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Ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) filtration services are driven by seasonal temperature and site-specific seston variability
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) filtration services are driven by seasonal temperature and site-specific seston variability

Joshua Moody and Danielle Kreeger
Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, v 522, 151237
Jan 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2019.151237
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Geukensia demissa Ribbed mussel Shellfish feeding Shellfish filtration Shellfish physiology
Ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) are ubiquitous intertidal invertebrates of eastern North American salt marshes, often living in close association with salt marsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora. They are typically concentrated at the lower extent of the vegetated zone along tidal channels, but are also found across the marsh platform. As filter-feeding bivalves, ribbed mussels remove suspended micro-particulate matter and associated nutrients from the water column, potentially resulting in benefits to water quality. However, the magnitude of such ecosystem services may depend on temporal and spatial variation in the mussel's water clearance and particle filtration rates. The goal of this study was to identify sources of variation regarding the distribution of ribbed mussel filtration services. Seasonal-spring, summer, and fall- water clearance and particle filtration rates were quantified for ribbed mussels collected from three habitats- low marsh along main tidal channels; low marsh along intra-marsh creek networks; and from the high marsh- and replicated in four representative marshes- three in New Jersey and one in Rhode Island, USA, normalized by mussel dry tissue biomass. Clearance rates varied with seasonal temperatures, but exhibited low spatial variability among habitats and marshes, highlighting the importance of understanding the temporal physiological variability when calculating annual rates. In contrast, filtration rates were highly variable, driven largely by spatial variation in seston availability. Annual bulk filtration services provided by ribbed mussels are therefore largely driven by both temporal variability in water processing and spatial variations in food availability, and can therefore be predicted by integrating seasonal clearance rates and site-specific seston composition. •Ribbed mussel clearance rates vary minimally across space, but are highly temperature dependent.•Changes in clearance rates do not track linearly with temperature.•Ribbed mussel filtration rates vary across space and time.•Ribbed mussel filtration services are dependent annual clearance rate and seston quantity and quality variability.

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21 citations in Web of Science
17 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#14 Life Below Water

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Web of Science research areas
Ecology
Marine & Freshwater Biology
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