Allometry and growth of the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus in New Zealand

Abstract

Length is the most precise (and the most practical) linear measurement for predicting total weight (r>0.98 at P=0.001) in the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus Gmelin. The allometry varies with the environmental conditions under which the mussels grow, resulting in morphologically distinct forms of raft- and shore-grown mussels. Mussels grown intertidally are wider, less high and heavier than mussels of similar length grown in suspension. Increase in length and total weight of P. canaliculus grown in suspended cultivation was recorded at 8 experimental sites around New Zealand, during 1973–1975. Comparisons are drawn with growth on an intertidal mussel bed, where length increase was less than half that in the same period in suspension. The growth rate of mussels transferred from intertidal to suspended conditions depends on the size at transfer. Close similarity in growth rate occurred at the majority of sites in spite of a direct correlation between water temperature and length increment and substantial, differences in temperature between sites. Reasons for the uniformity are suggested. Average values for growth at sites over the northern half of New Zealand were 73 mm length (32.5 g weight) after 12 months, 113 mm (110 g) after 2 years. Growth continued throughout the year, highest growth rates corresponding to highest water temperatures. Variation due to depth was not significant. Larger mussels grew more slowly. P. canaliculus can be grown in suspended cultivation in New Zealand at a rate comparable to that in other commercial mussel-farming areas.