216
3
The University of Queensland, School of Biological
Sciences, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia
4
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Marine Biology,
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
7.1 Call for Abstracts
From the depths of the oceans to the shallow estuaries and
wetlands of our coasts, organisms of the marine environment
are teeming with unique adaptations to cope with a multitude
of varying environmental conditions. With millions of years
and a vast volume of water to call their home, they have
become quite adept at developing specialized and unique
techniques for survival and – given increasing human mediated transport – biological invasions. The theme for this session calls for abstracts on marine invasions and how their life
history strategies and specialized adaptations have made certain organisms particularly successful at invading new
habitats.
7.2 Abstracts of Oral Presentations
7.2.1 Tracking Down the Origin
of a Mediterranean Alien: Bursatella leachii (de
Blainville, 1817)
Enrico Bazzicalupo
1,2*
, Fabio Crocetta
3
, Ángel Valdés
1
1
Department of Biological Sciences, California State
Polytechnic University, 3801 Temple Avenue, Pomona,
California 91768, USA
2
present Address: Department of Biology, University of
Florence, via Romana 17, 50125, Florence, Italy
3
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine
Biological Resources and Inland Waters, GR-19013
Anavyssos, Greece
*invited speaker, corresponding author: enricobazzical@
gmail.com
Keywords: Mollusca, Genetics, Mediterranean, Bursatella
leachii
Colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by alien species is
one of the major threats to local biodiversity and human
economies. Tropical species, in particular, appear to become
established and thrive in the Mediterranean waters favored
by human impacts on the environment, such as climatic
changes due to global warming and the opening of the Suez
Canal. The mollusc Bursatella leachii (de Blainville 1817)
(Heterobranchia: Anaspidea: Aplysiidae) is a pantropical sea
slug that colonized the Mediterranean Sea since around half
of the twentieth century. In this study, we investigate the origin of the Mediterranean population of B. leachii by examining the population structure of this species and assessing
relatedness levels of different regional populations. Sequence
data from the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and the 16S rRNA
mitochondrial genes, and the Histone H3 nuclear gene, were
used to construct a phylogenetic tree using samples coming
from across the globe. With the use of population genetics
analyses conducted on the COI gene, a haplotype network
was constructed and fixation indexes between the Caribbean,
Mediterranean, and Indo-pacific populations were calculated. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that B. leachii, as
currently conceived, is a species complex with one species
inhabiting the Indo-pacific region and another with a pantropical distribution. All the Mediterranean samples belong
to the pantropical species, and the population genetics analyses show that the Caribbean and Mediterranean populations
are not differentiated, while the Indo-pacific population is
significantly different from the other two. These results suggest that B. leachii arrived into the Mediterranean Sea from
the Atlantic Ocean, but the way this migration occurred is up
to interpretation and debate.
7.2.2 First Record of the Invasive Kelp Undaria
pinnatifida in Germany
Jessica Schiller
1*
, Dagmar Lackschewitz
2
, Christian
Buschbaum
2
, Kai Bischof
1
1
Bremen Marine Ecology (BreMarE), Marine Botany,
University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 3, 28359 Bremen,
Germany
2
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Station Sylt, Hafenstr.
43, 25992 List, Germany
*corresponding author: j.schiller@uni-bremen.de
Keywords: Invasive species, Neobiota, Laminariales,
Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, Pacific oyster reef
The kelp Undaria pinnatifida is native to the Pacific
coasts of China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Russia and
has been introduced to many shores worldwide. It was first
brought to Europe in 1971 (French Mediterranean) and 1983
to Brittany, from where it spread to other northwest European
coastlines. Since 2016, thalli of U. pinnatifida are regularly
found washed ashore at the island of Sylt (south-eastern
North Sea, German Bight), which constitutes the northernmost site worldwide so far. Since its first detection in 2016,
large numbers of thalli were found, many of them more than
1 m in length and fertile. In June 2017, field investigations
were performed to locate and characterize populations of U.
pinnatifida near Sylt. Sporophytes were found attached to an
oyster/mussel reef in the shallow subtidal zone. A total of 91
attached thalli were collected and the attachment substratum
was identified. Total length and midrib width were measured,
the maturity state was determined and habitat properties
assessed. The majority of the thalli (91%) were attached to
Pacific oysters Magallana gigas (former Crassostrea gigas),
while 7.7% were growing on Mytilus edulis. The mean actual
Appendices
3
The University of Queensland, School of Biological
Sciences, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia
4
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Marine Biology,
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
7.1 Call for Abstracts
From the depths of the oceans to the shallow estuaries and
wetlands of our coasts, organisms of the marine environment
are teeming with unique adaptations to cope with a multitude
of varying environmental conditions. With millions of years
and a vast volume of water to call their home, they have
become quite adept at developing specialized and unique
techniques for survival and – given increasing human mediated transport – biological invasions. The theme for this session calls for abstracts on marine invasions and how their life
history strategies and specialized adaptations have made certain organisms particularly successful at invading new
habitats.
