Population structure and spread of the polychaete Diopatra biscayensis along the French Atlantic coast: Human-assisted transport by-passes larval dispersal

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 dense D. biscayensis areas in the Vendée-Charente region in the Bay of Biscay. The majority of D. biscayensis were adjacent to the likely source, mussel seed ropes. Transport assisted by aquaculture is the likely explanation for the populations in the Normano-Breton Gulf.