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Reproduction of the invasive slipper limpet, Crepidula fornicata, in the Bay of Brest, France

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Abstract

The reproduction of Crepidula fornicata was studied in the Bay of Brest in order to characterise the first step of the reproductive cycle of this invasive species. The survey was carried out from 2000 to 2003 and different parameters were measured, namely, the percentage of the different sexual stages, the straight length of the shell and the percentage of brooding females using a survey of the embryonic development and the fecundity. The juvenile frequency increases generally from mid-June or mid-August, depending on the year. In 2001 and 2003, a first peak was observed as early as May, but it was followed by a rapid disappearance of the individuals. The sex-ratio female/male increased from 0.22 to 0.46 between 2001 and 2003. The sex change between intermediates and females took place mainly in summer and was well marked in 2001 and 2003. The survey of the embryonic development in the egg capsules brooded by the females provided an annual phenology of the laying and hatching processes. The laying period extends from February to September with three to four major periods of egg-laying per year and corresponding hatching periods about 1 month later. Each female lays two to four times per year on average. The first egg-laying concerned fewer females than subsequent ones, except in 2003, and exhibited a higher fecundity. The annual mean of the number of eggs for each stage was not significantly different, thus indicating no significant mortality rate during embryonic development. For the C. fornicata population in the Bay of Brest, several reproductive characteristics tend to highlight its invasive capacity: (1) a long reproductive period, (2) reproduction in a ‘multi-trials’ process equivalent to a spreading out of the risks and (3) a relatively high fecundity.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank anonymous referees for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the Programme National d’Environnement Côtier (PNEC) and the University of Geneva; the authors greatly acknowledge Professor Louisette Zaninetti. We thank the captains, officers and crew members of the INSU/CNRS research vessels for their technical assistance at sea, as well as Anne Donval, Alain Lemercier and Laurent Guérin. We are grateful to the students Elodie Coquard, Véronique Dupin and Patrick Ladiesse for their help. Thanks are also due to the staff of the SOMLIT network in Plouzané and to Sorcha Ni Longphuirt for the English corrections.

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  1. LEMAR, UMR 6539 CNRS, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280, Plouzane, France

    Joëlle Richard, Martial Huet, Gérard Thouzeau & Yves-Marie Paulet

  2. Département de Zoologie et de Biologie Animale, University of Geneva, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland

    Joëlle Richard

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  1. Joëlle Richard
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Correspondence to Joëlle Richard.

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Communicated by S.A. Poulet, Roscoff

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Richard, J., Huet, M., Thouzeau, G. et al. Reproduction of the invasive slipper limpet, Crepidula fornicata, in the Bay of Brest, France. Mar Biol 149, 789–801 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0157-4

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