NOBANIS - Marine invasive species in Nordic waters - Fact Sheet

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Distribution Native distribution This is a cryptogenic species. It was originally described from Helgoland in 1847 (Bakken & Wilson, 2005), but it took almost 100 years before it was recorded in other places. However, Wolff (1973) claims that it may have been present in the Netherlands since the 18th century, and there are museum records from 1899. Introduced distribution This species is found almost worldwide, but has been considered native of the North(east) Atlantic and then introduced to other regions. It was first recorded from Danish waters in 1953, but later a few specimens, which had been collected in 1949, were found in the Zoological Museum, Copenhagen (Muus, 1967). It was first found in Sweden on the west coast in 1940 (Smith, 1963). It is often associated with mussel beds (Muus, 1967; Rasmussen, 1973). On the west coast of the USA N. succinea lives in a land-locked salt-lake, Salton Sea, below sea level (Kuhl & Oglesby, 1979). The species recorded as Nereis succinea in the Caspian Sea has turned out to be Hediste diversicolor (=Nereis d.) (Muus, 1967). Neanthes succinea occurs in Iranean Gulf (as Nereis alatopalpis) and in southeastern Australia, where it was first recorded in 1978 (Hewitt et al., 2004). Ecology N. succinea is a deposit-feeder preferentially inhabiting soft bottoms from intertidal to about 20 m depth (Wolff, 1973). It may also be a voracious predator or scavenger, feeding on amphipods or other small invertebrates (Rasmussen, 1973; Hardege et al., 1990). It burrows in the sediment and may form semi-permanent U-shaped tubes or complex gallery burrows, depending on the sediment (Rasmussen, 1973; Kirkegaard, 1992). It may occur in densities of 600 individuals per m² (Rasmussen, 1973). It is highly tolerant for kinds of pollution and extremely euryhaline (Kuhl & Oglesby, 1979) and is able to take up sediment-associated pollutants through the gut (Ahrens et al., 2001). It is often associated with mussel and oyster beds. It is an excellent food for many fish species (Carpelan & Linsley, 1961; Neuhoff, 1979), and is also used for bait by sport fishermen. During swarming they are often prey of sea birds from above and jellyfish from below (Rasmussen, 1973). Reproduction In N. succinea both sexes show swarming behavior in connection with reproduction. Swarming takes place in the summer at temperatures above 13° C, and usually during the night at new moon (Kirkegaard, 1992), though it occurred in bright sunshine in the Isefjord (Rasmussen, 1973). The the Salton Sea swarming does not seem to follow a monthly cycle (Carpelan & Linsley, 1972). In N. virens only the males form “heteronereis” or epitoke body forms with enlanrged parapodial lobes on part of the body (Bass & Brafield, 1972). H. diversicolor does not change in body form in connection with reproduction (Kirkegaard, 1992). In all three species the worms die soon after spawning (Muus, 1967; Kirkegaard, 1992). Spawning period for N. succinea is June to September, for N. virens April to May, and for H. diversicolor June to August (Neuhoff, 1979). Gonads mature while the animals are still in their tubes while they wait for the adequate signal to initiate swarming
(Hardege et al., 1990). The body is divided into 3 regions during the swarming period; only the middle section is used for swimming. Males are bright red in the middle section and females greenish brown (Rasmussen, 1973). Many studies have been carried out on the role of pheromones in the reproduction of this species (Zeeck et al., 1990; Ram et al., 1999, 2008; Watson et al., 2003; Hardege et al., 2004). Swarming is controlled by temperature and lunar phase (Hardege et al., 1990). Impacts As it is considered native in many European countries, impacts have not been identified except for Australia and the west coast of the USA. It has a high potential for bioturbation and the impacts associated with this, e.g. oxygenation in deeper layers, bioavailability of pollutants buried in the sediment, increased activity of meiofauna and micro-organisms. It is able to bioaccumulate a number of pollutants and may be used as a biomonitor. Competition with other nereid species has been suggested as H. diversicolor seems to become rare where N. succinea becomes common (Smith, 1963). Nereis succinea and the other nereid species are commonly used as bait. References Ahrens, M.J., Hertz, J., Lamoureux, E.M., Lopez, G.R., McElroy, A.E. and Brownawell, B.J. 2001. The effect of body size on digestive chemistry and absorption efficiencies of food and sediment-bound organic contaminants in Nereis succinea (Polychaeta). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 263: 185-209. Bakken, T. and Wilson, R.S. 2005. Phylogeny of nereidids (Polychaeta, Nereididae) with paragnaths. Zoologica Scripta 34: 507-547. Bartoli, M., Nizzoli, D., Welsh, D.T. and Viaroli, P. 2000. Short-term influence of recolonisation by the polychaete worm Nereis succinea on oxygen and nitrogen fluxes and denitrification: a microcosm simulation. Hydrobiologia 431: 165-174. Bass, N.R. and Brafield, A.E. 1972. The life-cycle of the polychaete Nereis virens. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 52: 701-726. Briggs, K.B., Tenore, K.R. and Hanson, R.B. 1979. The rôle of microfauna in detrital utilization by the polychaete, Nereis succinea (Frey and Leuckart). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 36: 225-234. Carpelan, L.H. and Linsley, R.H. 1961. The spawning of Neanthes succinea in the Salton Sea. Ecology 42(1): 189-190. Hardege, J.D., Bartels-Hardege, H., Müller, C.T. and Beckmann, M. 2004. Peptide pheromones in female Nereis succinea. Peptides 25: 1517-1522. Hardege, J.D., Bartels-Hardege, H.D., Zeeck, E. and Grimm, F.T. 1990. Induction of swarming of Nereis succinea. Marine Biology 104: 291-295. Horst, R. 1922. Een heteronereis-vorm van Nereis succinea Leuck. Zoologische Mededeelingen 7: 40. Kirkegaard, J.B. 1992. Havbørsteorme I. Errantia. Danmarks Fauna 83: 1-416. Kristensen, E. 1983a. Ventilation and oxygen uptake by three species of Nereis (Annelida: Polychaeta). I. Effects of
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NOBANIS - Marine invasive species in Nordic waters - Fact Sheet

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