Marine bivalves are prevalent suspension-feeders that act as ecosystem engineers. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) inhabit intertidal zones of open coasts and attach to hard substrates; ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) inhabit intertidal salt marshes and attach to plant roots. While physiological and ecological aspects of both species are well-studied, their response to a sudden change in habitat is not. The project goal was to perform a 4-week reciprocal transplant with M. edulis from UConn Avery Point docks and G. demissa from Barn Island salt marsh to evaluate the impact on the percent shell growth and condition index. Environmental parameters were recorded throughout the experiment. Barn Island displayed variable conditions and higher temperature, total suspended solids, and chlorophyll a. The transplant resulted in no significant change to condition index for either species. A significant reduction in shell growth for M. edulis, but not for G. demissa was observed. G. demissa displayed resilience to the change in environment which indicates they acted as habitat generalists. High seawater temperatures observed at Barn Island can explain the reduction in shell growth for translocated M. edulis. Notably, the condition index of M. edulis did not change in response to the transplant, which may imply that mussels were successfully meeting their basal nutritional needs, but allocated energy towards physiological activities other than shell growth. These results serve to better inform how mussels may respond to climate change and how their ecological roles may be impacted.

Primary Presenter: Mya Darsan, University at Albany (myadarsan@gmail.com)

Authors:

Mya Darsan,   (myadarsan@gmail.com)

Tyler Griffin, University of Connecticut  (tyler.griffin@uconn.edu)

J. Ward, University of Connecticut  (evan.ward@uconn.edu)