Low to moderate wave exposure did not impact blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) growth in a mesocosm study.

ABSTRACT: Little is known about the causes of the decline in blue mussel populations in the North Atlantic. If mussel beds are to be protected, and maybe even restored, we need knowledge about environmental conditions under which blue mussels can survive and grow. Wave exposure impacts the growth and abundance of blue mussels by impacting food availability, predation, competition and sedimentation. In the field it is difficult to separate the effects of the different variables, and we therefore wanted to perform a simple, but controlled, mesocosm study on the impact of wave exposure on blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) growth. We placed three replicate blue mussels in each of 12 mesocosm basins, of which six had high and six had low wave level. Each of the 36 blue mussels were measured weekly for 13 summ

SUBMITTER: Lukic I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11620627 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature