Palaemon adspersus

Invasion History

First Non-native North American Tidal Record: 2011
First Non-native West Coast Tidal Record:
First Non-native East/Gulf Coast Tidal Record: 2011

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General Invasion History:

Palaemon adspersus has a wide native distribution in the Northeast Atlantic, from southern Norway and southwest Finland (Baltic Sea) to the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the south coast of Morocco, and the Canary Islands (Holthuis 1980; Katajisto et al. 2013; U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2014). It is characteristic of brackish water and rare in exposed open-sea environments (Holthuis 1980; Berglund 1985). It was introduced as fish forage to the Caspian and Aral Seas (Zenkevitch 1963). In 2011, it was discovered in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands, Quebec where it was probably introduced by ballast water. Owing to its similarity with three native Palaemon species (formerly Palaemonetes) and two other introduced Palaemon (P. elegans and P. macrodactylus) this shrimp could be overlooked in other East Coast estuaries (González-Ortegón et al. 2015).

North American Invasion History:

Invasion History on the East Coast:

In 2011, specimens of Palaemon adspersus were collected at Stephen's Crossing, Newfoundland, and in the Magdalen Islands, Quebec. The identification was confirmed by molecular comparisons with European specimens. In 2012 - 2013, this shrimp was found at three other sites on the west coast of Newfoundland. Ballast water of ships from Europe is the most likely vector for the transport of these animals. Further surveys of Palaemon spp. (González-Ortegón et al. 2015) in East Coast waters are needed to determine whether P. adspersus is found in any other estuaries.

Invasion History Elsewhere in the World:

In 1934-1937, Palaemon adspersus and P. elegans, were stocked in the Caspian Sea as forage for commercial fishes. Both species are established and abundant in the Caspian Sea (Zenkevitch 1963; Aladin et al. 2002; Grigorovich et al. 2003). In 1954-1956, both species were transferred to the Aral Sea (Zenekvitch 1963). Through time, the Aral Sea has dried and shrunk. Palaemon elegans was still established in 2006, but P. adspersus was not reported (Aladin et al. 2008) and may be extinct.

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Description

Palaemon adspersus is a caridean shrimp characteristic of brackish water. It has a distinct, well-developed rostrum, with 5-7 dorsal teeth (one dorsal tooth lying posteriorly to the orbit), and usually three (sometimes two or four) ventral teeth. The rostrum has a weak ventral expansion. The carapace bears antennal and branchiostegal spines. The antennules are triramous. The shorter ramus of the outer antennule exceeds the length of its peduncle and is fused for about 1/3 of its length to the longer flagellum. Both legs of the first pair are chelate (with claws). The palp of the mandible has three segments. Adult shrimp are up to 80 mm long. The overall color is yellowish-gray, but the ventral side of the rostrum is marked with dark red spots. The long flagella and the peduncle of the antennules are also red. Description from: Holthuis 1980, Hayward and Ryland 1990, Ashelby et al. 2004, d'Udekem d'Acoz et al. 2005, González-Ortegón and Cuesta 2006, and González-Ortegón et al. 2015.

Larval development of several Northeast Atlantic Palaemon, including P. elegans, is described, with a key, in Fincham and Figueras (1986).

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Taxonomy

Ecology

General:

Life History- During reproduction in caridean shrimps, the copulating pair is usually oriented at right angles to one another, with the genital regions opposing each other. The modified first and second pairs of pleopods are used to transfer a spermatophore to a receptacle between the thoracic legs of the female (Barnes 1983). After mating, female palaemonid shrimps carry broods of fertilized eggs on their abdomen. Populations in the Adriatic and Black Sea had a range of 1000-2200 eggs per individual (Bilgin et al. 2009; Glamuzina et al. 2014). These hatch into planktonic larvae with feathery appendages, called zoeae. Shrimp zoeae lack the prominent spines seen in brachyuran crabs, and look shrimplike (Johnson and Allen 2005; Fincham and Figueras 1986). They go through several molts and metamorphose into postlarvae, which have well-developed walking legs and pleopods (swimmerets). After a subsequent molt, the body takes on the adult shape. Juveniles mature at about 1 year of age when they are 27-30 mm in size. Females tend to be larger than males, reaching 60-80 mm length vs. 60-62 mm for males. Lifespan is estimated at about 2.5- 3 years (Bilgin et al. 2009; Glamuzina et al. 2014).