7.2 Abstracts of Oral Presentations
7.2.1 Tracking Down the Origin
of a Mediterranean Alien: Bursatella leachii (de
Blainville, 1817)
Enrico Bazzicalupo
1,2*
, Fabio Crocetta
3
, Ángel Valdés
1
1
Department of Biological Sciences, California State
Polytechnic University, 3801 Temple Avenue, Pomona,
California 91768, USA
2
present Address: Department of Biology, University of
Florence, via Romana 17, 50125, Florence, Italy
3
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine
Biological Resources and Inland Waters, GR-19013
Anavyssos, Greece
*invited speaker, corresponding author: enricobazzical@
gmail.com
Keywords: Mollusca, Genetics, Mediterranean, Bursatella
leachii
Colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by alien species is
one of the major threats to local biodiversity and human
economies. Tropical species, in particular, appear to become
established and thrive in the Mediterranean waters favored
by human impacts on the environment, such as climatic
changes due to global warming and the opening of the Suez
Canal. The mollusc Bursatella leachii (de Blainville 1817)
(Heterobranchia: Anaspidea: Aplysiidae) is a pantropical sea
slug that colonized the Mediterranean Sea since around half
of the twentieth century. In this study, we investigate the origin of the Mediterranean population of B. leachii by examining the population structure of this species and assessing
relatedness levels of different regional populations. Sequence
data from the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and the 16S rRNA
mitochondrial genes, and the Histone H3 nuclear gene, were
used to construct a phylogenetic tree using samples coming
from across the globe. With the use of population genetics
analyses conducted on the COI gene, a haplotype network
was constructed and fixation indexes between the Caribbean,
Mediterranean, and Indo-pacific populations were calculated. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that B. leachii, as
currently conceived, is a species complex with one species
inhabiting the Indo-pacific region and another with a pantropical distribution. All the Mediterranean samples belong
to the pantropical species, and the population genetics analyses show that the Caribbean and Mediterranean populations
are not differentiated, while the Indo-pacific population is
significantly different from the other two. These results suggest that B. leachii arrived into the Mediterranean Sea from
the Atlantic Ocean, but the way this migration occurred is up
to interpretation and debate.
7.2.2 First Record of the Invasive Kelp Undaria
pinnatifida in Germany
Jessica Schiller
1*
, Dagmar Lackschewitz
2
, Christian
Buschbaum
2
, Kai Bischof
1
1
Bremen Marine Ecology (BreMarE), Marine Botany,
University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 3, 28359 Bremen,
Germany
2
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar
and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Station Sylt, Hafenstr.
43, 25992 List, Germany
*corresponding author: j.schiller@uni-bremen.de
Keywords: Invasive species, Neobiota, Laminariales,
Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, Pacific oyster reef
The kelp Undaria pinnatifida is native to the Pacific
coasts of China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Russia and
has been introduced to many shores worldwide. It was first
brought to Europe in 1971 (French Mediterranean) and 1983
to Brittany, from where it spread to other northwest European
coastlines. Since 2016, thalli of U. pinnatifida are regularly
found washed ashore at the island of Sylt (south-eastern
North Sea, German Bight), which constitutes the northernmost site worldwide so far. Since its first detection in 2016,
large numbers of thalli were found, many of them more than
1 m in length and fertile. In June 2017, field investigations
were performed to locate and characterize populations of U.
pinnatifida near Sylt. Sporophytes were found attached to an
oyster/mussel reef in the shallow subtidal zone. A total of 91
attached thalli were collected and the attachment substratum
was identified. Total length and midrib width were measured,
the maturity state was determined and habitat properties
assessed. The majority of the thalli (91%) were attached to
Pacific oysters Magallana gigas (former Crassostrea gigas),
while 7.7% were growing on Mytilus edulis. The mean actual
Appendices