Abstract
Conservation of ecosystem engineers, which modulates the surrounding habitat by causing physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials, is important for maintaining the functional integrity of ecosystems. This study examined the effects of endangered freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera laevis and M. togakushiensis) on channel morphology and flow in a low-gradient sandy river. For this, we performed a field removal experiment of mussels using three treatments in twelve 10-m reaches. Mussel abundance and biomass, and three physical variables were measured before, immediately after, and two months to one year after the treatments. Mussel removal resulted in channel degradation with a 60% increase in flow depth, a 30% decrease in current velocity, and a 50% reduction in the width-to-depth ratio two months after the treatments, whereas minimal changes were measured in reaches with mussels. The results indicated that pearl mussels act as an ecosystem engineer affecting the channel morphology and flow of sandy rivers. The conservation of the pearl mussel populations is key to preserving their far-reaching benefits in ecosystem integrity including habitats for other various organisms.
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Acknowledgements
We thank members of the Watershed Conservation and Management Laboratory for field assistance in this study. We also thank Dr. M. Nakaoka and members of the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Akkeshi Marine Station for accommodation. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing. We also appreciate the suggestions of the editor, Ronaldo Sousa, and an anonymous reviewer for their review suggestions, which increases the clarity of our manuscript. This study was partly supported by the research fund for the Science Research of Lake Akkeshi and Bekanbeushi Wetland, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (2348021), JSPS Research Fellow Grant Number JP18J12458, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K18221, and Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S15 Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (PANCES)) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency, Japan.
Funding
This study was partly supported by the research fund for the Science Research of Lake Akkeshi and Bekanbeushi Wetland, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (2348021), JSPS Research Fellow Grant Number JP18J12458, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K18221, and Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S15 Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (PANCES)) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency, Japan.
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Miura, K., Watanabe, N., Takagi, Y. et al. The effects of endangered freshwater pearl mussels on channel morphology and flow in a low-gradient sandy river. Hydrobiologia 848, 5119–5134 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04696-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04696-6