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Biogenic calcareous growth on the ribbed mussel Aulacomya atra (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) favours polydorid boring (Polychaeta: Spionidae)

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Abstract

Shells of the ribbed mussel Aulacomya atra from the Patagonian gulfs of San Matías and San José (Argentina) are commonly bored by polydorids and covered by serpulids and crustose coralline algae. As the co-occurring mussel Mytilus edulis is neither bored by polydorids nor covered by coralline algae, we hypothesize that early or previous calcareous growth would favour larval settlement and boring by polydorids. Generalized Linear Model analyses showed that polydorid boring is indeed positively correlated with the abundance of serpulids and crustose coralline alga. Infestation by polydorids is higher in larger, older ribbed mussels due to their correspondingly higher available area for larval settlement. Increasing polydorid infestation adversely affects the condition index of A. atra.

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Acknowledgements

M.E. Diez, N. Vázquez and F. Cremonte are members of CONICET. The field work was conducted in a Protected Natural Área of Chubut Province with permits of the Secretaría de Turismo y Areas Protegidas. The financial support was provided by the PADI Foundation and ANPCyT (PICT 2013-1702 and PICT 2013-2582).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET), Bvd. Brown 2915, U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    M. E. Diez, N. Vázquez & F. Cremonte

  2. Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Beira Mar s/n, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, CP 50002, Brazil

    P. da Cunha Lana

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  1. M. E. Diez
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  2. N. Vázquez
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  3. P. da Cunha Lana
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  4. F. Cremonte
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Correspondence to M. E. Diez.

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Handling editor: Vasilis Valavanis

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Diez, M.E., Vázquez, N., da Cunha Lana, P. et al. Biogenic calcareous growth on the ribbed mussel Aulacomya atra (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) favours polydorid boring (Polychaeta: Spionidae). Hydrobiologia 766, 349–355 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2467-y

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