Intra-Decadal Increase in Globally-Spread Magallana gigas in Southern California Estuaries

Authors

Marah L Wolfe
Chelsea M Bowers-Doerning
Anabell Espinosa
Ty Frantz
William J Hoese
Joann G Lam
Kailee R Lamp
Rachael A Lyons
Justin K Nguyen
Bryce D Keyes
Jada Smith
Holly L Suther
Meaghan Swintek
Juliann C Vannordstrand
Danielle C Zacherl

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Journal

PLoS One

Abstract

Introduction and establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS) has been accelerated on a global scale by climate change. NIS Magallana gigas' (formerly Crassostrea gigas') global spread over the past several decades has been linked to warming waters, specifically during summer months, raising the specter of more spread due to predicted warming. We tracked changes in density and size distribution of M. gigas in two southern California, USA bays over the decade spanning 2010-2020 using randomly placed quadrats across multiple intertidal habitats (e.g., cobble, seawalls, riprap) and documented density increases by 2.2 to 32.8 times at 7 of the 8 sites surveyed across the two bays. These increases in density were coincident with 2-4° C increases in median monthly seawater temperature during summer months, consistent with global spread of M. gigas elsewhere. Size frequency distribution data, with all size classes represented across sites, suggest now-regular recruitment of M. gigas. Our data provide a baseline against which to compare future changes in density and abundance of a globally-spread NIS of significant concern.

Keywords

California, Animals, Estuaries, Introduced Species, Climate Change, Ecosystem, Seasons, Crassostrea, Temperature

Comments

PMID: 38717978