Case Study: Slipper Limpet

The slipper limpet, Crepidula fornicata, was unintentionally conveyed in an oyster shipment from Long Island Sound to the southeast coast of England over one hundred years ago. From England, the slipper limpet has spread into much of northern Europe. Transported mainly through oyster trade, the slipper limpet is often found in bays with oyster culture, but it can be carried on boat hulls, as well, and has been increasingly found in port regions.

Slipper limpets, like other mollusks, feed by filtering, or passing water over their gills. In this way, slipper limpets compete with native mollusks for food and in areas where limpet populations are high, can outcompete oysters, clams, and mussels. Slipper limpets attach together to form a chain, which allows limpets to reproduce quickly, and these chains of shells can become so dense that they completely blanket the sea bottom. Where this occurs, slipper limpets can change bottom sediments and smother many bottom-dwelling species. The population in northern France is estimated to exceed one million tons.

Related Links:
-- ^{http://www.marine.ie/SeaState/Issue05/index.html-ssi#hitchiii}
-- ^{http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/science/1998/0810/sci5.htm}
-- ^{http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/single_image/0,5716,14565+asmbly%5Fid,00.html}