| Intertidal populations of the ecosystem engineering polychaete, Diopatra biscayensis, were analyzed on the French Atlantic coast for three years with individual size estimated from tube-cap aperture. All but the northernmost population along the Bay of Biscay have yearly recruitment. Individuals live 3-5 years and are likely reproductive as one year olds. Simulations indicate dispersal distances are < 50 km; yet, populations also exist within the Normano-Breton Gulf in the western English Channel, more than 450 km from the northernmost Bay of Biscay population at La Trinité-sur-Mer. Three of the four populations in the Normano-Breton Gulf have no young of the year, but are near to active mussel culture where mussel seed is transported on ropes from... |
