Skip to main content
  • Theme V: The Response of Benthic Suspension Feeders to Environmental Changes
  • Published:

The role of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis in the cycling of nutrients in the Oosterschelde estuary (The Netherlands)

Hydrobiologia volume 282, pages 413–429 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

The fluxes of particulate and dissolved material between bivalve beds and the water column in the Oosterschelde estuary have been measured in situ with a Benthic Ecosystem Tunnel. On mussel beds uptake of POC, PON and POP was observed. POC and PON fluxes showed a significant positive correlation, and the average C:N ratio of the fluxes was 9.4. There was a high release of phosphate, nitrate, ammonium and silicate from the mussel bed into the water column. The effluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate showed a significant correlation, with an average N:P ratio of 16.5. A comparison of the in situ measurements with individual nutrient excretion rates showed that excretion by the mussels contributed 31–85% to the total phosphate flux from the mussel bed. Ammonium excretion by the mussels accounted for 17–94% of the ammonium flux from the mussel bed. The mussels did not excrete silicate or nitrate. Mineralization of biodeposition on the mussel bed was probably the main source of the regenerated nutrients.

From the in situ observations net budgets of N, P and Si for the mussel bed were calculated. A comparison between the uptake of particulate organic N and the release of dissolved inorganic N (ammonium + nitrate) showed that little N is retained by the mussel bed, and suggested that denitrification is a minor process in the mussel bed sediment. On average, only 2/3 of the particulate organic P, taken up by the mussel bed, was recycled as phosphate. A net Si uptake was observed during phytoplankton blooms, and a net release dominated during autumn. It is concluded that mussel beds increase the mineralization rate of phytoplankton and affect nutrient ratios in the water column. A comparison of N regeneration by mussels in the central part of the Oosterschelde estuary with model estimates of total N remineralization showed that mussels play a major role in the recycling of nitrogen.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

