Barnacles (Cirripedia, Balanomorpha) in Belgian waters, an overview of the species and recent evolutions, with emphasis on exotic species

In the present article an overview is given of all the recent Cirripedia Balanomorpha mentioned for Belgian waters with an appraisal of their present status and possible new evolutions. Historical data are reviewed, and completed with data from recent research and additional fieldwork. A recent and remarkable increase of the number of species belonging to the Belgian fauna was noted. The causes for this augmentation are discussed. Although some other species were mentioned, it appears that only 3 species were common in Belgium until World War II: Semibalanus balanoides, Balanus crenatus and B.... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Kerckhof, F.
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2002
Schlagwörter: Check lists / Introduced species / Species diversity / Balanomorpha [acorn barnacles] / Balanus amphitrite Darwin / 1854 [striped barnacle] / Balanus crenatus Bruguière / 1789 [An acorn barnacle] / Balanus improvisus Darwin / 1854 / Balanus perforatus Bruguière / 1789 / Balanus reticulatus / Balanus trigonus / Balanus variegatus / Cirripedia / Elminius modestus Darwin / Megabalanus coccopoma [titan acorn barnacle] / Megabalanus tintinnabulum / Semibalanus balanoides (Linnaeus / 1758) [Barnacle] / ANE / Belgium / Europe
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26579736
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/132970.pdf

In the present article an overview is given of all the recent Cirripedia Balanomorpha mentioned for Belgian waters with an appraisal of their present status and possible new evolutions. Historical data are reviewed, and completed with data from recent research and additional fieldwork. A recent and remarkable increase of the number of species belonging to the Belgian fauna was noted. The causes for this augmentation are discussed. Although some other species were mentioned, it appears that only 3 species were common in Belgium until World War II: Semibalanus balanoides, Balanus crenatus and B. improvisus . The former 2 are boreo-arctic species and can be considered as indigenous to the region. The latter is probably an early immigrant into European waters. During World War II, the New Zealand barnacle Elminius modestus reached Europe as fouling on ships of the Allied Powers. Nowadays, this species is the most common barnacle in Belgian waters. In 1996, B.amphitrite was discovered at several places along the Belgian coast.This cosmopolitan warm water species is now common in suitable habitats. During a recent study from buoys off the Belgian coast, 6 additional species were found: B. reticulatus, B. variegatus, B. trigonus, Megabalanus coccopoma and M. tintinnabulum , which are mainly cosmopolitan species living in tropical or warm temperate waters, and B. perforatus , a Lusitanean species apparently spreading to the south. For the time being these species are still rare and their occurrence is restricted to the specific habitat of the offshore buoys.