Littorina littorea
System : Marine
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neotaenioglossa
Littorinidae
  • General
  • Distribution
  • Impact
  • Management
  • Bibliography
  • Contact
Common name
common periwinkle (English)
Synonym
Similar species
Summary
Littorina littorea is a mollusc which is often distributed on rocky coasts, from the upper shore into the sub-littoral. It is also tolerant of brackish water. Littorina littorea feeds on diatoms, Enteromorpha, Ulva and Porphyra. Littorina littorea are oviparous and reproduce annually. Egg capsules are shed directly into the sea. It has been suggested that Littorina littorea can serve as a highly suitable bio-indicator species for contamination of marine environments.
Species Description
Jackson (2002) states that Littorina littorea, \"Is the largest British periwinkle, with the shell reaching a maximum height of 52mm. The shell is sharply conical with a pointed apex and surface sculpturing. The spiral ridges, which are marked in young animals, tend to become obscured in older individuals, giving the shell a smooth appearance. The shell colour ranges from gray-black-brown-red but is generally black or dark gray-brown, often lighter towards the apex, and is usually patterned with spiral darker lines. The columella or central axis of the shell is typically white and the animal is recognizable in its juvenile stages by the transverse black barring of the tentacles, which are rather flat and broad.\"
Notes
Dubois (2002) states that L. littorea, \"Plays a very important role in shoreline ecosystems. Once they have recruited (come out of the water column after spending their youth as plankton), they are significant grazers of the juvenile algae that attempts to recruit in the same area.\"
Lifecycle Stages
Jackson (2002) states that L. littorea , \"Sheds egg capsules directly into the sea. Egg capsules are about 1mm across and each biconvex capsule can contain up to nine eggs but normally there are only two or three eggs per capsule. Egg release is synchronized with spring tides. In estuaries the population matures earlier in the year and maximum spawning occurs in January. Larval settling time or pelagic phase can be up to six weeks.\"
Uses
Chase et al. (UNDATED) state that L. littorea \"Was introduced to Canada through ballast water or intentionally for food.\" Jackson (2002) states that L. littorea, \"has been suggested as a highly suitable bio-indicator species for contamination of the marine environment. This stems mainly from its ability to accumulate trace elements and compounds and consequential behavioural changes.\"
Habitat Description
Jackson (2002) states that, \"L. littorea is widely distributed on rocky coasts, in all except the most exposed areas, from the upper shore into the sublittoral. In sheltered conditions they can also be found in sandy or muddy habitats such as estuaries and mud-flats. The species is fairly tolerant of brackish water.\"
Reproduction
L. littorea are dioecious. They are oviparous, and reproduce annually. A female may have between 10,000 and 100,000 eggs. They mature between 2 and 3 years of age, and are expected to live between 5 and 10 years (Jackson, 2002).
Nutrition
Dubois (2002) states that. \"A fresh supply of diatoms, Enteromorpha, Ulva, and Porphyra is available in the numerous tide pools. These are the types of algae preferred by L. littorea.\"

Principal source: Littorina littorea: Common periwinkle (Jackson, 2002).
 Marine Gastropods: Littorina littorea (Dubois, 2002).

Compiler: National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) & IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)

Review: Anon

Publication date: 2005-03-11

Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Littorina littorea. Downloaded from http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=400 on 25-04-2024.

General Impacts
The Coastal Studies Center (CSC) (UNDATED) report that, \"L. littorea is an important macro-algal grazer that competes with the other local littorines.\" Chmielewski (2002) adds that, \"L. littorea has drastically altered the New England intertidal community structure by allowing slow growing Chondrus crispus to overtake faster growing green algal species. In both open coast and estuary habitats L. littorea can be found often at densities of 200-500 individuals per square metre (Menger et al., 2001, in Chmielewski, 2002).\"
Management Info
There is not much management information available for L. littorea in North America where it is invasive. For a similar species, L. saxatilis, Graham (2003) states that, \"In general, biocides, manual removal of marine invaders, and the introduction of bio-control agents have been considered in the removal of invaders of marine systems. However, little has been done in the way of eradication and or research in this area in general. There is concern that any research to be conducted should include the study of ways to avoid reintroduction of the species.”
Countries (or multi-country features) with distribution records for Littorina littorea
ALIEN RANGE
NATIVE RANGE
  • europe
  • ireland
  • united kingdom
Informations on Littorina littorea has been recorded for the following locations. Click on the name for additional informations.
Lorem Ipsum
Location Status Invasiveness Occurrence Source
Details of Littorina littorea in information
Status
Invasiveness
Arrival date
Occurrence
Source
Introduction
Species notes for this location
Location note
Management notes for this location
Impact
Mechanism:
Outcome:
Ecosystem services:
Impact information
The Coastal Studies Center (CSC) (UNDATED) report that, \"L. littorea is an important macro-algal grazer that competes with the other local littorines.\" Chmielewski (2002) adds that, \"L. littorea has drastically altered the New England intertidal community structure by allowing slow growing Chondrus crispus to overtake faster growing green algal species. In both open coast and estuary habitats L. littorea can be found often at densities of 200-500 individuals per square metre (Menger et al., 2001, in Chmielewski, 2002).\"
Red List assessed species 0:
Locations
CANADA
UNITED STATES
Mechanism
[4] Competition
Outcomes
[9] Environmental Ecosystem - Habitat
  • [1] Modification of natural benthic communities
  • [4] Reduction in native biodiversity
  • [4] Habitat degradation
Management information
There is not much management information available for L. littorea in North America where it is invasive. For a similar species, L. saxatilis, Graham (2003) states that, \"In general, biocides, manual removal of marine invaders, and the introduction of bio-control agents have been considered in the removal of invaders of marine systems. However, little has been done in the way of eradication and or research in this area in general. There is concern that any research to be conducted should include the study of ways to avoid reintroduction of the species.”
Bibliography
9 references found for Littorina littorea

