Abstract
While the role that groundwater discharge plays in supporting primary production in coastal ecosystems is well recognized, there is still limited evidence on its impacts higher up the food chain. In this study, we investigate the role of groundwater discharge in supplying nitrogen and carbon to the Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Salses-Leucate lagoon (France). Nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) isotope values in the mantle and gill tissues of Mediterranean mussels are used to trace nitrogen and carbon sources at groundwater-exposed sites and a control site. Our results show similar isotope values for mantle and gill tissues, likely due to relatively stable environmental conditions in the study sites and to the biochemical composition of tissues. Diet shift, fractionation, and the physiological function of tissues could also explain this observation. δ15N values in mussel tissues increase overall in winter at both the groundwater-influenced sites (4.9 to 7.8‰) and the control site (3.4 to 8.5‰) in comparison with those in autumn (3.5 to 7.4‰ at the groundwater-influenced sites and 4.5 to 6.9‰ at the control site), likely due to reduced food supply and slower metabolism in winter, resulting in 15N enrichment. In contrast, mussel δ13C values decrease in winter at the groundwater-influenced sites (− 23.4 to − 21.6‰) and the control site (− 22.0 to − 19.0‰), suggesting input from 13C-depleted sources originating from groundwater input. The comparison of the isotopic values of mussel tissues and potential food sources indicates that the main diet of M. galloprovincialis in the Salses-Leucate lagoon is a mixture of groundwater particulate organic matter (POM), lagoon POM, and marine POM (POM as a proxy of phytoplankton). Depleted δ13C values in mussel tissues, particularly at groundwater-exposed sites, provide evidence of uptake of groundwater-derived nutrients. The ecological benefit of groundwater input on filter feeders results from local increases in food availability (mainly phytoplankton), supported by groundwater-derived nitrogen and carbon. In summary, this study shows the combined (a) indirect effect of groundwater discharge on mussel growth via uptake of their food, phytoplankton, and (b) the likely direct feeding of groundwater POM by M. galloprovincialis. It thus shows the important ecological implication of groundwater inputs in coastal lagoon food webs.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Michel and Henry Comte (Salses-le-Château), L Fonbonne (Rivage Leucate), R de Wit (MARBEC Montpellier), A Fiandrino and D Munaron (IFREMER Sete), V Bailly Comte (BRGM Montpellier), and P Cook (Flinders University) for sharing their expert knowledge on regional lagoon and groundwater processes.
Funding
This research was funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) through ANR @RAction chair medLOC (ANR-14-ACHN-0007-01—project leader T Stieglitz). AA was partially supported by Labex OT-Med (ANR-11-LABEX-0061). VR acknowledges support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 748896 and the Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral program of the Catalan Government (2019-BP-00241). We acknowledge the support from the IRD community of knowledge (CoSav LeO). The authors thank the BIOPIC platform of the Banyuls Oceanographical Observatory for technical support.
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Andrisoa, A., Stieglitz, T.C., Raimbault, P. et al. Tracing Groundwater Sources in Coastal Food Webs: Nitrogen and Carbon Isotope Values in Mussels in a Mediterranean Lagoon. Estuaries and Coasts 47, 301–314 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01285-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01285-9