BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Crepidula fornicata
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Will Rayment	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Dr Frédérique Viard
General Biology
Growth form	Turbinate	Feeding method	Active suspension feeder
Mobility/Movement	Crawler Permanent attachment	Environmental position	Epibenthic Epifaunal Epizoic
Typical food types	Phytoplankton and particulate organic food	Habit	Attached
Bioturbator		Flexibility	None (< 10 degrees)
Fragility	Robust	Size	Small-medium(3-10cm)
Height	Insufficient information	Growth Rate	0.04-1.11 mm/day
Adult dispersal potential	10-100m	Dependency	Independent
Sociability	Gregarious
Toxic/Poisonous?	No
General Biology Additional Information	Abundance In the Bay of Marennes-Oleron, France, Crepidula fornicata was found in a wide range of sediment grain sizes and depths. Maximum abundance and biomass reached 4770 individuals per m² and 354 g of dry weight per m² respectively in shallow muddy areas (De Montaudouin & Sauriau, 1999). Crepidula fornicata also occurs at "moderate" density, for example in the Arcachon Basin (De Montaudouin et al., 2001). Size at maturity Due to the protandrous hermaphroditic life-cycle of Crepidula fornicata, size at maturity is difficult to ascertain. Warne(1956), cited in Fretter & Graham (1981), reported size at maturity to be 4 mm but it is unclear whether this referred to both sexes or males only. Under laboratory conditions, Nelson et al. (1983) reported that the mean female length at first larval release was 23.8 mm. Growth rate Reported growth rates vary according to age. Pechenik et al. (1996) recorded juvenile growth rate for the 9 days after metamorphosis as varying between 15-225µm per day (mean 110.5µm per day). Thouzeau(1991) recorded mean juvenile growth rates over 1 month following settlement as 38-48µm per day with a maximum of 90µm per day. Mobility Immediately after settlement, juvenile Crepidula fornicata are capable of slow crawling and locate a suitable site for attachment and growth. This is either a stone or a chain of other Crepidula fornicata (conspecifics). The shell then grows to fit the substratum and consequently most animals are incapable of further movement at the age of about 2 years (Fretter & Graham, 1981). Nutrition Following laboratory experiments, Thain (1984) deduced that, for optimum growth and reproduction, an individual Crepidula fornicata being fed with the alga Phaeodactylum tricornutum requires 5 x 10⁸ algal cells per gram of flesh wet weight per day.
Biology References	Fretter & Graham, 1981, Hayward et al.., 1996, Montaudouin de & Sauriau, 1999, Nelson et al., 1983, Pechenik et al., 1996, Thouzeau, 1991, Thain, 1984, Blanchard, 1997, Sauriau et al., 1998, Ehrhold et al., 1998, Montaudouin de et al., 2001,