dasshdt00000158

The work carried out so far highlights Poole Harbour as being an anomaly in the apparent steady progressive development of Pacific oyster populations around the coast, in that there is an obvious source of larvae but little successful settlement. The mechanisms which are ‘dampening down’ expected settlement appear to include at least one physical factor but it is likely that this is moderated by biological factors such as competition for settlement space and predation. Further work is required to establish which biological factors may be modifying recruitment success and whether recruitment is moderated during the larval stage or post metamorphosis. if the dominant controlling factor(s) act before oyster settlement it is most likely water temperature that controls the naturalised population, however top-down control by predators could be significant if oysters are surviving metamorphosis.截至目前的研究成果显示，普尔港（Poole Harbour）在全球沿岸太平洋牡蛎（Pacific oyster）种群看似稳定渐进的种群扩张过程中呈现出异常特征：该区域存在明确的幼体（larvae）来源，但成功实现附着定居的个体却寥寥无几。抑制预期附着定居进程的机制至少包含一种物理因素，而这类机制大概率会受到附着空间竞争、捕食作用等生物因素的调节。后续仍需开展相关研究，以明确究竟哪些生物因素会影响种群补充成功（recruitment success），同时探明种群补充过程是在幼体阶段还是变态后阶段受到调控。若主导控制因素作用于牡蛎附着定居之前，则最有可能是水温调控该区域的归化自然种群；但若牡蛎能够顺利完成变态并存活，捕食者介导的下行控制（top-down control）效应则可能发挥显著作用。