Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
EU Network of Excellence

 
Main Menu

· Home
· Contacts
· Data Systems
· Documents
· FAQ
· Links
· MarBEF Open Archive
· Network Description
· Outreach
· Photo Gallery
· Quality Assurance
· Register of Resources
· Research Projects
· Rules and Guidelines
· Training
· Wiki
· Worldconference

 

Register of Resources (RoR)

 People  |  Datasets  |  Literature  |  Institutes  |  Projects 

[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Four arguments why so many alien species settle into estuaries, with special reference to the German river Elbe
Nehring, S. (2006). Four arguments why so many alien species settle into estuaries, with special reference to the German river Elbe. Helgol. Mar. Res. 60(2): 127-134
In: Helgoland Marine Research. Springer: Berlin; Heidelberg. ISSN 1438-387X; e-ISSN 1438-3888
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Author | Dataset 

Keywords
    Management
    Processes > Establishment
    Taxa > Species > Introduced species
    ANE, Germany, Elbe Estuary [Marine Regions]
    Marine/Coastal

Author  Top | Dataset 

Abstract
    In one of the largest European rivers, the Elbe, from its source in the Czech Republic to the German North Sea, 31 alien macrozoobenthic species have been recorded in total. Most of these species have been introduced by shipping activities. With a total number of 21 species, many of the established aliens occur—partly exclusively—in the brackish area of the Elbe estuary. In order to explain this observed settlement characteristic, four main arguments come into consideration: (1) estuaries with intensive international shipping have a higher potential infection rate than other aquatic zones; (2) brackish water species have, due to specific physiological characteristics, a better chance of being transported alive than euhaline or freshwater species and they also probably have a higher perennation and establishment potential after release; (3) brackish waters have the greatest natural ‘indigenous species minimum’, so that more alien species can potentially establish; and (4) salt-tolerant limnetic alien species introduced into inland water reached the coast at first in the estuaries. It seems that the combination of brackish water with its unsaturated ecological niches and intensive international ship traffic has the highest potential infection rate for aquatic systems with alien macrozoobenthic species. And, estuaries are subjected to a two-sided invasion pressure by alien species, via the ocean (mainly shipping) and via inland waters (mainly shipping canal construction). The identification of such patterns is an important prerequisite for the development of a forward-looking alien monitoring and management strategy.

Dataset
  • MarBEF (2006) MarBEF Publication Series data. Available online on EurOBIS. Consulted on dd-mm-yyyy., more

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Author | Dataset 


If any information here appears to be incorrect, please contact us
Back to Register of Resources
 
Quick links

MarBEF WIKI

Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (EMBC)
Outreach

Science
Responsive Mode Programme (RMP) - Marie Nordstrom, copyright Aspden Rebecca

WoRMS
part of WoRMS logo

ERMS 2.0
Epinephelus marginatus Picture: JG Harmelin

EurOBIS

Geographic System

Datasets

 


Web site hosted and maintained by Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) - Contact data-at-marbef.org