Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record?: Salem/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1872, Morse 1880)
Geographic Extent
Ten Pound Island/MA/Gloucester Harbor (1880, USNM 193387, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Bass Rocks, Gloucester/MA/Massachusetts Bay (MCZ 133168, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Gloucester/MA/Annisquam River (Massachusetts Bay) (1935, Dexter 1947); West Manchester/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1890, MCZ 223552, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2007); Manchester/MA/Massachusetts Bay (USNM 224850, US National Museum of Natural History 2008); Swampscott/MA/Massachusetts Bay (MCZ 133081, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Lynn/MA/Massachusetts Bay (USNM 714135, US National Museum of Natural History 2008); Beverly/MA/Massachusetts Bay (USNM 590064, US National Museum of Natural History 2007); Salem/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1872, Morse 1881; USNM 75527, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Marblehead, Cliff St., Beach nr. Yacht Club/MA/Massachusetts Bay (MCZ 176459, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Revere/MA/Massachusetts Bay (MCZ 223551, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Marblehead, Castle Rock/MA/Massachusetts Bay (MCZ 223547, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Nahant/MA/Massachusetts Bay (USNM 224851, US National Museum of Natural History 2008); Boston, Castle Island/MA/Boston Harbor (USNM 408698, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Boston/MA/Boston Harbor (USNM 435404, US National Museum of Natural History 2008); Cohasset/MA/Massachusetts Bay (1914, USNM 450196 U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Natural Dispersal |
| Alternate | Dry Ballast |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Herbivory | |
| Littorina littorea is the most abundant herbivorous intertidal invertebrate on rocky shores in the Gulf of Maine. Manipulative experiments indicated that L. littorea did not graze significantly on the dominant alga, Chondrus crispus, when it was already established, but did affect algal succession by grazing on emphemeral algae (e.g. Ulva, Enteromorpha spp. which compete with Chondrus, damping variation in Chondrus abundance; Lubchenco 1978; Lubchenco and Menge 1978). The periwinkles graze the germlings of the larger brown seaweed Fucus spp., but also benefit Fucus by removing competitive ephemerals and epibiotic algae (Lubchenko 1980; Lubchenco 1983; Lubchenco 1986). Impacts of L. littorea were greatest at a sheltered sites of Canoe Beach Cove, Nahant, MA, since L. littorea was rare or absent at sites with heavy wave action (Lubchenco and Menge 1978). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Grazing by Littorina littorea helps to benefit canopy-forming seaweeds such as Chondrus crispus spp. and Fucus spp. by removing ephemeral alga competitors. The canopy forming seaweeds provide shelter for many species of intertidal invertebrates. Canoe Beach Cove, Nahant, MA was one experimental site where these impacts were observed (Lubchenco and Menge 1978; Lubchenco 1980; Lubchenco 1983). | ||