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Effects of mussels on nutrient cycling and bioseston in two contrasting tropical freshwater habitats

Zieritz, Alexandra; Najwa Binti Mahadzir, Farah; Ning, Chan Wei; Mcgowan, Suzanne

Effects of mussels on nutrient cycling and bioseston in two contrasting tropical  freshwater habitats Thumbnail


Authors

Farah Najwa Binti Mahadzir

Chan Wei Ning

Suzanne Mcgowan



Abstract

Freshwater mussels (Unionida) can strongly affect nutrient cycling in temperate ecosystems but data from the tropics is lacking. We quantified the effects of mussel filtration, excretion and biodeposition on nutrient and photosynthetic pigment concentrations in a tropical eutrophic lake and mesotrophic river, featuring one non-native and two native species, respectively. Changes in nutrient and pigment concentrations were measured over a 3h-period to assess effects on (1) the water column in field enclosures, and (2) water column and benthos combined in controlled laboratory experiments. In field enclosures in both systems, mussel density and biomass were significantly correlated with the magnitude of reduction in sestonic pigment concentrations. In laboratory experiments, presence of mussels led to reduced PO4 and increased TAN concentrations in both systems, lower combined sestonic and deposited pigment concentrations in the river but increases of the same in the lake. We conclude that excretion by mussels probably accelerated bioseston growth in both systems due to N-35 fertilisation, an effect that may be particularly common in tropical freshwaters, which are frequently N-limited. However, whilst river mussels reduced bioseston concentrations through rapid filtration, higher rates of N-excretion and/or deposition of undigested bioseston by lake mussels apparently resulted in a net-increase of pigment concentrations.

Citation

Zieritz, A., Najwa Binti Mahadzir, F., Ning, C. W., & Mcgowan, S. (2019). Effects of mussels on nutrient cycling and bioseston in two contrasting tropical freshwater habitats. Hydrobiologia, 835(1), 179-191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-3937-4

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 18, 2019
Online Publication Date Apr 15, 2019
Publication Date Apr 15, 2019
Deposit Date Apr 4, 2019
Publicly Available Date Apr 25, 2019
Journal Hydrobiologia
Print ISSN 0018-8158
Electronic ISSN 1573-5117
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 835
Issue 1
Pages 179-191
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-3937-4
Keywords Aquatic Science; Pollution; General Environmental Science
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1739277
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10750-019-3937-4
Additional Information Received: 9 August 2018; Revised: 4 March 2019; Accepted: 18 March 2019; First Online: 15 April 2019
Contract Date Apr 25, 2019

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