Massachusetts, Littorina littorea (Common Periwinkle) responded to increased C. maenas density by moving to other pools. The reduction of grazing resulted in increased growth of ephemeral red and green algae (Trussell et al. 2004). Carcinus maenas, although it had a direct predatory effect on mussels and barnacles, in community experiments, had an indirect positive effect by preying on the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (Griffen and Byers 2009). | ||