It is an invasive species in many parts of the world, and also an object of aquaculture. Aluminum an extraordinary metal, or a silent killer? THE INVASION OF MEDITERRANEAN MUSSEL (Mytilus galloprovincialis) IN THE WEST COASTAL PARK OF SOUTH AFRICA The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) is a native species in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Adriatic Sea. Those properties describe a typical scenario of the global climate change and bivalve molluscs are considered predictors of its future impact on the health status of both wild and farmed organisms.[8]. Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. They want to be able to predict what is going to happen over longer period of time, because Mediterranean mussels are not going anywhere. Adults range from 1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long and have yellow and brown striped shells. Green mussels have the potential to displace local native species such as oysters and other benthic invertebrates. Scientists say the invasive creatures have damaged the Mediterranean’s environment and caused native species to disappear. Northwestern mussel culture is traditionally based on the native blue or "Baltic" variety, but in recent years mussels of the Mediterranean species have become increasingly important. Mytilus galloprovincialis is also present as a native lineage in parts of the Southern Hemisphere. Zebra Mussels are an invasive species in Lake Champlain. & Beckley, L.E (2005). 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species is a list of invasive species compiled by the Global Invasive Species Database in 2014. In the Adriatic Sea, Chamelea gallina and Mytilus galloprovincialis share a similar variations of the cytotoxic activity during the year. Mediterranean mussel are great at travelling by hitching a ride under big commercial ships. Systematically blue mussels consist of a group of (at least) three closely related taxa of mussels, known as the Mytilus edulis complex. The Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, has been introduced to various regions around the world outside its native Mediterranean range, both unintentionally through … The exertions by the hemolymph of the species are considered a useful biomarker of the immune activity and therefore of the health of mussels. [3] It is also present as an invasive species on the Asian coast throughout Japan, including Ryukyu Islands, as well as in North Korea [4] and around Vladivostok in Russia. Not only do they consume a great deal of the food supply in the lake, but they also attack native mussel species by sticking to them and robbing them of fresh water and food. It is encoded in our genome to always strive…, Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope watched a mysterious dark vortex on Neptune abruptly steer away from a…, Blood glucose levels are always changing – one minute they can be radically different from the other. The spread of invasive mussels has become a major concern as quagga and zebra mussels have continued to spread throughout the West, infesting reservoirs and water intakes, hydroelectric power plants and water supply systems. In addition there are populations introduced from the north recently with human activity. Invasive species, any nonnative species that significantly modifies or disrupts the ecosystems it colonizes. Scientists found that there is a huge Mediterranean mussel population along the coasts of Australia, but they are not all the same. In South Africa, the Mediterranean mussel was first collected in 1970 (Boersma et al., 2006), and is now found along the entire west coast and southern half of Namibia (Branch & Steffani, 2003). The Mediterranean snail is small (less than 1 inch across) and white or tan in color with dark brown spiral bands. Thomas J. Hilbish, Pamela M. Brannock, Karlie R. Jones, Allison B. Smith, Brooke N. Bullock and David S. Wethey (2010) Historical changes in the distributions of invasive and endemic marine invertebrates are contrary to global warming predictions: the effects of decadal climate oscillations. Mytilus galloprovincialis, better known as Mediterranean mussel, is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, which, as you can guess from the name, is normal. And, although they can be used for food, these news are not great for Australian wildlife. It is native to the Mediterranean coastline, but is found around the world due to unintentional transport of the larvae and adults in ballast water and hull fouling communities of ships traveling overseas for shipping and trade; and intentional introductions for aquaculture. It is rare subtidally, which is an alternate means of distinguishing it from the black mussel in South Africa. Although these traits have been recently linked with the maintenance of a high genetic variation within natural populations, the factors underlying the … Mytilus galloprovincialis is one of the three principal, closely related species in the Mytilus edulis complex of blue mussels, which collectively are widely distributed on the temperate to subarctic coasts of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and often are dominant inhabitants on hard substrates of the intertidal and nearshore habitats. Recently this species has also been found in the European Arctic including northern Norway and Svalbard [2]. Officials and scientists debate the cause. M. galloprovincialis will often hybridize with its sister taxa, the closely related Mytilus edulis and Mytilus trossulus, when they are found in the same locality. [5] M. galloprovincialis is also found in New Zealand, Australia and South America. Learn more about invasive species, how they are problematic, and solutions for … Image credit: Chris.urs-o via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). It is an invasive species in many parts of the world, and also an object of aquaculture. The Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature among the "world's 100 worst invasive alien species". The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is an ecologically and economically relevant edible marine bivalve, highly invasive and resilient to biotic and abiotic stressors causing recurrent massive mortalities in other bivalves. Mussels are generally considered as a bioindicators of the whole ecosystem in which they live. The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) is a species of bivalve, a marine mollusc in the family Mytilidae. The distribution spans an area from the Namibian border to Port Alfred, intertidally to just below the low tide border. The Mediterranean mussel is a filter feeder. 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