Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Info
Gammarus tigrinus is an amphipod that lives in brackish and fresh water and is an important part of the food chain.
In living specimens the pattern is very distinctive, pale green or yellowish in males, more blue in females, with distinct cross bands of pale green with deep blue or black with gold.
The species name "tigrinus" refers to the unusual coloration found on the living individual, in the form of dark stripes on a light background.
Gammarus tigrinus is a gammarid amphipod native to the east coast of North America from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida.
Introduced populations are known from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence system, the upper Mississippi River, and fresh and brackish waters in Europe and Venezuela. In Europe, genetic studies indicate that the species has been introduced multiple times from different regions of North America.
Gammarus tigrinus has a high temperature and salinity tolerance and is characteristic of protected habitats, including algal beds, brackish marshes, and freshwater marshes and rocky shore pools.
In their introduced range, populations reportedly displace native amphipod species through competition and predation.
In living specimens the pattern is very distinctive, pale green or yellowish in males, more blue in females, with distinct cross bands of pale green with deep blue or black with gold.
The species name "tigrinus" refers to the unusual coloration found on the living individual, in the form of dark stripes on a light background.
Gammarus tigrinus is a gammarid amphipod native to the east coast of North America from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida.
Introduced populations are known from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence system, the upper Mississippi River, and fresh and brackish waters in Europe and Venezuela. In Europe, genetic studies indicate that the species has been introduced multiple times from different regions of North America.
Gammarus tigrinus has a high temperature and salinity tolerance and is characteristic of protected habitats, including algal beds, brackish marshes, and freshwater marshes and rocky shore pools.
In their introduced range, populations reportedly displace native amphipod species through competition and predation.
