Recent invasions of alien macroinvertebrates and loss of native species in the upper Rhine River, Germany

Bernauer, Dietmar; Jansen, Wolfgang

doi:10.3391/ai.2006.1.2.2

Cited by 73 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The analysis of temporal changes in species composition and abundance of amphipods in the littoral zone of the Delta Rhine clearly shows a replacement of native species by non-indigenous ones and changes in the dominance from established non-indigenous species to recent invaders. Similar replacements of native and non-indigenous species by new mass invaders are also observed in the Middle and Upper Rhine (Haas et al 2002;Bernauer and Jansen 2006), in other large rivers in Europe (Dick and Platvoet 2000;MacNeil et al 2004;Jazdzewski et al 2004;Grabowski et al The river Rhine: a global highway for dispersal 2003…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…At many sampling sites in the river Rhine a relatively small group of mass invaders dominate in abundance by more than 80% ( Van den Brink et al 1993; Haas et al 2002;Bernauer and Jansen 2006;Bij de Vaate et al 2006;Van Riel et al 2006a;Baur and Schmidlin 2007). The analysis of temporal changes in species composition and abundance of amphipods in the littoral zone of the Delta Rhine clearly shows a replacement of native species by non-indigenous ones and changes in the dominance from established non-indigenous species to recent invaders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Existing databases on the distribution of non-indigenous species in the Delta Rhine (Den Hartog and Van der Velde 1987;Van den Brink et al 1990) were updated and extended with data on other river sections, using a distribution atlas on freshwater molluscs (Gittenberger et al 1998), recent field surveys (Kelleher et al 1998;Rajagopal et al 2000;IKSR 2002;Bij de Vaate 2003;Bernauer and Jansen 2006;Bij de Vaate et al 2006, 2007 Van der Velde et al 2000Van Riel 2007;Van Riel et al 2009). During these field surveys specimens were cautiously brushed from artificial substrate (marbles), riprap and groyne stones, and subsequently preserved in 70% ethanol, sorted by species and counted in the laboratory.…”

Section: Construction Of Database On Non-indigenous Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examples of these constraints are intensive navigation and irreversible habitat modification by hydraulic engineering (e.g., canalisation and construction of groynes and stony banks). Improving water quality while these constraints remain in place has led to increased colonization of the river Rhine by non-indigenous species that spread their geographic distribution and caused significant changes in composition, structure and ecosystem processes (Den Hartog et al 1992;Bij de Vaate et al 2002;Haas et al 2002;Van der Velde et al 2006a, b;Bernauer and Jansen 2006;Baur and Schmidlin 2007;Van Riel et al 2006b;Panov et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The river Rhine: a global highway for dispersal of aquatic invasive species

et al. 2009

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The river Rhine is heavily influenced by human activities and suffers from a series of environmental constraints which hamper a complete recovery of biodiversity. These constraints comprise intensive navigation and habitat modification by hydraulic engineering. Improving water quality while these constraints remain in place has led to increased colonization by aquatic invasive species. This tendency has been accelerated by the construction of canals connecting river basins. Over the last two centuries, the total surface area of river catchments connected to the river Rhine via inland waterways has been increased by a factor 21.6. Six principal invasion corridors for aquatic species to the river Rhine are discerned. The extensive network of inland waterways has allowed macroinvertebrate species from different bio-geographical regions to mix, changing communities, affecting the food webs and forming new constraints on the recovery of the native biodiversity. From the eighteenth century onward, in the freshwater sections of the river Rhine, a total of 45 non-indigenous macroinvertebrate species have been recorded. The average number of invasions per decade shows a sharp increase from\1 to 13 species. Currently, the contribution of non-indigenous species to the total species richness of macroinvertebrates in the river Rhine is 11.3%. The Delta Rhine and Upper Rhine exhibit higher numbers of non-indigenous species than other river sections, because the sea ports in the Delta Rhine and the Main-Danube canal function as invasion gateways. Important donor areas are the Ponto-Caspian area and North America (44.4 and 26.7% of the non-indigenous macroinvertebrate species, respectively). Transport via shipping and 123Biol Invasions ( ) 11:1989( -2008( DOI 10.1007 dispersal via man made waterways are the most important dispersal vectors. Intentional and unintentional introductions are highest for the period 1950-1992. The cumulative number of non-indigenous species in time is significantly correlated with the increase in total surface area of other river catchments connected to the river Rhine by means of networks of canals. The species richness of non-indigenous macroinvertebrates is strongly dominated by crustaceans and molluscs. Invasive species often tolerate higher salt content, temperature, organic pollution and current flow than native species. Spatiotemporal analyses of distribution patterns reveal that average and maximum dispersal rates of six invasive species vary between 44-112 and 137-461 km year -1 , respectively. Species arriving in upstream sections first show a shorter time lag between colonisation of the Delta and Upper Rhine than species initially arriving in downstream areas. Temporal analyses of macroinvertebrate assemblages in the littoral zones indicate that native species are displaced by nonindigenous species. However, established non-indigenous species are also displaced by more recent mass invaders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Construction Of Database On Non-indigenous Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The river Rhine: a global highway for dispersal of aquatic invasive species

et al. 2009

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“…In this paper, we focussed on alien macrocrustaceans since these are widespread and represent, together with molluscs, the most important share of alien macroinvertebrates in several water bodies across Europe (Bernauer and Jansen 2006;Nehring 2006;Messiaen et al 2010;Boets et al 2011a, b). Alien macrocrustaceans are often very successful in their new habitat due to their intrinsic characteristics, such as a short generation time, rapid growth with early sexual maturity, high fecundity and their euryhaline and omnivorous character.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the importance of alien macro-Crustacea (Malacostraca) within macroinvertebrate assemblages in Belgian coastal harbours

2011

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Harbours, which are often characterised by anthropogenic stress in combination with intensive international ship traffic, tend to be very susceptible to aquatic invasions. Since alien macrocrustaceans are known to be very successful across many European waters, a study was made on their distribution and impact in the four Belgian coastal harbours (Nieuwpoort, Ostend, Blankenberge and Zeebrugge). Biological and physical-chemical data were gathered at 43 sampling sites distributed along a salinity gradient in the four harbours. One-fourth of all crustacean species recorded were alien and represented on average 30% of the total macrocrustacean abundance and 65% of the total macrocrustacean biomass. The large share of alien crustaceans in the total macrocrustacean biomass was mainly due to several large alien crab species. Most alien species were found in the oligohaline zone, whereas the number of indigenous species slightly increased with increasing salinity. The low number of indigenous species present at low salinities was probably not only caused by salinity, but also by the lower water quality in this salinity range. Based on the site-specific biocontamination index (SBCI), which was used to assess the ecological water quality, the harbour of Nieuwpoort and Ostend scored best and were classified as good, indicating the limited abundance and the low number of alien macrocrustaceans. Sampling locations situated more inland generally had a higher SBCI and a lower ecological water quality. Zeebrugge and Blankenberge were characterised by a severe biocontamination. For Zeebrugge, this is probably related to the intensive transcontinental commercial ship traffic, whereas for Blankenberge, this could be due to introduction of alien species via recreational crafts or due to its geographical location in the proximity of Zeebrugge. Consistent monitoring of estuarine regions and harbours, which are seen as hotspots for introductions, could help in understanding and predicting the impact of alien species on native biota.

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