Abstract
Animal excretion provides nutrients for primary productivity and can be a crucial component of ecosystem nutrient cycling. The concentrations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in an animal’s excretion are strongly influenced by the C:N:P stoichiometry (molar ratios) of its body and of the food it eats. We measured the C:N:P ratios of quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) tissues and excreta and of seston across wide environmental and spatial gradients in the upper Laurentian Great Lakes. We then investigated how mussel excretion rates were impacted by stoichiometric mismatch—the difference between the C:P ratios of mussel tissues and the C:P ratios their food. Quagga mussel internal C:N:P stoichiometry varied significantly across sites and seasons, driven primarily by changes in tissue P concentrations. When mussel tissues had substantially lower C:P ratios than seston (that is, strong stoichiometric mismatch), mussels excreted significantly less N and P relative to C. Excretion C:N ratios varied by nearly threefold, while C:P ratios varied by tenfold. The effect of the stoichiometric mismatch on excretion stoichiometry was more dramatic in the spring, when mussels had higher tissue P concentrations, than in the summer. This suggests seasonality in mussel P demand. Our results challenge the assumption of strict internal homeostasis in consumers and demonstrate that food and tissue stoichiometry need to be considered to predict consumer excretion stoichiometry. These findings help to better understand the impact of consumer-driven nutrient cycling in aquatic environments and quagga mussel contributions to the nutrient budgets of invaded ecosystems.
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Data Availability
Data is available at the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM) at https://doi.org/10.13020/A6M5-HD07.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the crew of the R/V Blue Heron, Dr. Jiying Lee, and Vadym Ianaiev for their assistance with field work as well as Matt Rigdon and Drake Best for their help processing field samples. We also thank Julia Agnich and Sandy Brovold for their assistance processing laboratory samples and Nathan Kossnar for GIS assistance. This work was supported by the University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Science graduate program and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-1737368.
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This study was supported by funding from the University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Science graduate program and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-1737368.
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TO, SK, and AH conceived of the study. AH, JZ, SK, and TO conducted field work. AH and JZ conducted lab work and analyzed samples and data. AH wrote the original manuscript, and all authors contributed to and provided feedback on various drafts of the paper.
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Huff, A., Zalusky, J., Katsev, S. et al. Variable Tissue Stoichiometry Influences Nutrient Recycling by Invasive Freshwater Mussels in Nutrient-Poor Lakes. Ecosystems 26, 1543–1555 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-023-00849-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-023-00849-x