Biodiversity Data Journal :
Alien Species Profile
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Corresponding author: Koraon Wongkamhaeng (koraon@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Yasen Mutafchiev
Received: 10 Sep 2019 | Accepted: 04 Mar 2020 | Published: 06 Mar 2020
© 2020 Koraon Wongkamhaeng, Pongrat Dumrongrojwattana, Myung-Hwa Shin, Chaichat Boonyanusith
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Wongkamhaeng K, Dumrongrojwattana P, Shin M-H, Boonyanusith C (2020) Grandidierella gilesi Chilton, 1921 (Amphipoda, Aoridae), first encounter of non-indigenous amphipod in the Lam Ta Khong River, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, North-eastern Thailand. Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e46452. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e46452
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The first record of the non-indigenous, alien amphipod Grandidierella gilesi in the Lam Ta Khong River is presented. Previously, this Indo-Pacific amphipod had only been reported in the Indian Ocean, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, the South China Sea and Australia. In Thailand, G. gilesi was previously reported in an isolated pond in Bangkok. The present study constitutes another record of this species in inland water. The characteristics and variation of G. gilesi, observed in this study, are also discussed. All the specimens described here are preserved at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Prince of Songkla University, Songkla, Thailand.
Aorid amphipod, Crustacea, non-indigenous, aquaculture, Lam Ta Khong River, Thailand
Research Grant of Burapha University through National Research Council of Thailand (Grant no. 136/2561) and Marine Biotechnology Program (20170488) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea.
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Thailand, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Burapha University, Thailand
This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in Animal Care & Use Guidelines of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Burapha University (IACUC BUU). Amphipods were anaesthetised with ice, then fixed in 10% formalin and finally preserved in 70% ethanol. The study area is a public area which required no specific permissions for this location. All efforts were made to minimise suffering and habitat destruction. This work did not involve endangered or protected species.
Koraon Wongkamhaeng: conceptualisation, methodology, resources, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing
Pongrat Dumrongrojwattana: conceptualisation, funding acquisition, methodology, resources
Chaichat Boonyanusith: methodology, review & editing
Myung‐Hwa Shin: writing – review & editing
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Forty-three valid species of Grandidierella Coutière, 1904 have been recorded around the world (
Grandidierella gilesi Chilton, 1921 is a euryhaline species that has been reported in various habitats in the Indo-Pacific area (Fig.
Distribution of Grandidierella gilesi: 1. Chilika Lagoon, India (
The Lam Ta Khong River is a major river in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, originating from the Dong Phaya Yen Ranges (Khao Yai National Park). It flows eastwards through the Pak Chong, Sikhiu, Sung Noen and Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima Districts over a distance of 224 km. The Lam Ta Khong Dam was constructed at the border of the Pak Chong and Sikhiu sub-district (
The Lam Ta Khong River is situated in the northeast part of Thailand (Fig.
Amphipods were collected in the Lam Ta Khong River at Sung Noen (
Grandidierella gilesi shows some distinct characteristics which occurs in both male and female, having gnathopod 2 very slender; basis elongate, broadening distally; merus triangular, bearing a row of long pectinate setae, strongly produced posteriorly; carpus and propodus slender, carpus longer than propodus, expanded medially with 2 rows of long pectinate setae on posterior margin, propodus distal end expanded, palm forward projecting process, dactylus fitting palm. Grandidierella gilesi resembles Grandidierella exilis from the Arabian Sea. Both have gnathopod 2 merus with a row of long pectinate setae, but differ in the male and female gnathopod 2 carpus and propodus are sub-equal (vs. carpus longer than propodus in G. gilesi), merus sub-quadrate, not strongly produced (vs. strongly produced in G. gilesi).
Antennae elongate (Fig.
The amphipod is a euryhaline species and has been recorded in soft bottom habitats from open seas to estuaries with salinities ranging from 15 ppt to 32 ppt. This amphipod is a tube builder and it attaches its tubes to hard substrates, including sticks from trees, algae and oyster shells.
