IUBio

Serpula vermicularis

Geoff Read g.read at niwa.cri.nz
Mon Apr 12 22:18:14 EST 1999


Paula Pereira wrote:
> Does anyone know of any location(s) where Serpula vermicularis forms
> "reefs" besides Loch Creran (West of Scotland) and Ardbear Lough
> (Ireland)?

Probably not news to Paula, but for the rest of us here is the abstract of a 
recent paper on Scottish Serpula reefs: 

Moore, C. G., G. R. Saunders, & D. B. Harries. 1998. The status and 
ecology of reefs of Serpula vermicularis L. (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) in 
Scotland.— Aquatic Conservation, 8:645-656.

1. The distribution and abundance of reefs of Serpula vermicularis was 
examined in Loch Creran, the only known remaining site of reefs of this 
species in Scotland. In view of the decline in populations elsewhere, the 
aims included assessment of the importance of the Scottish population in 
terms of conservation of the reef habitat and the establishment of a 
baseline against which future changes could be gauged. A further objective 
was to determine appropriate conservation management of the reefs by 
examining the influence of both natural and anthropogenic factors. 2. Reefs 
were largely restricted to a depth range of 1-13 m. Factors controlling the 
depth distribution are discussed. 3. Serpula vermicularis reefs colonized a 
variety of substrata, but predominantly grew on lamellibranch shells on a 
seabed of muddy sand. There was some evidence that reef abundance 
was influenced by the availability of suitable substrata. 4. A belt of 
scattered reefs fringed much of the coastline of the loch with profuse reef 
development at two sites, where reef coverage exceeded 10% of the 
seabed. In terms of total abundance of Serpula vermicularis reefs, Loch 
Creran represents the major world site for reef development. It is concluded 
that the reefs of Loch Creran are of significant nature conservation 
importance and grounds for the establishment of conservation management 
are discussed. 5. Reef development is apparently curtailed in areas of 
strong currents and high flushing rate. There is evidence that human 
activity has adversely influenced reef growth through the discharge of 
organic factory effluent and the physical disturbance caused by mooring 
ground tackle. Scallop dredging also represents a significant threat to the 
persistence of serpulid reefs. Methods of minimizing damage to this rare 
and fragile feature are discussed.

--
  Geoff Read <g.read at niwa.cri.nz>


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