Declining Populations of Mytilus spp. in North Atlantic Coastal Waters—A Swedish Perspective

Baden, Susanne; Hernroth, Bodil; Lindahl, Odd

doi:10.2983/035.040.0207

Cited by 30 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 225 publications

(248 reference statements)

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“…This observed loss of high‐density habitats of O . edulis sites is in line with recent observations on decline and loss of another filter‐feeding bivalve ( Mytilus edulis ) areas along the Swedish coast (Baden et al, 2021). This conformity might indicate a more general change in the environmental conditions along the Swedish coast affecting, for example, the food supply for filter‐feeding bivalves with declining populations as a result.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Recent change in spatial distribution of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) inferred from field data and empirical models of living oysters and empty shells

Bergström

Thorngren

Lindegarth

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Marine coastal areas are increasingly affected by human activities resulting in changes in species and habitat distributions. Understanding these patterns and its causes and consequences is important for conservation and restoration of such changing habitats. One habitat that has been heavily affected by human use are the North Sea oyster beds which once were abundant but have lost large parts of its coastal distribution due to overexploitation. Based on data of living and dead assemblages of Ostrea edulis collected using video transects, we used an ensemble modeling technique to model and predict current and recent distribution of O. edulis along the Swedish west coast where its distribution is, in relative terms, still rather unaffected. We could detect a recent change in the distribution of O. edulis along the coast which to a large extent could be attributed to a change in depth distribution, suggesting that the population of O. edulis have a slightly shallower distribution today than in the past. Although a potential mismatch between living and dead assemblages, caused by a complex combination of biological and environmental conditions, needs to be considered in the interpretations drawn, it may be a way around the lack of suitable background data in management decisions. This provides important information for management and conservation of the native oyster beds. Furthermore, this study illustrates a method for identifying recent changes in species distribution using dead assemblages of bivalves.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Recent change in spatial distribution of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) inferred from field data and empirical models of living oysters and empty shells

Bergström

Thorngren

Lindegarth

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…This event coincided with warm summer temperatures (Wrange et al, 2010) and based on DNA evidence (Faust et al, 2017), it is presumed to be a natural dispersal event. Prior reports of declining blue mussel populations in this area are thus unlikely to be attributed to the recent rise of the Pacific oyster (Baden et al, 2021). Pacific oysters now also appears to overlap considerably with the native and endangered flat oyster, Ostrea edulis (Linnaeus 1758) in the study area (Bergström et al, 2021).…”

Section: Invasive Speciesmentioning

confidence: 79%

Estimating and scaling-up biomass and abundance of epi- and infaunal bivalves in a Swedish archipelago region: Implications for ecological functions and ecosystem services

et al. 2023

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IntroductionAs suspension-feeders, bivalves play a key role in maintaining regulatory functions of coastal ecosystems, which are linked to important ecosystem services. The functions attributed to bivalves depend on the life habits of a species (epi- or infauna) and their abundance and biomass. To properly quantify and assess these functions, detailed information the distribution, abundance and biomass at the ecosystem scale is critical. Amongst others, this requires an understanding on how environmental conditions shape special patterns in distribution. In this study we investigate this fundamental information on the Swedish west coast, an area where this information is lacking.MethodsA survey which was designed to representatively sample both epi- and infaunal bivalves from randomized locations in various habitat types was conducted. Specifically, abundance and biomass of all species were recorded in the intertidal (0-0.5 m) and the shallow subtidal zone (0.5-2 m). The sites were distributed over an offshore gradient and at two exposure levels. This sampling structure allowed to extrapolate the results to an ecosystem level though information on the areal extent of these habitats using GIS layers.ResultsIt was found that even though there exist a great variability among sites, in general epifaunal bivalves outweigh infaunal bivalves approximately 3 to 1. In terms of abundance, the ratio is more or less reversed and infaunal species occur in greater numbers. Most bivalves were found at an intermediate level of exposure, but due to the areal extend of the sheltered inner-archipelago this was the most important habitat for bivalve abundance and biomass. It was also found that invasive epifaunal oyster Magallana gigas and the invasive infaunal clam Ensis leei both dominated their respective groups in terms of biomass.DiscussionThough the survey was relatively small, these results serve as a valuable insight of the relative importance of epi- and infaunal bivalves in this region. This gives understanding on which species and habitats are particularly important for ecosystem functions and services related to bivalves. This also provide a starting baseline for attempts to quantify ecosystem services provided by certain species or groups of bivalves in the future.

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“…The main hypotheses attempting to explain this phenomenon are associated with overfishing and the effect of warming climate, direct or indirect (e.g. through increased predator pressure) (Sorte et al, 2017; Baden et al, 2021 and references therein). Climate warming also explains the shift of the southern limit of the ME range northward in the western Atlantic (Jones et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blue mussels from temperate seas have always received much attention, due to their important ecological and economic roles (Gosling, 2021). Significant declines of their populations in some areas such as the Gulf of Maine (Sorte et al, 2017) and the Atlantic coasts of Sweden (Baden et al, 2021) and France (Seuront et al, 2021) have been registered in recent decades and mainly explained by the climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomically mixed blue musselMytiluspopulations are spatially heterogeneous and temporally unstable in the subarctic Barents Sea

Marchenko

Khaitov

Katolikova

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Subarctic populations of blue mussels represented by 'cryptic' species Mytilus edulis (ME) and M. trossulus (MT) have been studied less intensively than Arctic and boreal populations. Ecological features of ME and MT in sympatry are poorly known everywhere. The knowledge about mussels at the northeasternmost boundary of the Atlantic littoral communities on Murman coast of the Barents Sea is based on data obtained 50-100 years ago. Our study provides the first insight into the long-term dynamics of the Barents Sea mussels, the habitat segregation of ME and MT, and the interannual dynamics of their mixed settlements. The Tyuva Inlet (Kola Bay), which is 3 km long, was used as the study site. Mussels were found everywhere in the littoral and the sublittoral down to a depth of 4 m. Their characteristic habitats were sandbanks, littoral rocks, sublittoral kelp forests and 'the habitat of the mussel bed' in the freshened top of the inlet. The main spatial gradients explaining the variability of demographics of the settlements (abundance, age structure, size) were associated with the depth and the distance from the inlet top. ME and MT were partially segregated by depth: ME dominated in the sublittoral and MT, in the littoral. In addition, ME dominated both in the littoral and in the sublittoral parts of the mussel bed. The ratio of species in the mixed settlements varied over time: between 2004 and 2010 the proportions of MT decreased everywhere, by 22 % on average. Historical data indicate that the abundance of the Murman mussels declined sharply between the 1960s and the 1970s, which coincided with the cooling of the Arctic. It seems that the populations have not completely recovered in the abnormally warm recent decades. The habitat distribution of mussels apparently changed with time, too: unlike today, in the 20th century mussels were rarely observed in kelps. We suggest that the spatial and temporal dynamics of subarctic mussels can be partly explained by the competition between ME and MT combined with their differing sensitivity to environmental factors.

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Declining Populations of Mytilus spp. in North Atlantic Coastal Waters—A Swedish Perspective

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 30 publications

References 225 publications

Recent change in spatial distribution of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) inferred from field data and empirical models of living oysters and empty shells

Recent change in spatial distribution of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) inferred from field data and empirical models of living oysters and empty shells

Estimating and scaling-up biomass and abundance of epi- and infaunal bivalves in a Swedish archipelago region: Implications for ecological functions and ecosystem services

Taxonomically mixed blue musselMytiluspopulations are spatially heterogeneous and temporally unstable in the subarctic Barents Sea

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