Ecology- Palaemon aspersus inhabits shallow sandy areas in algal and eelgrass beds, often in brackish water (Holthuis 1980; Berglund 1985; González-Ortegón, et al. 2015). Individuals from the Baltic tolerate salinities as low as 1 PSU at 12 and 22°C, with little to no mortality. At 2°C, animals survived for at least 7 days at 7 PSU, but not at 1 or 5 PSU. Adult shrimps in colder regions may migrate into deeper water in winter, because of a reduced ability to regulate body fluids at low temperatures (Janas et al. 2013). A stable isotope study in the Baltic Sea population showed that P. elegans fed on animal prey, primarily Crustacea (70%) and green algae (10%). Most of the animal prey appeared to be benthic crustaceans. Mysids were readily eaten in experiments (Guerao 1994).

Food:

Amphipods, mollusks, plant material

Consumers:

fishes, humans

Competitors:

Other shrimps

Trophic Status:

Omnivore

Omni

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Habitats

General Habitat	Grass Bed	None
General Habitat	Unstructured Bottom	None
General Habitat	Salt-brackish marsh	None
Salinity Range	Oligohaline	0.5-5 PSU
Salinity Range	Mesohaline	5-18 PSU
Salinity Range	Polyhaline	18-30 PSU
Salinity Range	Euhaline	30-40 PSU
Tidal Range	Subtidal	None
Vertical Habitat	Epibenthic	None
Vertical Habitat	Nektonic	None

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Tolerances and Life History Parameters

Minimum Temperature (ºC)	0	Janas et al.2013
Maximum Temperature (ºC)	26.5	Glamuzina et al. 2014 (field, Croatia). However, in the Gullmar Fjord, Sweden, this shrimp migrates to deeper waters at temperatures above 19 C (Berglund 1980).
Minimum Salinity (‰)	1	Janas et al. 2013
Maximum Salinity (‰)	38	Typical salinity, Mediterranean Sea
Minimum Reproductive Temperature	10	Field, Turkey, Black Sea (Bilgin et al. 2009)
Maximum Reproductive Temperature	26	Croatia, Adriatic Sea (Glamuzina et al. 2014)
Minimum Reproductive Salinity	5	Experimental (Sweden, Berglund 1985)
Maximum Reproductive Salinity	35	Field (González-Ortegón et al. 2015), but not tested at salinities above 25 PSU (Berglund 1985)
Maximum Duration	24	Experimental. MAKAROV YU N; GOLODETSKII L A 1980. LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BLACK SEA PRAWN PALAEMON-ADSPERSUS CRUSTACEA DECAPODA IN THE LABORATORY. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Pages: 375-382 Published: 1980
Minimum Length (mm)	27	Matue males, Croatia, Turkey (Bilgin et al. 2009; Glamuzina et al. 2014); 30mm for females with eggs, Croatia (Glamuzina et al. 2014); 38 mm, Turkey, Black Sea (Bilger et al. 2009).
Maximum Length (mm)	80	Holthuis 1980; Bilgin et al. 2009
Broad Temperature Range	None	Cold temperate-Warm temperate
Broad Salinity Range	None	Oligohaline-Euhaline

General Impacts

Palaemon adspersus supports small, localized fisheries in Europe (Holthuis 1980). In the Caspian Sea, P. adspersus was introduced as a forage item for fishes (Zenkevitch 1963). No impacts are known in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada where this shrimp was only recently discovered (Gonzalez-Ortegon et al. 2015).

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References

Aladin, N. ; Plotnikov, I.; Ballatore, T.; Micklin, P. (2008) Japan International Cooperation Agency: Study Reports: Country and Regional Study Reports: Central Asia and Caucasus. Vol. 4., Japan International Cooperation Agency, <missing place>. Pp. 4-12

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Barnes, Robert D. (1983) Invertebrate Zoology, Saunders, Philadelphia. Pp. 883

Berglund, Anders (1980) Niche differentiation between two littoral prawns in Gullmar Fjord, Sweden: Palaemon adspersus and P. squilla, Holarctic Ecology 3: 111-115

Berglund, Anders (1984) Reproductive adaptations in two Palaemon prawn species with differing habitat requirements, Marine Ecology Progress Series 17: 77-83

Berglund, Anders (1985a) Different reproductive success at low salinity determines the estuarine distribution of two Palaemon prawn species, Holarctic Ecology 8(1): 49-52

Bilgin, Sabri; Samsun, Osman; Ozen, Ozcan (2009) Seasonal growth and reproduction biology of the Baltic prawn, Palaemon adspersus (Decapoda: Palaemonidae), in the southern Black Sea, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89(3): 509-519

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Glamuzina, L. and 6 authors (2014) Population structure, growth, mortality and fecundity of Palaemon adspersus (Rathke 1837; Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in the Parila Lagoon (Croatia, SE Adriatic Sea) with notes on the population management, Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 14: 677-687

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