Benthic Community and Climate Change - Marine Ecology in a Changing World - page 132

Fig. 2. Total annual recruitment of introduced (nonnative) species is positively correlated with
mean water temperature during the preceding winter, whereas native species recruitment
is negatively correlated with winter temperatures. Copyright (2013) National Academy of
Sciences, USA.
the establishment and spread of introduced species, particularly those from
warmer or less extreme climates. The spread of exotic species is known to
depend upon temperature regimes and may profi t from global warming
(Walther et al. 2002). For instance, recent studies suggest that winter
mortality is the main factor limiting population increases of the introduced
American slipper limpet ( Crepidula fornicata ) in the Wadden Sea of Germany
and that the milder winters caused by global warming combined with a
northward shift of the negative ecological and economic effects may help
increase the abundance of northern populations (Thieltges et al . 2004).
A well-known case of biological invasion worldwide is that of the
Pacifi c oyster Crassostrea gigas ; this bivalve originated in Japan and has been
distributed in oyster cultures all over the world since the early twentieth
century (Andrews 1980, Quayle 1988, Arakawa 1990, Chew 1990). In most
regions it reproduced and dispersed successfully in new environments
such as British Columbia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Ecuador,
Argentina, and Brazil (Qualye 1988, Ayres 1991, Dinamani 1991, Möller et
al . 2001, Orensanz et al. 2002, Ruesink et al. 2005, Melo et al . 2009). Recent
studies found that high recruitment corresponded with higher than average
water temperatures in late summer, when spawning occurs, larvae are