Abstract
Populations of the Indo-Pacific invasive bivalve Spondylus spinosus in the Eastern Mediterranean occur at high densities and occupy vast areas of the rocky habitats along the Israeli coast where they are cemented to hard substratum in an oyster-like fashion. We studied the reproductive features of this bivalve in part of the area where it has invaded and found it to be gonochoric, featuring a reproducing population with a sex ratio of 1:1, annual gonad development and an inferred spawning period coinciding with the seasonal rise in seawater temperature. It is suggested that these reproductive features support high fertilisation rates and fecundity, thus contributing to the maintenance of its populations in the new environment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 206-212 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Molluscan Research |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 3 Jul 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 The Malacological Society of Australasia and the Society for the Study of Molluscan Diversity.
Keywords
- Lessepsian species
- bivalve
- invasive species
- reproduction
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Genetics