De invasie van de oesterrovers

Following up various rumours and indications about the latest invader of French oysterbeds my husband and I decided to exploit the matter during our holidays. The oysterdrill in question is the species Ocinebrellus inornatus, originally known from Japan and more recently from the western coast of the USA. The import of the species in Europe is estimated to have taken place some 20 years ago, along with spat of Crassostrea gigas. Populations occur in certain areas that can only be reached at the lowest of low tides. We have searched in the bay of Marennes-Oleron. With the invaluable help of Mr. S. Robert of the IFREMER-institute we were able – after several fruitless efforts – to locate a population of O. inornatus, living on the fringe of the oysterparks together with the native species Ocinebra erinaceus. We were thrilled to see that various specimens of one species were showing some characteristics of the other. Any comments from the scientists on the subject of hybridization?