Habitat engineering by the invasive zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) in a boreal coastal lagoon: impact on biodiversity

Abstract

Habitat engineering role of the invasive zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) was studied in the Curonian lagoon, a shallow water body in the SE Baltic. Impacts of live zebra mussel clumps and its shell deposits on benthic biodiversity were diVerentiated and referred to unmodiWed (bare) sediments. Zebra mussel bed was distinguished from other habitat types by higher benthic invertebrate biomass, abundance, and species richness. The impact of live mussels on biodiversity was more pronounced than the eVect of shell deposits. The structure of macrofaunal community in the habitats with >10 3 g/m 2 of shell deposits devoid of live mussels was similar to that found within the zebra mussel bed. There was a continuous shift in species composition and abundance along the gradient 'bare sediments-shell deposits-zebra mussel bed'. The engineering impact of zebra mussel on the benthic community became apparent both in individual patches and landscape-level analyses.

Invasive ecosystem engineers and biotic indices: Giving a wrong impression of water quality improvement?

“…As it was previously reported, zebra mussels are generally associated with increased benthic macrofauna abundance, species richness and decreased community evenness (Ricciardi et al 1997, Zaiko et al 2009, Atalah et al 2010. Being one of the most abundant and widely distributed IAS in the oligohaline regions of the Baltic Sea (Zaiko et al 2011, Fenske et al 2013) zebra mussels produce dense colonies and beds of empty shells forming patches of high biodiversity and facilitating establishment of native and non-indigenous species (Zaiko et al 2007(Zaiko et al , 2009. It has been shown recently that some eutrophication-related metrics (e.g.…”

“…Currently, zebra mussels are highly abundant in the Curonian Lagoon, occupying the littoral zone down to 3-4 m depth and occurring on both hard substrates and soft bottoms. The habitats affected by zebra mussel comprise nearly ¼ of the lagoon bottom area with the largest zebra mussel community located in the central part (Zaiko et al 2009). Soft bottom devoid of zebra mussels is dominated by oligochaetes, chironomids and another IAS Marenzelleria neglecta (Zettler and Daunys 2007).…”

“…Since habitats dominated by zebra mussel maintain benthic communities structurally different from those observed in areas with no or low numbers of zebra mussels (Thayer et al 1997, Strayer et al 1998, Zaiko et al 2009, Minchin and Zaiko 2013, we set a threshold of zebra mussel abundance at approx. 1000 ind/m 2 , corresponding to a few average size clumps which are capable to modify the soft-bottom habitats to the stage when zebra mussel-specific communities form (Zaiko et al 2009). Finally, abundance correction was applied for species demonstrating significant correlation with zebra mussel.…”

“…HELCOM CORESET) for distinguishing impacted habitats from undisturbed ones. Zebra mussel is known as a powerful ecosystem engineer capable of modifying physical, morphological, biological and biogeochemical properties of the bottom habitats (Stewart et al 1998, Karatayev et al 2002, Minchin et al 2002, Zaiko et al 2009, Zaiko et al 2010. As it was previously reported, zebra mussels are generally associated with increased benthic macrofauna abundance, species richness and decreased community evenness (Ricciardi et al 1997, Zaiko et al 2009, Atalah et al 2010.…”

“…Zebra mussel is known as a powerful ecosystem engineer capable of modifying physical, morphological, biological and biogeochemical properties of the bottom habitats (Stewart et al 1998, Karatayev et al 2002, Minchin et al 2002, Zaiko et al 2009, Zaiko et al 2010. As it was previously reported, zebra mussels are generally associated with increased benthic macrofauna abundance, species richness and decreased community evenness (Ricciardi et al 1997, Zaiko et al 2009, Atalah et al 2010. Being one of the most abundant and widely distributed IAS in the oligohaline regions of the Baltic Sea (Zaiko et al 2011, Fenske et al 2013) zebra mussels produce dense colonies and beds of empty shells forming patches of high biodiversity and facilitating establishment of native and non-indigenous species (Zaiko et al 2007(Zaiko et al , 2009.…”