caa a22 4500 463167910 CHVBK 20180406164804.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170326e20070801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10530-006-9065-x doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10530-006-9065-x Invasive species as a new food source: does a nudibranch predator prefer eating an invasive bryozoan? [Elektronische Daten] [Marney Pratt, Emily Grason] Membranipora membranacea is an invasive bryozoan that was first found in the Gulf of Maine in 1987 and within two years became the dominant organism living on kelps. Membranipora may have become dominant so quickly because it had little competition in a relatively unoccupied niche; however, lack of predation has also probably played a major role. Where Membranipora is native, there is usually a specialist nudibranch predator that keeps the population in check. For example, in European populations, the nudibranch Polycera quadrilineata prefers Membranipora while Onchidoris muricata is known to prefer another bryozoan, Electra pilosa. Electra, Membranipora, and Onchidoris are all now found in the Gulf of Maine while Polycera is not. We tested whether Onchidoris would (1) eat Membranipora at all, (2) eat Membranipora and Electra at different rates, and (3) show a preference for eating Membranipora or Electra when given a choice. We found that Onchidoris does eat Membranipora, and it generally eats Membranipora faster than Electra. However, when given a choice, Onchidoris prefers Electra. Onchidoris typically reproduces in the spring and grows over the fall and winter, but has recently been found reproducing in the winter in New Hampshire. Although it does not survive the winter as well as Electra, Membranipora is the dominant organism living on many macroalgae in the late summer and fall. Thus, the large Membranipora food source now available in the summer and fall may allow Onchidoris to reproduce earlier. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006 Bryozoan nationallicence Electra pilosa nationallicence Invasive species nationallicence Membranipora membranacea nationallicence Nudibranch nationallicence Onchidoris muricata nationallicence Predation nationallicence Pratt Marney Biology Department, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, 04011, Brunswick, ME, USA aut Grason Emily Biology Department, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, 04011, Brunswick, ME, USA aut Biological Invasions Springer Netherlands 9/6(2007-08-01), 645-655 1387-3547 9:6<645 2007 9 10530 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-006-9065-x text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-006-9065-x text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Pratt Marney Biology Department, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, 04011, Brunswick, ME, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Grason Emily Biology Department, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, 04011, Brunswick, ME, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biological Invasions Springer Netherlands 9/6(2007-08-01), 645-655 1387-3547 9:6<645 2007 9 10530 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer