Abstract
Experimental field and laboratory studies indicate that Cerithidea californica, a native mud snail, is restricted to only a portion of its normal habitat range in San Francisco Bay as a result of direct interactions with an introduced ecological equivalent, Ilyanassa obsoleta. The native snail typically inhabits marsh pans, tidal creeks and mudflats in estuaries along the Pacific coast. However, in San Francisco Bay it is confined to pans for most of the year, while the non-native snail inhabits the creeks and mudflats. Experiments and field monitoring demonstrate that this abnormal distribution pattern is caused by 1) interference competition for space in the form of an adult-adult behavioral avoidance by C. californica in the presence of invading I. obsoleta, and 2) predation by I. obsoleta on the eggs and juveniles of C. californica. The competitive exclusion of C. californica by I. obsoleta has not led to the extinction of the native snail because of the existence of a refuge for C. californica in pan habitats, beyond the physiological tolerances of I. obsoleta. As a consequence of the seasonal migrations of both species and changes in abiotic factors along the habitat gradient, repeated competitive displacements, rather than a one-time competitive exclusion, are observed between these two species. This is the first documented case of the competitive displacement of an endemic marine intertidal species by an introduced ecological equivalent.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Arnold AF (1901) The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide. The Century Co., San Francisco. 490 pp
Batchelder CH (1915) Migration of Ilyanassa obsoleta, Litorina litorea and Litorina rudis. Nautilus 29(4):43–46
Brown SC (1969) The structure and function of the digestive system of the mud snail Nassarius obsoletus (Say). Malacologia 9(2):447–500
Carlton JT (1979a) Introduced invertebrates of San Francisco Bay. In: TJ Conomos (ed) San Francisco Bay: The Urbanized Estuary. Pacific Division, American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco, CA
Calton JT (1979b) History, Biogeography, and Ecology of the Introduced Marine Estuarine Invertebrates of the Pacific Coast of North America. PhD Thesis, Univ of Calif, Davis
Colwell RK, Fuentes ER (1975) Experimental studies of the niche. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 6:281–310
Colwell RK, Futuyma DJ (1971) On the measurement of niche breadth and overlap. Ecology 52(4):567–576
Connell JH (1975) Some mechanisms producing structure in natural communities: A model and evidence from field experiments. In: ML Cody and JM Diamond (eds) Ecology and Evolution of Communities. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Connor MS, Teal JM, Valiela I (1980) The effect of grazing by mud snails (Ilyanassa obsoleta) on the structure and metabolism of a benthic algal community. Submitted to Ecology
Curtis LA, Hurd LE (1979) On the broad nutritional requirements of the mud snail, Ilyanassa (Nassarius) obsoleta (Say), and its polytrophic role in the food web. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 41:289–297
DeBach PE (1966) The competitive displacement and coexistence principles. Annual Review of Entomology 11:183–212
Elton C (1958) The Ecology of Invasion by Plants and Animals. Methuen and Co, London. 181 pp
Fenchel T (1965) Factors determining the distribution patterns of mud snails (Hybrobiidae). Oecologia 20:1–17
Gardner JA, Woodall WR, Staats AA, Napoli JF (1976) The invasion of the Asiatic clam (Corbicula manilensis Philippi) in the Altamaha River, Georgia. Nautilus 90(3):117–125
Grant DC (1965) Specific Diversity in the Infauna of an Intertidal Sand Community. PhD Dissertation, Yale University. University Microfilms, Inc, Ann Arbor, Mich #65-9675
Grant PR (1972) Interspecific Competition Among Rodents. Ann Rev Ecol & Systematics 3:79–106
Heck KL (1980) Competitive Exclusion or Competitive Delusion? Paleobiology, 6(3) pp 241–242
Keep J (1881) Common Sea-Shells of California. Upton Bros, San Francisco
Kinzie RA III (1968) The ecology of the replacement of Pseudosquilla ciliata (Fabricus) by Gonodactylus falcatus (Forskil) (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) recently introduced into the Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science, Vol XXII(4):465–475. October 1968
Lachner EA, Robins CR, Courtenay WR (1970) Exotic fishes and other aquatic organisms introduced into North America. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No 59, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC
Lassen HH, Kristensen JH (1978) Tolerance to abiotic factors in mudsnails (Hybrobiidae). Natura Jutlandica 20:243–250
Laycock G (1966) The Alien Animals. Natural History Press, Garden City, NY 240 pp
MacDonald KB (1967) Quantitative Studies of Salt Marsh Mollusc Faunas from the North American Pacific Coast. PhD Dissertation, University of California, San Diego (No. 67-12907), 316 pp. Univ Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan
McCloy MF (1979) Population regulation in the deposit feeding mesogastropod Cerithidea californica as it occurs in a San Diego salt marsh habitat. MS Thesis, San Diego State University, 104 pp
McDowall RM (1968) Interactions of the native and alien faunas of New Zealand and the problem of fish introductions. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 97(1):1–11
Martin WE (1972) An annotated key to the Cercariae that develop in the snail Cerithidea californica. Bulletin of Southern California Academy of Science 71:39–43
Miller RS (1967) Pattern and Process in Competition. In: Advances in Ecological Research, Vol 4, pp 1–74, JB Cragg (ed). Academic Press, NY
Mills EL (1967) The Biology of an Ampeliscid Amphipod Crustacean Sibling Species Pair. Journal of Fisheries Research Board, Canada 24(2):305–355
Moyle PB (1973) Effects of introduced bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana on the native frogs of the San Joaquin Valley, California, Copeia 1973(1):18–22
Moyle PB (1974) Decline of the native fish fauna of the Sierra Nevada foothills, central California. American Midland Naturalist 92(1):72–83
Moyle PB (1976) Fish introductions in California: History and impact on native fishes. Biological Conservation 9:101–118
Nichols JA, Robertson JR (1979) Field evidence that the eastern mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta, influences nematode community structure. Nautilus 93(1):44–46
Pace ML, Shimmel S, Darley WM (1979) The effect of grazing by a gastropod, Nassarius obsoletus, on the benthic microbial community of a salt marsh mudflat. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 9:121–134
Race MS (1979) Interference competition between native and introduced mudsnails: an experimental study of the dynamics and mechanisms of displacement of Cerithidea californica by Ilyanassa obsoleta. PhD dissertation, University of Californica, Berkeley. 135 pp
Race MS (1981) Field ecology and natural history of Cerithidea californica (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in San Francisco Bay. Veliger 24(1):18–27
Recher JF (1966) Some aspects of the ecology of migrant shorebirds. Ecology 47(3):393–407
Robertson JR (1979) Evidence for tidally correlated feeding rhythms in the eastern mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta. Nautilus 93(1):39–40
Scheltema RS (1960) Feeding habits and growth in the mud snail Nassarius obsoletus. Chesapeake Science 5(4):161–166
Sindermann CJ (1960) Ecological studies of marine dermatitis-producing schistosome larvae in northern New England. Ecology 41(4):678–684
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1969) Biometry. San Francisco: WH Freeman and Co
Vernberg WB, Vernberg FJ (1963) Influence of parasitism on thermal resistence of the mud flat snail, Nassarius obsoleta (Say). Experimental Parasitology 14:330–332
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Race, M.S. Competitive displacement and predation between introduced and native mud snails. Oecologia 54, 337–347 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380002
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380002