Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of mussel recruitment in southern Africa: a caution about using artificial substrata to approximate natural recruitment

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Quantifying sessile marine invertebrate recruitment often requires destructive sampling or extrapolation from artificial substrata, the latter introducing the danger of artifacts. We measured intertidal mussel recruitment into mussel beds and into brushes at three-month intervals for five years across 3,200 km of southern Africa and determined substrata effects on recruitment rate. Recruitment into mussel beds showed a strong, coast-wide gradient, with high recruitment on the West coast, diminishing on the South coast, and increasing slightly on the East coast. At scales of 10 s of km, brushes reflected natural temporal recruitment variability, with a strong significant linear correlation between recruitment into brushes and into mussel beds. However, the relationship became semi-logarithmic when comparing among locations at a scale of 100 s of km. Artificial substrata thus reflect local natural settlement well but may be a poor indicator of it when spatial scales are large, particularly when mussel bed topography is complex, or localities have very different recruitment densities.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alfaro AC (2006) Population dynamics of the green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus, at various spatial and temporal scales in northern New Zealand. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 334:294–315. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2006.02.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alfaro AC, Jeffs AG (2003) Variability in mussel settlement on suspended ropes placed at Ahipara Bay, Northland, New Zealand. Aquaculture 216:115–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berntsson K, Jonsson P, Lejhall M, Gatenholm P (2000) Analysis of behavioural rejection of micro-textured surfaces and implications for recruitment by the barnacle Balanus improvisus. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 251:59–83

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berry P (1978) Reproduction, growth, and production in the mussel, Perna perna (Linnaeus), on the east coast of South Africa. Investig Rep Oceanogr Res Inst, Durban 48:1–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Bownes SJ, McQuaid CD (2006) Will the invasive mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck replace the indigenous Perna perna L. on the South Coast of South Africa? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 338:140–151. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2006.07.006

    Google Scholar 

  • Bownes SJ, McQuaid CD (2009) Mechanisms of habitat segregation between an invasive and an indigenous mussel: settlement, post-settlement mortality and recruitment. Mar Biol 156:991–1006. doi:10.1007/s00227-009-1143-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broitman BR, Blanchette CA, Gaines SD (2005) Recruitment of intertidal invertebrates and oceanographic variability at Santa Cruz Island, California, USA. Limnol Oceanogr 50:375–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulleri F (2005) Experimental evaluation of early patterns of colonisation of space on rocky shores and seawalls. Mar Env Res 60:355–374. doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2004.12.002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bustamante RH, Branch G (1996) Large scale patterns and trophic structure of southern African rocky shores: the roles of geographic variation and wave exposure. J Biogeogr 23:339–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bustamante RH, Branch GM, Eekhout S, Robertson B, Zoutendyk P, Schleyer M, Dye A, Keats D, Jurd M, McQuaid CD (1995) Gradients of intertidal productivity around the coast of South Africa and their relationship with consumer biomass. Oecologia 102:189–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caceres-Martinez J, Robledo J, Figueras A (1993) Settlement of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis on an exposed rocky shore in Ria de Vigo, NW Spain. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 93:195–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly SR, Roughgarden J (1999) Increased recruitment of northeast Pacific barnacles during the 1997 El Niño. Limnol Oceanogr 44:466–469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford R, Bower D (1983) Aspects of growth, recruitment, and conservation of the brown mussel Perna perna along the Tsitsikamma coast. Koedoe 26:123–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Crisp D, Walker G, Young G, Yule A (1985) Adhesion and substrate choice in mussels and barnacles. J Colloid Interface Sci 104(1):40–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dye A, Lasiak T, Gabula S (1997) Recovery and recruitment of the brown mussel, Perna perna (L.), in Transkei: implications for management. S Afr J Zool 32:118–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Erlandsson J, McQuaid CD (2004) Spatial structure of recruitment in the mussel Perna perna at local scales: effects of adults, algae and recruit size. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 267:173–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erlandsson J, McQuaid CD, Kostylev VE (2005a) Contrasting spatial heterogeneity of sessile organisms within mussel (Perna perna L) beds in relation to topographic variability. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 314:79–97. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2004.09.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erlandsson J, McQuaid CD, Kostylev VE (2005b) Erratum to “Contrasting spatial heterogeneity of sessile organisms within mussel (Perna perna L.) beds in relation to topographic variability” [J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 314:79–97]. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 316:243. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2005.02.007

  • Fletcher DJ, Underwood AJ (2002) How to cope with negative estimates of components of variance in ecological field studies. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 273:89–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia E, Thorarinsdottir G, Ragnarsson S (2003) Settlement of bivalve spat on artificial collectors in Eyjafjordur, North Iceland. Hydrobiologia 503:131–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris J, Branch G, Elliott B, Currie B, Dye A, McQuaid C, Tomalin B, Velasquez C (1998) Spatial and temporal variability in recruitment of intertidal mussels around the coast of southern Africa. S Afr J Zool 33:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Helson JG, Gardner JPA (2004) Contrasting patterns of mussel abundance at neighbouring sites: does recruitment limitation explain the absence of mussels on Cook Strait (New Zealand) shores? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 312(2):285–298. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2004.07.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes T, Baird A, Dinsdale E, Harriott V, Moltschaniwskyj N, Pratchett M, Tanner J, Willis B (2002) Detecting regional variation using meta-analysis and large-scale sampling: latitudinal patterns in recruitment. Ecology 83:436–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins S, Aberg P, Cervin G, Coleman R, Delany J, Santina PD, Hawkins S, LaCroix E, Myers A, Lindegarth M, Power A, Roberts M, Hartnoll R (2000) Spatial and temporal variation in settlement and recruitment of the intertidal barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (L.) (Crustacea: Cirripedia) over a European scale. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 243:209–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostylev V, Erlandsson J (2001) A fractal approach for detecting spatial hierarchy and structure on mussel beds. Mar Biol 139:497–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert G, Steinke T (1986) Effects of destroying juxtaposed mussel-dominated and coralline algal communities at Umdoni Park, Natal Coast, South Africa. S Afr J Mar Sci 4:203–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasiak T (1986) The reproductive cycles of intertidal bivalves Crassostrea cucullata (Born, 1778) and Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Transkei Coast, Southern Africa. The Veliger 29(2):226–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasiak T, Barnard T (1995) Recruitment of the brown mussel Perna perna onto natural substrata: a refutation of the primary/secondary settlement hypothesis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 120:147–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrie S, McQuaid C (2001) Scales of mussel bed complexity: structure, associated biota and recruitment. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 257:135–161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lombard AT, Strauss T, Harris J, Sink K, Attwood C, Hutchings L (2004) South African national spatial biodiversity assessment 2004: technical report. Volume 4: Marine Component. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria

  • McQuaid CD, Lawrie SM (2005) Supply-side ecology of the brown mussel, Perna perna: an investigation of spatial and temporal variation in, and coupling between, gamete release and larval supply. Mar Biol 147:955–963. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-1635-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McQuaid CD, Lindsay TL (2007) Wave exposure effects on population structure and recruitment in the mussel Perna perna suggest regulation primarily through availability of recruits and food, not space. Mar Biol 151:2123–2131. doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0645-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McQuaid CD, Phillips T (2000) Limited wind-driven dispersal of intertidal mussel larvae: in situ evidence from the plankton and the spread of the invasive species Mytilus galloprovincialis in South Africa. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 201:211–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Sanford E, Daley BA, Freidenburg TL, Hudson G, Lubchenco J (2002) Inter-hemispheric comparison of bottom-up effects on community structure: insights revealed using the comparative-experimental approach. Ecol Res 17:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Lubchenco J, Bracken MES, Chan F, Foley MM, Freidenburg TL, Gaines SD, Hudson G, Krenz C, Leslie H, Menge DNL, Russell R, Webster MS (2003) Coastal oceanography sets the pace of rocky intertidal community dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:12229–12234. doi:10.1073/pnas.1534875100

