Biology of the California Sea-Mussel (Mytilus Californianus). Iii. Environmental Conditions and Rate of Growth

Coe, Wesley R.; Fox, Denis L.

doi:10.2307/1538129

Cited by 49 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Newell 1979). For Mytilus californianus, Coe & Fox (1944) found that the most rapid mussel growth rates occurred between 17 and 20°C, while growth rates were slower below 14°C. This is very similar to the range of temperatures in this study and supports the current findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Growth of filter-feeding benthic invertebrates from a region with variable upwelling intensity

Phillips¹

2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Coastal upwelling is an ocean feature thought to have important impacts on benthic marine communities by enhancing planktonic productivity in the nearshore environment. In this study, growth rates of 3 species of filter-feeders were examined over a geographic region that includes sites where upwelling is typically weak (south of Point Conception, California, USA) and sites where upwelling is often strong and frequent (at and to the north of Point Conception). The growth of the mussel Mytilus californianus, the gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes polymerus and the acorn barnacle Balanus glandula, as well as the body condition of M. californianus, were all up to 3-6 times higher at sites furthest south of Point Conception, and decreased dramatically moving north around the point. Spatial variation in food availability (measured as chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen) and food quality (measured as C/N ratios) did not explain these patterns of growth. Tidal height of the organisms also failed to account for persistent spatial variation in growth rates. Water temperature varied in a pattern consistent with growth rates (i.e. mean temperatures were warmer in the south), and was the one factor most often selected in stepwise regressions for models contributing to patterns of filter-feeder growth. This study suggests that factors other than, or in conjunction with, productivity may drive large-scale differences in benthic filter-feeder growth rates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Growth of filter-feeding benthic invertebrates from a region with variable upwelling intensity

Phillips¹

2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Our regional comparisons of upwelling and SST indicate that these oceanographic variables do not vary consistently with regional patterns of mussel sizes, however we found a concordance of SST and mussel bed characteristics around the years that we sampled. Mussel growth is dependent on temperature and food availability [32], [59] and there can be an association between mussel recruitment and upwelling intensity [33]; thus these factors could lead to denser mussel beds with larger mussels. We do not have time series data on micro-habitat conditions (a scale at which mussels would respond), but at least we would expect to see mussel bed characteristics between regions with similar oceanographic properties to co-vary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea Otters Homogenize Mussel Beds and Reduce Habitat Provisioning in a Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem

et al. 2013

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Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are keystone predators that consume a variety of benthic invertebrates, including the intertidal mussel, Mytilus californianus. By virtue of their competitive dominance, large size, and longevity, M. californianus are ecosystem engineers that form structurally complex beds that provide habitat for diverse invertebrate communities. We investigated whether otters affect mussel bed characteristics (i.e. mussel length distributions, mussel bed depth, and biomass) and associated community structure (i.e. biomass, alpha and beta diversity) by comparing four regions that varied in their histories of sea otter occupancy on the west coast of British Columbia and northern Washington. Mussel bed depth and average mussel lengths were 1.5 times lower in regions occupied by otters for >20 years than those occupied for <5 yrs. Diversity of mussel bed associated communities did not differ between regions; however, the total biomass of species associated with mussel beds was more than three-times higher where sea otters were absent. We examined alternative explanations for differences in mussel bed community structure, including among-region variation in oceanographic conditions and abundance of the predatory sea star Pisaster ochraceus. We cannot discount multiple drivers shaping mussel beds, but our findings indicate the sea otters are an important one. We conclude that, similar to their effects on subtidal benthic invertebrates, sea otters reduce the size distributions of intertidal mussels and, thereby, habitat available to support associated communities. Our study indicates that by reducing populations of habitat-providing intertidal mussels, sea otters may have substantial indirect effects on associated communities.

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“…Battle (1932), however, discovered no correlation between spawning and temperature in Passamaquoddy Bay. Whedon (1936), Coe & Fox (1942) and Young (1942Young ( , 1946 all state that there is no definite evidence that spawning in M. californianus is induced by temperature, or by temperature changes.…”

Section: Spawning Inducementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations on the Breeding and Settlement ofMytilus Edulis(L.) in British Waters

Chipperfield¹

1953

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

136

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The literature on Mytilus edulis is particularly extensive. The most comprehensive account yet published is that of Field (1922), who gives excellent descriptions of the anatomy, physiology and embryology, as well as the bionomics, of this species. White (1939) adds little additional information upon the breeding and growth of Mytilus. Pelseneer (1935) gives an extensive bibliography covering both breeding and growth, whilst of the more recent work upon the breeding behaviour, the contributions of Battle (1932), Whedon (1936) and Young (1942) are most important. The occurrence oflarvae in the plankton has been described in detail by Thorson (1946) and others;Visscher (1927), Orton (1933), Kandler (1926) and many others have given much information upon the spat-fall and settlement in several localities.In spite of this wealth of published data there still remains considerable doubt over the time of onset and the duration of the breeding period of M. edulis, especially in relation to environmental factors. In particular, few recent investigations on Mytilus from beds in the sheltered and estuarine areas of the British coasts have been published, whilst the conclusions to be drawn from the older work (Herdman & Scott, 1895;Johnstone, 1898; Scott, 1900, etc.) are conflicting and lacking in precision. Finally, no attempt has previously been made to investigate the breeding, settlement and growth of this species simultaneously in a number of distinct geographical localities. This was the aim of the investigation, described below, which was commenced in 1946 as part of a general investigation of the breeding, settlement and growth of a number of common sessile littoral animals, and which is still in progress.

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Biology of the California Sea-Mussel (Mytilus Californianus). Iii. Environmental Conditions and Rate of Growth

Cited by 49 publications

References 10 publications

Growth of filter-feeding benthic invertebrates from a region with variable upwelling intensity

Growth of filter-feeding benthic invertebrates from a region with variable upwelling intensity

Sea Otters Homogenize Mussel Beds and Reduce Habitat Provisioning in a Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem

Observations on the Breeding and Settlement ofMytilus Edulis(L.) in British Waters

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