References

  • Aller, R. C., 1979. Relationships of tube-dwelling benthos with sediment and overlying water chemistry. In: K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull (eds), Marine benthic dynamics. Univ. South Carolina Press, Columbia: 285–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asmus, H., 1987. Secondary production of an intertidal mussel bed community related to its storage and turnover compartments. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 39: 251–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asmus, H., R. Asmus & K. Reise, 1990. Exchange processes in an intertidal mussel bed: a Sylt-flume study in the Wadden Sea. Ber. Biol. Anst. Helgoland 6: 1–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asmus, R., 1986. Nutrient flux in short-term enclosures of intertidal sand communities. Ophelia 26: 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asmus, R. M. & H. Asmus, 1991. Mussel beds: limiting or promoting phytoplankton? J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 148: 215–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bahr, L. M., 1976. Energetic aspects of the intertidal oyster reef community at Sapelo Island, Georgia (USA). Ecology 57: 121–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balzer, W., K. Grasshoff, P. Dieckmann, H. Haardt & U. Petersohn, 1983. Redox-turnover at the sediment/water interface studied in a large bell jar system. Oceanol. Acta 6: 337–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudinet, D., E. Alliot, B. Berland, C. Grenz, M.-R. Plante-Cuny, R. Plante & C. Salen-Picard, 1990. Incidence of mussel culture on biogeochemical fluxes at the sediment-water interface. Hydrobiologia 207: 187–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayne, B. L. & C. Scullard, 1977. Rates of nitrogen excretion by species of Mytilus (Bivalvia:Mollusca). J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 57: 355–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayne, B. L. & J. widdows, 1978. The physiological ecology of two populations of Mytilus edulis L., Oecologia 37: 137–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayne, B. L., J. Widdows & R. J. Thompson, 1976. Physiology II. In: B. L. Bayne (ed.), Marine Mussels, their ecology and physiology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 207–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boucher, G. & R. Boucher-Rodoni, 1988. In situ measurement of respiratory metabolism and nitrogen fluxes at the interface of oyster beds. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 44: 229–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boucher-Rodoni, R. & G. Boucher, 1990. In situ study of the effect of oyster biomass on benthic metabolic exchange rates. Hydrobiologia 206: 115–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boynton, W. R., W. M. Kemp & C. G. Osborne, 1980. Nutrient fluxes across the sediment-water interface in the turbid zone of a coastal plain estuary. In: V. S. Kennedy (ed.), Estuarine perspectives. Academic Press, New York: 93–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callender, E. & D. E. Hammond, 1982. Nutrient exchange across the sediment-water interface in the Potomac river estuary. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 15: 395–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. J., D. W. Townsend, A. L. Hilyard & J. F. Eaton, 1984. Effect of an intertidal mudflat on plankton of the overlying water column. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 41: 1523–1528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlbäck, B. & L. H. Gunnarson, 1981. Sedimentation and sulfate reduction under a mussel culture. Mar. Biol. 63: 269–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F. & N. Dankers, 1988. Uptake and release of materials by a Wadden Sea mussel bed. J. exp. mar Biol. Ecol. 118: 207–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F., J. D. Spurrier & T. G. Wolaver, 1989. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus processing by an oyster reef. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 54: 249–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F., T. G. Wolaver & S. M. Libes, 1985. The summer uptake and release of nitrogen by an intertidal oyster reef. Neth. J. Sea Res. 19: 265–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F., R. G. Zingmark & E. Haskin, 1984. Oyster reefs as processors of estuarine materials. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 83: 239–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F., R. Zingmark, H. Stevenson & D. Nelson, 1980. Filter feeding coupling between the estuarine water column and benthic subsystems. In: V. S. Kennedy. (ed.), Estuarine perspectives. Academic Press, New York: 521–526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dame, R. F., N. Dankers, T. Prins, H. Jongsma & A. Smaal, 1991. The influence of mussel beds on nutrients in the Western Wadden Sea and Eastern Scheldt estuaries. Estuaries 14: 130–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, J. W., C. A. S. Hall, W. M. Kemp & A. Yáñez-Arancibia, 1989. Estuarine ecology. Wiley-Interscience, New York, 558 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vries, I. & C. F. Hopstaken, 1984. Nutrient cycling and ecosystem behaviour in a salt-water lake. Neth. J. Sea Res. 18: 221–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doering, P. H., 1989. On the contribution of the benthos to pelagic production. J. mar. Res. 47: 371–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doering, P. H., C. A. Oviatt & J. R. Kelly, 1986. The effects of the filter-feeding clam Mercenaria mercenaria on carbon cycling in experimental marine mesocosms. J. Mar. Res. 44: 839–861.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doering, P. H., J. R. Kelly, C. A. Oviatt & T. Sowers, 1987. Effect of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria on benthic fluxes of inorganic nutrients and gases. Mar. Biol. 94: 377–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falcao, M. & C. Vale, 1990. Study of the Ria Formosa ecosystem: benthic nutrient remineralization and tidal variability of nutrients in the water. Hydrobiologia 207: 137–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feuillet-Girard, M., M. Héral, J. M. Sornin, J. M. Deslous-Paoli, J. M. Robert, F. Mornet & D. Razet, 1988. Eléments azotés de la colonne d'eau et de l'interface eau-sédiment du bassin de Marennes-Oléron: influence des cultures d'huîtres. Aquat. Living Resourc. 1: 251–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fréchette, M. & E. Bourget, 1985. Food-limited growth of Mytilus edulis L. in relation to the benthic boundary layer. Can. J. Fish aquat. Sci. 42: 1166–1170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grenz, C., M.-N. Hermin, D. Baudinet & Daumas, 1990. In situ biochemical and bacterial variation of sediments enriched with mussel biodeposits. Hydrobiologia 207: 153–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haven, D. S. & R. Morales-Alamo, 1972. Biodeposition as a factor in sedimentation of fine suspended solids in estuaries. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 133: 121–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, A. J. S., P. N. Salkeld, B. L. Bayne, E. Gnaiger & D. M. Lowe, 1985. Feeding and resource allocation in the mussel Mytilus edulis: evidence for time-averaged optimization. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 20: 273–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helder, W. & F. Ø. Andersen, 1987. An experimental approach to quantify biologically mediated dissolved silica transport at the sediment-water interface. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 39: 305–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helder, W., R. T. P. De Vries & M. M. Rutgers van der Loeff, 1983. Behavior of nitrogen nutrients and dissolved silica in the Ems-Dollard estuary. Can. J. Fish aquat. Sci. 40 (Suppl. 1): 188–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen, K., A. Jensen & M. B. Rasmussen, 1984. Aspects of nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization and recycling in the northern part of the Danish Wadden Sea. Neth. Inst. Sea Res. Publ. Ser. 10: 51–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman, P. M. J. & H. Scholten, 1990. Can suspension-feeders stabilise estuarine ecosystems? In M. Barnes & R. N. Gibson (eds.), Trophic relationships in the marine environment. Aberdeen University Press, Aberdeen: 104–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickel, W., 1989. Inorganic micronutrients and the eutrophication in the Wadden Sea of Sylt (German Bight, North Sea). Proc. 21st EMBS, Polish Acad. Sciences, Inst. Limnology, Gdansk: 309–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, M. C. & W. M. Kemp, 1984. The coupling of nitrification and denitrification in two estuarine sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29: 609–619.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jørgensen, B. B., 1977. Bacterial sulfate reduction within reduced microniches of oxidized marine sediments. Mar. Biol. 41: 7–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jørgensen, C. B. 1990. Bivalve filter feeding: hydrodynamics, bioenergetics, physiology and ecology. Olsen & Olsen, Fredensborg, Denmark. 140 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaspar, H. F., P. A. Gillespie, I. C. Boyer & A. L. McKenzie, 1985. Effects of mussel aquaculture on the nitrogen cycle and benthic communities in Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Mar. Biol. 85: 127–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautscky, N. & S. Evans,; 1987. Role of biodeposition by Mytilus edulis in the circulation of matter and nutrients in a Baltic coastal ecosystem. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 38: 201–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky, N. & I. Wallentinus, 1980. Nutrient release from a Baltic Mytilus-red algal community and its role in benthic and pelagic production. Ophelia, suppl. 1: 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, W. M., P. Sampou, J. Caffrey, M. Mayer, K. Henriksen & W. R. Boynton, 1990. Ammonium recycling versus denitrification in Chesapeake Bay sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35: 1545–1563.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuenzler, E. J., 1961. Phosphorus budget of a mussel population. Limnol. Oceanogr. 6: 400–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerat, Y., P. Laserre & P. Le Corre, 1990. Seasonal change in pore water concentrations of nutrients and their diffusive fluxes at the sediment-water interface. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 135: 135–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, R. C. & J. N. Kremer, 1985. Bivalve contribution to benthic metabolism in a California lagoon. Estuaries 8: 330–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, F. H., 1985. Increased benthic grazing: an alternative explanation for low phytoplankton biomass in northern San Francisco Bay during the 1976–1977 drought. Estuar. coast Shelf Sci. 21: 379–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, S. W., 1981. Remineralization and nutrient cycling in coastal marine ecosystems. In: B. J. Neilson & L. E. Cronin (eds), Estuaries and nutrients. Humana Press, Clifton, New Jersey: 111–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, S. W., J. R. Kelly, B. N. Furnas, C. A. Oviatt & S. S. Hale, 1980. Phosporus regeneration and the metabolism of coastal marine bottom communities. In: K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull , (eds), Marine benthic dynamics. Univ. South Carolina Press, Columbia: 219–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, S. W., C. A. Oviatt, J. Garber & V. Lee, 1976. Diel metabolism and nutrient dynamics in a salt marsh embayment. Ecology 57: 740–750.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, S. W. & M. E. Q. Pilson, 1983. Nitrogen in estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. In: E. J. Carpenter & D. G. Capone (eds), Nitrogen in the marine environment. Academic Press, New York: 565–648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oenema, O., 1988. Early diagenesis in recent fine-grained sediments in the Eastern Scheldt. Ph. D. thesis, University of Utrecht, 222 pp.

  • Owens, N. J. P., 1986. Estuarine nitrification: a naturally occurring fluidized bed reaction? Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 22: 31–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prins, T. C. & A. C. Smaal, 1990. Benthic-pelagic coupling: the release of inorganic nutrients by an intertidal bed of Mytilus edulis. In M. Barnes & R. N. Gibson (eds), Trophic relationships in the marine environment. Aberdeen University Press, Aberdeen: 89–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricker, W. E., 1973. Linear regressions in fishery research. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 30: 409–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redfield, A. C., B. H. Ketchum & F. A. Richards, 1963. The influence of organisms on the composition of sea-water. In N. M. Hill (ed.), The Sea, Vol. 2. Wiley-Interscience, New York: 26–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riemann, B., T. G. Nielsen, S. J. Horsted, P. K. Bjørnsen & J. Pock-Steen, 1988. Regulation of phytoplankton biomass in estuarine enclosures. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 48: 205–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayama, M. & Y. J. Kurihari, 1983. Relationships between burrowing activity of the polychaetous annelid, Neanthes japonica (Izuka) and nitrification-denitrification processes in the sediments. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol 72: 233–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholten, H. & M. W. van der Tol, 1994. SMOES: a simulation model for the Oosterschelde ecosystem. Part II: Calibration and validation. Hydrobiologia 282/283: 453–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger, S. P., 1988. Denitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: Ecological and geochemical significance. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33: 702–724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smaal, A. C., M. Knoester, P. H. Nienhuis & P. M. Meire, 1991. Changes in the Oosterschelde ecosystem induced by the Delta works. In M. Elliott and J-P. Ducrotoy (eds), Estuaries and coasts: Spatial and temporal intercomparisons. Olsen & Olsen, Fredensborg, Denmark: 375–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smaal, A. C. & M. R. Van Stralen, 1990. Average annual growth and condition of mussels as a function of food source. In D. S. McClusky, V. N. de Jonge and J. Pomfret (eds), North Sea-Estuaries Interactions. Hydrobiologia 195: 179–188.