Soft bottom, brackish water with salinity range from 15 ppt to 32 ppt.
Chilika Lagoon, India (
Sung Noen, Lam Ta Khong River
The amphipods have the potential to affect native fauna such as freshwater sponges via habitat modification through tube-building. In coastal polychaete aquaculture in eastern Thailand, the invasion of this amphipod species was observed and the aggressive behaviour was recorded from the farmer.
Observation and monitoring on Grandidierella gilesi spread are needed in other rivers in Thailand in order to prevent spreading to aquaculture areas.
This amphipod species has been reported as a major food in the stomach contents of some economic fish species. It can be reared as live food in coastal and freshwater aquaculture.
Amphipods play many important roles in the trophodynamics link between primary producers to larger animals in higher trophic levels. This species is a filter feeder which cleans suspended particles in the water column.
The Grandidierella gilesi, found in the present study, were similar to those described by
Grandidierella gilesi specimens were abundant in both study sites and present in all of the replicates. These specimens occurred in both silty clay and loamy sand and appeared to prefer deeper water. This species of amphipod is a tube builder and typically lives in a mass of detritus and debris. Some members of this species attach their tubes to sticks from trees. Along the 20 km observation area, G. gilesi was only found in Sung Noen and Bung Khilek. This amphipod was present all year round in Sung Noen but occurred only in the dry season (November) in Bung Khilek. It is possible that the population present in Bung Khilek was smaller and was therefore washed out during the rainy season. Several aquatic insect families can be found in the same area, including Ecnomidae, Leptoceridae, Chironomidae, Caenidae, Baetidae, Callopterygidae and Gomphidae. Freshwater clams of the genus Cobucula and palaemonid shrimps have also been found in this area.
A variety of reports of other non-indigenous Grandidierella species have discussed their introduction pathways. For example, Grandidierella japonica was introduced with the importation of Japanese oysters and Crassostres gigas (
The present study site was located approximately 200 km from the Gulf of Thailand. According to data from the Department of Fisheries, one pathway for G. gilesi introduction may have been related to Litopenaeus vannamei farms in some abandoned saltpans in None Pradu District, 50 km from the study site. Litopenaeus vannamei are marine shrimps. The farms in this area operate by transporting post-larvae shrimps from hatcheries in the Gulf of Thailand and directly introducing them to the farms. Grandidierella gilesi could have entered the hatcheries via the seawater pump or live food or could have been introduced along with the shrimp larvae. In 2011, a massive flood covered two-thirds of the country, including this area. The amphipod living in the aquaculture system may have migrated to the Lam Ta Khong River during this flood. Further sampling of the amphipod in the L. vannamei farm is needed. Genetic comparison between the population from the Lam Ta Khong River and other sources in Thailand might explain the origin and the process for the introduction of G. gilesi into this area. Another potential vector for alien amphipod introduction is ornithochory (
The first record of the non-indigenous amphipod Grandidierella gilesi in the Lam Ta Khong River is presented. Previously, this Indo-Pacific amphipod was only found in estuaries and marine water areas. In Thailand, G. gilesi was reported in an isolated pond in Bangkok; this study constitutes another record of this species in inland waters. The male specimens from this area displayed variations on the gnathopod 2 carpus in that it is armed with one large and one small tooth on the inner face. These have not been documented in G. gilesi. One pathway of amphipod introduction may be related to Litopenaeus vannamei farms in an abandoned saltpan in the None Pradu District, 50 km from the study site. The amphipods living in this aquaculture system may have migrated to the Lam Ta Khong River during a flood that occurred in the rainy season.
The authors would like to thank Dr Alan Myers, University College Cork, Ireland for suggestions on the ecology of the amphipod. We are grateful to the Marine and Coastal Resources Institute for the use of their laboratory facilities. This work was financially supported by a Research Grant of Burapha University through the National Research Council of Thailand (Grant no. 136/2561) and a grant from the Marine Biotechnology Program (20170488) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea.