Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Pelagic and Benthic Nutrient Regeneration Processes in Mussel Cultures (Mytilus edulis) in a Eutrophic Coastal Area (Skive Fjord, Denmark)

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Long-line mussel farming has been proposed as a mitigation tool in eutrophic coastal areas as nutrients are removed from the ecosystem upon harvest of the crops and transferred back to land. Further mussels filter the water and thereby increase water transparency and promote benthic plant growth. Intensive mussel farming may, however, negatively affect the nutrient cycling in the local environment through nutrient regeneration in the water column and through sedimentation of biodeposits resulting in organic enrichment of the underlying sediments leading to hypoxic conditions. The objective of this study was to explore the environmental interactions of a long-line mussel farm located in a eutrophic coastal area (Skive Fjord, Denmark) by studying the nutrient cycling in the water column and sediments and assessing their contribution to the nutrient dynamics and oxygen conditions in the fjord. The mussel lines contributed with nutrients, primarily ammonium, to the pool of nutrients in the water column and the contribution increased as the biomass of mussels in the farm increased. The sedimentation of biodeposits was only slightly higher at the farm (51–86 %) compared with a reference site, and the impact on the benthic environment was limited. During most of the production cycle the farm was a net sink of N due to uptake of N in the sediments, but after 1 year, the farm became a net source of N to Skive Fjord. Mussel excretion accounted for ~82 % and sediments for ~18 % of the N released from the farm. The study shows that mitigation of nutrients by long-line mussel farming will be most efficient, if mussels are harvested within the first year of the production cycle.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Callier, M.D., A.M. Weise, C.W. McKindsey, and G. Desrosiers. 2006. Sedimentation rates in a suspended mussel farm (Great-Entry Lagoon, Canada): biodeposit production and dispersion. Marine Ecology Progress Series 322: 129–141.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, M.C., M. Holmer, and J.K. Petersen. 2009. Seasonal and spatial variations of benthic impacts of mussel longline farming in a eutrophic Danish Fjord, Limfjorden. Journal of Sea Research 28: 791–801.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, M.S., R.N. Glud, and J.K. Petersen. 2010. Degradation of mussel (Mytilus edulis) fecal pellets released from hanging long-lines upon sinking and after settling at the sediment. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 67: 1376–1387.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, M.S., P. Engström, O. Lindahl, L. Ljungqvist, J.K. Petersen, L. Svanberg, and M. Holmer. 2012. Effects of mussel farms on the benthic nitrogen cycle on the Swedish west coast. Aquaculture Environment Interactions 2: 177–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, J., D. Krause-Jensen, S. Markager, K. Timmermann, and J. Windolf. 2013. Water clarity and eelgrass responses to nitrogen reductions in the eutrophic Skive Fjord, Denmark. Hydrobiologia 704: 293–309.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, P.B., S. Rysgaard, N.P. Sloth, T. Dalsgaard, and S. Schwærter. 2000. Sediment mineralization, nutrient fluxes, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in an estuarine fjord with sea cage trout farms. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 21: 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, P.B., R.N. Glud, T. Dalsgaard, and P. Gillespie. 2003. Impacts of longline mussel farming on oxygen and nitrogen dynamics and biological communities of coastal sediments. Aquaculture 218: 567–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D.J., J. Carstensen, G. Ærtebjerg, P.B. Christensen, T. Dalsgaard, J.L.S. Hansen, and A.B.. Josefson. 2007. Long-term changes and impacts of hypoxia in Danish coastal waters. Ecological Applications 17: 165–184.

  • Cranford, P.J., P.M. Strain, M. Dowd, B.T. Hargrave, J. Grant, and M.C. Archambault. 2007. Influence of mussel aquaculture on nitrogen dynamics in a nutrient enriched coastal embayment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 347: 61–78.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlbäck, B., and L. Gunnarsson. 1981. Sedimentation and sulfate reduction under a mussel culture. Marine Biology 63: 269–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edelbo, L., J. Haamer, O. Lindahl, L.-O. Loo, and L. Piriz. 2000. Recycling of macronutrients from sea to land using mussel cultivation. International Journal of Environmental Pollution 13: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giles, H., and C.A. Pilditch. 2006. Effects of mussel (Perna canaliculus) biodeposit decomposition on benthic respiration and nutrient fluxes. Marine Biology 150: 261–271.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, J., P. Cranford, B. Hargrave, M. Carreau, B. Schofield, S. Armsworthy, V. Burdett-Coutts, and D. Ibarra. 2005. A model of aquaculture biodeposition for multiple estuaries and field validation at blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) culture sites in eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62: 1271–1285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, B., L. Doucette, P. Cranford, B. Law, and T. Milligan. 2008. Influence of mussel aquaculture on sediment organic enrichment in a nutrient-rich coastal embayment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 365: 137–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartstein, N.D., and C.L. Stevens. 2005. Deposition beneath long-line mussel farms. Aquaculture Engineering 33: 192–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatcher, A., J. Grant, and B. Schofield. 1994. Effects of suspended mussel culture (Mytilus spp.) on sedimentation, benthic respiration and sediment nutrient dynamics in a coastal bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series 115: 219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmer, M., and E. Kristensen. 1996. Seasonality of sulfate reduction and pore water solutes in a marine fish farm sediment: The importance of temperature and sedimentary organic matter. Biogeochemistry 32: 15–39.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holmer, M., N. Ahrensberg, and N.P. Jørgensen. 2003. Impacts of mussel dredging on sediment dynamics in an eutrophic Danish fjord. Chemistry and Ecology 19: 343–362.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, H., Ø. Strand, T. Strohmeier, C. Krogness, M. Verdegem, and A. Smaal. 2011. Seasonal variability in nutrient regeneration by mussel Mytilus edulis rope culture in oligotrophic systems. Marine Ecology Progress Series 431: 137–149.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, H.M., Ø. Strand, M. Verdegem, and A. Smaal. 2012a. Accumulation, release and turnover of nutrients (C–N–P–Si) by the blue mussel Mytilus edulis under oligotrophic conditions. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 416–417: 185–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, H.M., M.C.J. Verdegem, Ø. Strand, and A.C. Smaal. 2012b. Seasonal variation in mineralization rates (C–N–P–Si) of mussel Mytilus edulis biodeposits. Marine Biology 159: 1567–1580.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jönsson, L., and L. Holm. 2009. Effects of toxic and non-toxic blue mussel meal on health and product quality of laying hens. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 94: 405–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jørgensen, B.B., and N.P. Revsbech. 1983. Colorless sulfur bacteria Beggiatoa spp. and Thiovulum spp., in O2 and H2S microgradients. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 45: 1261–1270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joye, S.B., and J.T. Hollibaugh. 1995. Influence of sulphide inhibition of nitrification on nitrogen regeneration in sediments. Science 270: 623–625.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koroleff, F. 1983. Determination of nutrients. In Method of seawater analysis, ed. K. Grasshoff, M. Ehrhardt, and K. Kremling, 125–139. Verlag Chemie: Weinheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindahl, O., and S. Kollberg. 2009. Can the EU agri-environmental aid program be extended into the coastal zone to combat eutrophication? Hydrobiologia 629: 59–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindahl, O., R. Hart, B. Hernroth, S. Kollberg, L.O. Loo, L. Olrog, J. Svensson, S. Svensson, and U. Syversen. 2005. Improving marine mussel farming: For Swedish Society by Quality Profitable Solution Water. Ambio 34: 131–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutz-Collins, V., P. Quijon, and J. Davidson. 2009. Blue mussel fouling communities: Polychaete composition in relation to mussel stocking density and seasonality of mussel deployment and sampling. Aquaculture Research 40: 1789–1792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maar, M., K. Timmermann, J.K. Petersen, K.E. Gustafsson, and L.M. Storm. 2010. A model study of the regulation of blue mussels by nutrient loadings and water column stability in a shallow estuary, the Limfjorden. Journal of Sea Research 64: 322–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKindsey, C.W., P. Archambault, M.D. Callier, and F. Olivier. 2011. Influence of suspended and off-bottom mussel culture on the sea bottom and benthic habitats: a review. Canadian Journal of Zoology 89: 622–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moeslund, L., B. Thamdrup, and B.B. Jørgensen. 1994. Sulfur and iron cycling in a coastal sediment: radiotracer studies and seasonal dynamics. Biogeochemistry 27: 129–152.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohlenberg, F. 1999. Effect of meteorology and nutrient load on oxygen depletion in a Danish micro-tidal estuary. Aquatic Ecology 33: 55–64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nizzoli, D., D.T. Welsh, E.A. Fano, and P. Viaroli. 2006. Impact of clam and mussel farming on benthic metabolism and nitrogen cycling, with emphasis on nitrate reduction pathways. Marine Ecology Progress Series 315: 151–165.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nizzoli, D., D.T. Welsh, and P. Viaroli. 2011. Seasonal nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics during benthic clam and suspended mussel cultivation. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62: 1276–1287.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nunes, J.P., J.G. Ferreira, S.B. Bricker, B. O’Loan, T. Dabrowski, B. Dallaghan, A.J.S. Hawkins, B. O’Connor, and O’Carroll. 2011. Towards an ecosystem approach to aquaculture: assessment of sustainable shellfish cultivation at different scales of space, time and complexity. Aquaculture 315: 369–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, J.K., B. Hasler, K. Timmermann, P. Nielsen, D.B. Tørring, M.M. Larsen, M. Holmer. 2014. Mussels as a tool for mitigation of nutrients in the marine environment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 82: 137–143.