  • Smaal, A. C., J. H. G. Verhagen, J. Coosen & H. A. Haas, 1986. Interactions between seston quantity and quality and benthic suspension feeders in the Oosterschelde, The Netherlands. Ophelia 26: 385–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sornin, J. M., M. Feuillet, M. Héral & J. M. Deslous-Paoli, 1983. Effet des biodépots de l'huître Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg) sur l'accumulation de matières organiques dans les parcs du bassin de Marennes-Oléron, J. moll. Stud., suppl. 12A:: 185–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorning, J. M., M. Feuillet, M. Héral & J. C. Fardeau, 1986. Influence des cultures d'huîtres Crassostrea gigas sur le cycle du phosphore en zone intertidale: rôle de la biodéposition. Oceanol. Acta 9: 313–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sterner, R. W., 1986. Herbivores' direct and indirect effects on algal populations. Science 231: 605–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuart, V., R. C. Newell & M. I. Lucas, 1984. Conversion of kelp debris and gaecal material from the mussel Aulacomya ater by marine microorganisms. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 7: 47–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Veer, H. W., W. van Raaphorst & M. J. N. Bergman, 1989. Eutrophication of the Dutch Wadden Sea: external nutrient loadings of the Marsdiep and Vliestroom basin. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 43: 501–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Raaphorst, W. & H. W. van der Veer, 1990. The phosphorus budget of the Marsdiep tidal basin (Dutch Wadden Sea) in the period 1950–1985: importance of the exchange with the North Sea. Hydrobiologia 195: 21–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Stralen, M. R. & R. D. Dijkema, 1994. Mussel culture in a changing environment: the effects of a coastal engineering project on mussel culture (Mytilus edulis L.) in the Oosterschelde estuary (SW Netherlands). Hydrobiologia 282/283: 359–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verwey, J., 1952. On the ecology of distribution of cockle and mussel in the Dutch Waddensea, their role in sedimentation and the source of their food supply. Arch. Néerl. Zool. 10: 171–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetsteyn, L. P. M. J. & C. Bakker, 1991. Abiotic characteristics and phytoplankton primary production in relation to a large-scale coastal engineering project in the Oosterschelde (The Netherlands): a preliminary evaluation. In M. Elliott & J-P. Ducrotoy (eds), Estuaries and coasts: spatial and temporal intercomparisons. Olsen & Olsen, Fredensborg, Denmark: 365–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildish, D. J. & D. D. Kristmanson, 1984. Importance to mussels of the benthic boundary layer. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 41: 1618–1625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, W. J., 1983. Estuarine benthos In: B. H. Ketchum (ed.), Ecosystems of the world, 26. Estuaries and enclosed seas. Elsevier, Amsterdam: 151–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. T., R. B. Coffin, C. P. Ersing & D. Pearson, 1982. Field and laboratory measurements of bivalve filtration of natural marine bacterioplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 27: 91–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeitzschel, B., 1980. Sediment-water interactions in nutrient dynamics. In: K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull (eds.), Marine benthic dynamics. Univ. South Carolina Press, Columbia: 195–218.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Estuarine and Coastal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Vierstraat 28, 4401 EA, Yerseke, The Netherlands

    T. C. Prins

  2. National Institute for Coastal and Marine Management/RIKZ, P.O. Box 8039, 4330 EA, Middelburg, The Netherlands

    A. C. Smaal

Authors
  1. T. C. Prins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. C. Smaal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Prins, T.C., Smaal, A.C. The role of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis in the cycling of nutrients in the Oosterschelde estuary (The Netherlands). Hydrobiologia 282, 413–429 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024645

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024645

Key words

  • Oosterschelde estuary
  • Mytilus edulis
  • nutrient cycling
  • phytoplankton
  • biodeposition
  • N-cycle