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The Growth of Estuarine Resources (Zostera marina, Mercenaria mercenaria, Crassostrea virginica, Argopecten irradians, Cyprinodon variegatus) in Response to Nutrient Loading and Enhanced Suspension Feeding by Adult Shellfish

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Abstract

While many coastal ecosystems previously supported high densities of seagrass and abundant bivalves, the impacts of overfishing, eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and habitat loss have collectively contributed to the decline of these important resources. Despite improvements in wastewater treatment in some watersheds and subsequent reduced nutrient loading to neighboring estuaries, seagrass and bivalve populations in these locations have generally not recovered. We performed three mesocosm experiments to simultaneously examine the contrasting effects of nutrient loading and historic suspension-feeding bivalve densities on the growth of eelgrass (Zostera marina), juvenile bivalves (northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria; eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica; and bay scallops, Argopecten irradians), and juvenile planktivorous fish (sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus). High nutrient loading rates led to significantly higher phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) levels in all experiments, significantly increased growth of juvenile bivalves relative to controls with lower nutrient loading rates in two experiments, and significantly reduced the growth of eelgrass in one experiment. The filtration provided by adult suspension feeders (M. mercenaria and C. virginica) significantly decreased phytoplankton levels in all experiments, significantly increased light penetration and the growth of eelgrass in one experiment, and significantly decreased the growth of juvenile bivalves and fish in two experiments, all relative to controls with no filtration from adult suspension feeders. These results demonstrate that an appropriate level of nutrient loading can have a positive effect on some estuarine resources and that bivalve filtration can mediate the effects of nutrient loading to the benefit or detriment of different estuarine resources. Future ecosystem-based approaches will need to simultaneously account for anthropogenic nutrient loading and bivalve restoration to successfully manage estuarine resources.

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Acknowledgments

Many people provided field and laboratory support for this project including A. Burson, B. Rodgers, J. Goleski, M. Marcoval, A. Stubler, C. Blankenship, J. Carroll, C. Thomas, S. Brisbin, T. Duffy, T. Davis, L. Davis, F. Koch, J. Myers, S. Talmage, T. Hattenrath, T. Behling, D. Getz, M. Meade, B. Gagliardi, and M. Harke. We thank Dr. Evan Ward for guidance in performing clearance rate measurements. We thank Drs. Evan Ward, Glenn Lopez, and Robert Aller for useful comments on a prior version of this manuscript. Juvenile shellfish were provided by G. Rivara and M. Patricio at Cornell Cooperative Extension, Southold, NY, USA. This project was supported by The Nature Conservancy and the New Tamarind Foundation.

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  1. School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5000, USA

    Charles C. Wall, Bradley J. Peterson & Christopher J. Gobler

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  1. Charles C. Wall
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  2. Bradley J. Peterson
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  3. Christopher J. Gobler
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Correspondence to Charles C. Wall.

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Wall, C.C., Peterson, B.J. & Gobler, C.J. The Growth of Estuarine Resources (Zostera marina, Mercenaria mercenaria, Crassostrea virginica, Argopecten irradians, Cyprinodon variegatus) in Response to Nutrient Loading and Enhanced Suspension Feeding by Adult Shellfish. Estuaries and Coasts 34, 1262–1277 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9377-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9377-7

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