  • Richard, M., P. Archambault, G. Thouzeau, and G. Desrosiers. 2006. Influence of suspended mussel lines on the biogeochemical fluxes in adjacent water in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Quebec, Canada). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences 63: 1198–1213.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robador, A., V. Brüchert, and B.B. Jørgensen. 2009. The impact of temperature change on the activity and community composition of sulfate-reducing bacteria in arctic versus temperate marine sediments. Environmental Microbiology 11: 1692–1703.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stadmark, J., and D.J. Conley. 2011. Mussel farming as a nutrient reduction measure in the Baltic Sea: consideration of nutrient biogeochemical cycles. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62: 1385–1388.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, C., and J.K. Petersen. 2011. Turbulent, stratified flow through a suspended shellfish canopy: implications for mussel farm design. Aquaculture Environmental Interactions 2: 87–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Broekhoven, W., K. Troost, H. Jansen, and A. Smaal. 2014. Nutrient regeneration by mussel Mytilus edulis spat assemblages in a macrotidal system. Journal of Sea Research 88: 36–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ditte Tørring and Carsten Formsgaard at the Danish Shellfish Center and technician Katrine C. Kirkegaard, Rikke Møller, and Susanne Møller for their technical support. Senior scientist Karen Timmermann, Aarhus University provided environmental background data from Skive Fjord and senior scientist Martin M. Larsen, Aarhus University provided Fig. 1. The study was supported by the Danish Strategic Research Foundation, grant no. 09-066983 (Mumihus).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marianne Holmer.

Additional information

Communicated by Marco Bartoli

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material Table 1

(DOCX 22 kb)

Supplementary material Table 2

(DOCX 19 kb)

Supplementary material Table 3

(DOCX 22 kb)

Supplementary material Table 4

(DOCX 19 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Holmer, M., Thorsen, S.W., Carlsson, M.S. et al. Pelagic and Benthic Nutrient Regeneration Processes in Mussel Cultures (Mytilus edulis) in a Eutrophic Coastal Area (Skive Fjord, Denmark). Estuaries and Coasts 38, 1629–1641 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9864-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9864-8

Keywords

Navigation