Colonisation of the non-indigenous Pacific oyster crassostrea gigas determined by predation, size and initial settlement densities.

ABSTRACT: Survival of incipient non-indigenous populations is dramatically altered by early predation on new colonisers. These effects can be influenced by morphological traits, such as coloniser size and density. The Australian non-native Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas is generally more fecund and faster growing compared to the native Saccostrea glomerata found in the same habitat. It is therefore important to quantify how the two species differ in survival across coloniser density and predation gradients. This information could become pertinent to the management of wild and aquaculture populations of the non-native C. gigas. Using a field-based factorial experiment we model the survival of incipient populations of both the native S. glomerata and the non-indigenous C. gigas as a function of colo

SUBMITTER: Hedge LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3963846 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature