Description
Taxonomy
Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Animalia | Mollusca | Gastropoda | Nudibranchia | Dotidae | Miesea |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Established | Unknown | Cryptogenic | Regular Resident | Western Atlantic | Western Atlantic | Shipping(Ballast Water,Fouling Community) |
History of Spread
The nudibranch Miesea evelinae was described from Ubatuba, north of Sao Paulo, Brazil (Marcus 1957), and subsequently found at another Brazilian locality 350 km south. It was found in 1955 in the Newport River NC (Marcus 1961; Wells 1961), the coast of SC (United States Museum of Natural History 2003), the west coast of FL (Marcus 1977). Its occurrence on a fouling plate in Norfolk Harbor (only one locality) was only the sixth location known for this species, to our knowledge (Abbott 1974; Gosliner 1994; Marcus 1977; Rosenberg 1995; Ruiz et al. unpublished data). Gosliner (2005, personal communication to Linda McCann) identified two more specimens from our settling plates, one from the Norfolk area, and one from the Eastern shore of Virginia, suggesting an established population in the Bay.
The paucity of records suggests that this species may be either rare or may have a specialized primary habitat which has not been discovered. The native range of this species is thus poorly known, as is its establishment in Chesapeake Bay. Its absence in the Chesapeake studies of Marcus (1972) and Vogel (1977) suggested that it may have been a recent introduction. On the other hand, Gosliner (2005, personal communication to Linda McCann ) wrote 'I think that it may well be native and a distribution from Chesapeake Bay to Brazil is consistent with many other native nudibranch distributions. It is such a minute animal that it could be easily overlooked.' We have decided to treat this species as cryptogenic.
References - Abbott 1974; Gosliner 1994; Marcus 1957; Marcus 1961; Marcus 1972; Marcus 1977; Marcus 1977; Rosenberg 1995; Ruiz et al. unpublished data; Vogel 1977; Wells 1961
Invasion Comments
None
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
Temperature (ºC) | ||||
Salinity (‰) | ||||
Oxygen | ||||
pH | ||||
Salinity Range | poly-eu |
Age and Growth
Male | Female | |
---|---|---|
Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
Typical Adult Size (mm) | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Maximum Adult Size (mm) | ||
Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
Start | Peak | End | |
---|---|---|---|
Reproductive Season | |||
Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
Fertilization Type(s) | |||
More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
Reproductive Startegy | |||
Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Miesea evelinae is assumed to have no economic importance in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Miesea evelinae is assumed to have no economic importance in its range.
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Miesea evelinae is presumably too rare in the Chesapeake region to have significant effects on native biota.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Miesea evelinae is probably too rare to have significant impacts on introduced biota in Chesapeake Bay.
References
December 6, 1994 Other molluscs, email.. California Academy of SciencesMarcus, Ernest (1961) Opisthobranchia from North Carolina, Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 77: 141-151
Marcus, Ernesto (1957) On Opisthobranchia from Brazil., Journal of the Linnean Society of London 43: 390-486
Marcus, Eveline du Bois Reymond (1972) Notes on some opisthobranch gastropods from the Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Science 13: 300-317
Marcus, Eveline du Bois Reymond (1977) An annotated checklist of the western Atlantic warm water opisthobranchs, Journal of Molluscan Studies Supplement: 1-22
1995-2023 Malacolog 4.1. http://www.acnatsci.org
Thompson, T. E.; Brown, G. H. (1984) Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Vol. 2., , London. Pp.
Vogel, Rosalie M. (1977) Shell-less opisthobranchs of Virginia and Maryland, , Williamsburg, VA.. Pp.
Wells, Harry W. (1961) The fauna of oyster beds, with special reference to the salinity factor, Ecological Monographs 31: 239-266