Journal article
A holistic concept for the conservation and propagation of populations of freshwater, brackish and estuarine bivalves for ecosystem services
Journal of shellfish research, Vol.24(2), pp.662-662
01 Aug 2005
Abstract
Shellfish restoration is increasingly valued in estuaries such as Chesapeake Bay where oyster populations are known to function as living biofilters, performing critical ecosystem services. Less studied and rarely reported are the services rendered by other species of suspension-feeding bivalves that reside in the fringing marshes around these estuaries, in brackish and freshwater tidal portions, and in freshwater tributaries throughout the watersheds. The potential benefits contributed by bivalves other than oysters will be discussed with two case studies from the Delaware Estuary basin. These are the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, an abundant native bivalve in fringing marshes and the native unionid mussel, Elliptio complanata, which is abundant in many rivers of the system. It is known that ribbed mussels can be sufficiently abundant to filter the entire volume of water flushing into fringing marshes during each tide, substantially reducing total suspended solids and nutrients from the estuary proper. Similarly, recent data from the lower Brandywine River in Pennsylvania suggests that a vestigial community of freshwater unionids in a six mile reach remains sufficiently abundant to have a measurable beneficial effect on water quality by removing more than 25 metric tons of suspended particulates per year. Hence, the conservation and propagation of freshwater unionids can yield benefits that extend beyond current interest that is focused on protecting their biodiversity. And future efforts to protect or reclaim estuarine systems such as the Delaware Bay may benefit by a holistic approach that promotes integrated biofiltration services by bivalves throughout the watershed.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- A holistic concept for the conservation and propagation of populations of freshwater, brackish and estuarine bivalves for ecosystem services
- Creators
- D Kreeger
- Publication Details
- Journal of shellfish research, Vol.24(2), pp.662-662
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Identifiers
- 991020836514104721