Management information
Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)., 2008. Decision support tools-Identifying potentially invasive non-native marine and freshwater species: fish, invertebrates, amphibians.
Summary: The electronic tool kits made available on the Cefas page for free download are Crown Copyright (2007-2008). As such, these are freeware and may be freely distributed provided this notice is retained. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made and users should satisfy themselves as to the applicability of the results in any given circumstance. Toolkits available include 1) FISK- Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (English and Spanish language version); 2) MFISK- Marine Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit; 3) MI-ISK- Marine invertebrate Invasiveness Scoring Kit; 4) FI-ISK- Freshwater Invertebrate Invasiveness Scoring Kit and AmphISK- Amphibian Invasiveness Scoring Kit. These tool kits were developed by Cefas, with new VisualBasic and computational programming by Lorenzo Vilizzi, David Cooper, Andy South and Gordon H. Copp, based on VisualBasic code in the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) tool kit of P.C. Pheloung, P.A. Williams & S.R. Halloy (1999).
The decision support tools are available from: http://cefas.defra.gov.uk/our-science/ecosystems-and-biodiversity/non-native-species/decision-support-tools.aspx [Accessed 13 October 2011]
The guidance document is available from http://www.cefas.co.uk/media/118009/fisk_guide_v2.pdf [Accessed 13 January 2009].
General information
Chase, C., C. Reilly, J. Pederson. UNDATED. Marine Bioinvasion Fact Sheet: New England Marine Bioinvaders: Littorina littorea. MIT Sea Grant, Center for Coastal Resources.
Summary: General information on species
Available from: http://massbay.mit.edu/resources/pdf/case-studies.pdf [Accessed 18 October 2003].
Chmielewski, M. 2002. Littorina Species. Clark University.
Summary: Information on other common name, habitat and range, and a general description of species.
Available at: http://www.clarku.edu/departments/biology/biol201/2002/MChmielewski/Littorina%20spp..htm [Accessed 2 November 2004].
CSC (Coastal Studies Center). UNDATED. Marine Organisms: Littorina littorea.
Summary: Information on uses of species.
Available from: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/csc/organisms/animal/html/littor.shtml [Accessed 18 October 2003].
Cummins, V. UNDATED. An assessment of the potential for the sustainable development of the edible periwinkle, Littorina littorea, industry in Ireland. Coastal & Marine Resources Centre (CMRC). Available at: http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/research/crc/pages/projects/periwinkle.htm [Accessed 18 October 2003]
Dubois, J. 2002. Marine Gastropods: Littorina littorea. Clark University.
Summary: Information on habitat preferences, and general biology of species.
Available from: http://www.clarku.edu/departments/biology/biol201/2002/JDubois/Marine%20Gastropods.htm [Accessed 2 November 2004].
Graham, D. 2003. Rouge Periwinkle (Littorina littorea). [Online Database] Introduced Species Summary Project, Columbia University.
Summary: Information on other common names, habitat and range, and a general description of species.
Available from: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Littorina_saxatilis.html [Accessed 18 October 2003]
ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System), 2005. Online Database Littorina littorea
Summary: An online database that provides taxonomic information, common names, synonyms and geographical jurisdiction of a species. In addition links are provided to retrieve biological records and collection information from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Data Portal and bioscience articles from BioOne journals.
Available from: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/itisca/taxastep?king=every&p_action=containing&taxa=Littorina+littorea&p_format=&p_ifx=plglt&p_lang= [Accessed March 2005]
Jackson, A. 2002. Littorina littorea: Common periwinkle. [Online Database] Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme. Available at: http://www.marlin.ac.uk/index2.htm?species/Litlit.htm [Accessed 18 October 2003]
Summary: Information on taxonomy, identification, habitat preference, distribution, reproduction, longevity, and importance of species.
Contact
The following 0 contacts offer information an advice on Littorina littorea
Littorina littorea
common periwinkle
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Recommended citation
(2024). Littorina littorea. IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT).