Migrant Oysters on the West Coast of Sweden
Photo: Ivana Maček
Ivana Maček
CASE 5. Migrant Oysters on the West Coast of Sweden
These molluscs, imported from the Pacific Ocean, escaped from European aquafarms and hitchhiked on warming sea-currents to the Western shores of Sweden. Accused of outcompeting local species and cutting summer guests’ feet, they are also ecosystem engineers, reef builders and a potential new marine nutrient.
Hammering Pacific Oysters away from the cliffs of Bohuslän means also destroying marine societies that include other species that have found their home on Pacific oyster reefs.
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Selected publications
Dealing with Biodiversity Dilemmas in Ordinary Places: The Case of Invasive and Introduced Species
2024. von Essen, E., Ahlberg, K., Cole, T., Karlsson B. G., and Maček, I. Nature and Culture 19(3): 237-45. https://doi.org/10.3167/nc.2024.190301
News
Älskade, hatade lupin
Är de invasiva arterna som kommit till Sverige ett hot eller en möjlighet? Vetenskapsreportern Bodil Appelquists trädgård bär på frågor som tar oss ut på en resa över hela världen och blickar bakåt i historien. Lupiner, parkslide, minkar och jätteostron - aldrig förr har invasiva arter spridits så snabbt som idag. De beskrivs som ett hot mot biologisk mångfald och mot människans närmiljö men vilka andra slutsatser drar forskarna? Och vad är det som avgör om en art älskas eller hatas?
https://www.svtplay.se/video/j16G1WR/alskade-hatade-lupin
Social Anthropologists call for more complexity in biodiversity debate
Increasingly, animal and plant species are being moved, or migrating to new places as a result of climate change, trade and new infrastructure. While often referred to as ‘invasive’, the researchers behind the BIOrdinary project prefer to speak of migratory species. They want to shift the debate to focus on local contexts and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of biodiversity.
Blog posts
29 Aug, 2024 Migrant Oysters on the West Coast of Sweden
