The marine splash midge Telmatogonjaponicus (Diptera; Chironomidae)—extreme and alien?

• We found all developmental stages of the midge offshore windmills near the major Swedish seaport Kalmar in the southern Baltic Sea. This might be the first record of an insect species really inhabiting the offshore areas of the Baltic Sea. A thorough analysis of previous findings of the species, its history in Europe and its ecology indicates that Telmatogeton japonicus (Chironomidae) onT. japonicus quite likely is an alien species in Europe introduced from the Pacific Ocean. Shipping is probably the vector, as all records in the Baltic Sea and several from the Eastern Atlantic Sea are near major seaports. Our analysis further suggests that be both advantageous and disadvantageous to native species in the Baltic Sea. T. japonicus should be kept under observation within monitoring programmes as it might expand its distribution as a result of the construction of new windmills in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere in European marine and brackish water habitats.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Zoologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Zoology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

BalticSea

Invasive species

Marine insect

Offshore windmills

Telmatogeton japonicus

Marine ecology

Marin ekologi

Animal Ecology

zoologisk ekologi

Biology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)