Field clearance of an intertidal bivalve bed: relative significance of the co-occurring blue mussel Mytilus edulis and Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

Mussel Shutdown: Does the Fear of Trematodes Regulate the Functioning of Filter Feeders in Coastal Ecosystems?

“…In the western Limfjord, Denmark, a 12,000 m 2 intertidal mussel bed with average densities of 1,000 individuals m −2 was shown to clear approximately 37,000 m 3 of water during each tidal cycle (Vismann et al, 2016). After corrections for potential overestimations, the authors conclude that the bivalve bed cleared the available water column in the shallow intertidal zone close to 1 time during a tidal cycle.…”

<em>In Situ</em> Filtration Rates of Blue Mussels (<em>Mytilus edulis</em>) Measured by an Open-Top Chamber Method

“…maximum filtration rate measured in the laboratory using cultivated algae by Møhlenberg & Riisgård [34]). Using the same technique developed by Hansen et al [18], Vismann et al [14] found that the filtration rate of Mytilus edulis in an intertidal bivalve bed was only about 13% of the theoretical. These findings indicate that the grazing impact of bivalves in shallow water locations may frequently result in depletion of phytoplankton and subsequently closure of the valves and cessation of filtering activity.…”

“…Under optimal conditions, with algal concentrations between the lower and upper trigger concentrations, mussels tend to filter the ambient water at a maximum rate. Because mussels are often living in dense beds, the ambient Chl a may frequently be strongly reduced [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] and likewise, during winter periods with no primary production [15] [16] [17]. The total time in which mussels actually utilise their filtration capacity in nature may therefore vary greatly, making in situ methods for filtration rate measurements relevant.…”

The benefits of bivalve reef restoration: A global synthesis of underrepresented species

“…where mixed-species reefs, changeable water currents, and natural seston may result in laboratory clearance rates translating poorly into in-situ effects of bivalve filtration (Grizzle, Greene, & Coen, 2008;Wheat & Ruesink, 2013). There have been recent efforts to quantify clearance rates of M. edulis and C. gigas in the field (Lüskow & Riisgård, 2018;Smaal & Zurburg, 1997;Vismann et al, 2016;Wheat & Ruesink, 2013). Only two of these studies take measurements outside of sealed enclosures, and therefore account for the critical variability in currents (Smaal & Zurburg, 1997;Wheat & Ruesink, 2013), and only one of these studies (Wheat & Ruesink, 2013), accounts for the three- Habitat-building bivalve molluscs have been observed to increase the rate of sedimentation, and hence the drawdown of material, including carbon, to the benthos (Haven & Morales-Alamo, 1966).…”