Impacts of two introduced suspension feeders in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

Abstract

In the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the study of the ecological consequences of marine invasions, but we still have data for only a small proportion of established marine invaders. This is exemplified by Port Phillip Bay, Australia, for which we have quantitative data on the impacts of only a handful of the >160 introduced and cryptogenic species present. Some of the most conspicuous of these invaders are the large epibenthic suspension feeders living on soft sediments. In this study, we examined the impact of 2 of the most common epibenthic suspension feeders in Port Phillip Bay, the introduced polychaete Sabella spallanzanii and an introduced solitary ascidian, Styela cla..