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete SA, Castilla JC (1990) Barnacle walls as mediators of intertidal mussel recruitment: effects of patch size on the utilization of space. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 68:113–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete SA, Broitman B, Wieters E, Finke G, Venegas R, Sotomayor A (2002) Recruitment of intertidal invertebrates in the southeast Pacific: interannual variability and the 1997–1998 El Niño. Limnol Oceanogr 47:791–802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ndzipa V (2002) Synchronisation of breeding in populations of the brown mussel, Perna perna on the south coast of South Africa. MSc dissertation, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

  • O’Riordan RM, Arenas F, Arrontes J, Castro JJ, Cruz T, Delany J, Martinez B, Fernandez C, Hawkins SJ, McGrath D (2004) Spatial variation in the recruitment of the intertidal barnacles Chthamalus montagui Southward and Chthamalus stellatus (Poli) (Crustacea: Cirripedia) over an European scale. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 304:243–264. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2003.12.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porri F, McQuaid CD, Radloff S (2006) Temporal scales of variation in settlement and recruitment of the mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 332:178–187. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2005.11.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porri F, Zardi GI, McQuaid CD, Radloff S (2007) Tidal height, rather than habitat selection for conspecifics, controls settlement in mussels. Mar Biol 152:631–637. doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0716-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondi P, Keough M (1990) Behavioural variability in marine larvae. Aust J Ecol 15:427–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson TB, Branch GM, Griffiths CL, Govender A (2007) Effects of experimental harvesting on recruitment of an alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 345(1):1–11. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2006.12.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffani C, Branch G (2004) Mechanisms and consequences of competition between an alien mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and an indigenous limpet, Scutellastra argenvillei. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 317:127–142. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2004.11.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Erkom Schurink C, Griffiths C (1990) Marine mussels of Southern Africa - their distribution patterns, standing stocks, exploitation, and culture. J Shellfish Res 9:75–85

    Google Scholar 

  • van Erkom Schurink C, Griffiths C (1991) A comparison of reproductive cycles and reproductive output in four southern African mussel species. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 76:123–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xavier B, Branch G, Wieters E (2007) Abundance, growth and recruitment of Mytilus galloprovincialis on the West Coast of South Africa in relation to upwelling. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 346:189–201. doi:10.3354/meps07007

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study formed part of a five-year multi-institutional investigation into mussel recruitment, coordinated through and funded by the South African Network of Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) and the National Research Foundation, and led by the co-authors of this paper. Indispensable help with sampling was provided by G Currie (Namibian Sea Fisheries), B Tomalin (Oceanographic Research Institute Durban), B Elliott (Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife), T Lindsay and J Lindsay (Rhodes University), and N Steffani and C Velasquez (University of Cape Town). Additional funding came from a Pew Marine Conservation fellowship held by JMH and an Andrew Mellon Foundation grant held by GMB. The authors appreciate the constructive improvements made by anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology Research Centre, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    Kathleen E. Reaugh-Flower, George M. Branch & Jean M. Harris

  2. Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, P.O. Box 13053, Cascades, 3202, South Africa

    Jean M. Harris

  3. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Christopher D. McQuaid

  4. Ministry of Fisheries, National Marine Research and Information Centre, Swakopmund, Namibia

    Bronwen Currie

  5. Cardno Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, 4 Green St., Brookvale, NSW, 2100, Australia

    Arthur Dye

  6. Botany Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    Bruce Robertson

Authors
  1. Kathleen E. Reaugh-Flower
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. George M. Branch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jean M. Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christopher D. McQuaid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bronwen Currie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Arthur Dye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Bruce Robertson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen E. Reaugh-Flower.

Additional information

Communicated by F. Bulleri.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reaugh-Flower, K.E., Branch, G.M., Harris, J.M. et al. Patterns of mussel recruitment in southern Africa: a caution about using artificial substrata to approximate natural recruitment. Mar Biol 157, 2177–2185 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1482-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1482-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation