Abstract
The substrate composition is directly associated with the distribution of the Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa (=Modiolus demissus) along tidal-creek banks. Mussels were counted within a 2 dm × 5 dm microplot frame, and soil samples were collected at 5 m intervals for 320 m along Big Sheepshead Creek, near Tuckerton, New Jersey. Organic decomposition, percentage organic matter, and percentages of sand, silt, and clay were determined for each soil sample. Mussels were most frequently found in substrates characterized by low organic decomposition (Von Post >5), high organic matter content, (10–20%), and low sand content (0–20%).
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bertness, M. D. 1980. Growth and mortality in the Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa. Veliger 23:62–68.
Bloom, S. A., J. L. Simon, and V. D. Hunter. 1972. Animal-sediment relations and community analysis of a Florida estuary. Mar. Biol. 13:43–56.
Bouyoucos, G. J. 1962. Hydrometer method improved for making particle size analysis of soils. Agron. J. 54:464–465.
Cammen, L. M.. 1976a. Macroinvertebrate colonization of Spartina marshes artificially established on dredge spoils. Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 4:347–352.
Cammen, L. M. 1976b. Abundance and production of macroinvertebrates from natural and artificially established salt marshes in North Carolina. Am. Midl. Nat. 96:487–493.
Corbett, K. 1981. Strategy of population maintenance in Geukensia (Modiolus) demissa (Dillwyn 1817). M.Sc. Thesis, Univ. of Delaware. 78 p.
Crow, J. H. 1971. Earthquake-initiated changes in the nesting habitat of the Dusky Canada Goose. In The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964. Biol. ISBN 0-309-01640-5. The Committee on the Alaskan Earthquake for the Div. Earth Sci. Wash. D.C. publ. 1604.
Daubenmire, R. 1959. A canopy coverage method of vegetation analysis. Northwest Sci. 33:43–64.
Day, J. H., and D. P. Wilson. 1934. On the relationship of the substratum to the metamorphosis of Scoleocolepsis fulignosa (Claperede). J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 19:655–662.
Gosner, K. L. 1979. A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore. Houghton Mifflin Co. 329 p.
Hughes, R. N., and R. Seed. 1981. Size selection of mussels by the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus: Energy maximizer or time minimizer? Mar. Ecol. 6:83–89.
Jackson, M. L. 1958. Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 6th printing 1970. (by author) Dept. Soil Sci., Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison.
Jaworski, A. W. 1980. A pedological study of some tidal marsh soils in New Jersey. Ph.D. Thesis, Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Kraeuter, J. N. 1976. Biodeposition by salt-marsh invertebrates. Mar. Biol. 35:215–223.
Kraus, M. L. 1981. Some ecological relationships between the Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa, and the plants and soils of a tidal creek bank in Southern New Jersey. M.Sc. Thesis, Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Kuenzler, E. J. 1961a. Structure and energy flow of a mussel population in a Georgia salt marsh. Limnol. Oceanogr. 6:191–203.
Kuenzler, E. J. 1961b. Phosphorous budget of a mussel population. Limnol. Oceanogr. 6:400–415.
Lent, C. M. 1967a. Effects of habitat on growth indices in the Ribbed Mussel Modiolus demissus. Chesapeake Sci. 8:221–227.
Lent, C. M. 1967b. Air gaping by the Ribbed Mussel Modiolus demissus: effects and adaptive significance. Biol. Bull. 134:60–73.
Lent, C. M. 1969. Adaptations of the Ribbed Mussel Modiolus demissus to the intertidal habitat. Am. Zool. 9:283–292.
Lutz, R. A., and M. Castagna. 1979. Age composition and growth rate of a mussel (Geukensia demissa) population in a Virginia salt marsh. J. Moll. Stud. 46:106–115.
Lutz, R. A., and D. C. Rhoades. 1978. Shell structure of the Atlantic Ribbed Mussel, Geukensia demissa (Dillwyn): a reevaluation. Bull. Am. Malacolo. Union Inc. p. 13–17.
McGovern, T. A., L. J. Laber, and B. C. Gram. 1979. Characteristics of the salts secreted by Spartina alterniflora Loisel and their relation to estuarine production. Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 9:351–356.
Motyka, J., B. Dobrzanski, and S. Zawadski. 1950. Wstepne badania nad lakami poludniowo-wschodenij Lubelszczyzny. Ann. Univ. Mariae Curie-Sklodowska, Sec. E. 5:367–447.
Mueller-Dombois, D., and H. Ellenberg. 1974. Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Murphy, D. J. 1977a. Freezing tolerance in intertidal molluscs; dependence on tolerance to cell dehydration. Am. Zool. 14:1250.
Murphy, D. J. 1977b. Metabolic and tissue solute changes associated with changes in freezing tolerance of the bivalve mollusc Modiolus demissus. J. Exp. Biol. 69:1–12.
Powers, L. W. 1975. Fiddler crabs in a nontidal environment. Contrib. Mar. Sci. 19:67–78.
Ringold, P. 1979. Burrowing, root mat density, and the distribution of fiddler crabs in the Eastern United States. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 36:11–21.
Rodriguez-Ortega, D. 1971. An ecological study of Modiolus demissus granossissumus Sowerby in the Louisiana coastal marshes. M.Sc. Thesis, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge.
Sanders, H. L. 1958. Benthic studies in Buzzards Bay I. Animal sediment relationships. Limnol. Oceanogr. 5:138–153.
Scheltema, R. S. 1961. Metamorphosis of the veliger larvae of Nassarius obsoletus (Gastropoda) in response to bottom sediment. Biol. Bull. 120:92–109.
Seed, R. 1980. Predator-prey relationships between the Mud Crab Panopeus herbstii, the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus and the Atlantic Ribbed Mussel Geukensia demissa. Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 11:445–458.
Sipple, W. S., and H. M. Cassell. 1975. Comparative distributions of three mollusks, Littorina irrorata, Melampus bidentatus, and Modiolus demissus, in relation to vascular plants and tidal inundation in two marshes at Sinepuxent Bay, Maryland. Maryland Dept. Nat. Resc. Publ. Anapolis. 24 p.
Stiven, A. E., and E. J. Kuenzler. 1979. The response of two salt marsh mollusks, Littorina irrorata and Geukensia demissa, to field manipulations of density and Spartina litter. Ecol. Monogr. 49:151–171.
Von Post, L. 1925. Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning, Stockholm:334–339.
Waugh, D. L. 1972. Upper lethal temperatures of the pelecypod Modiolus demissus in relation to declining environmental temperatures. Can. J. Zool. 50:523–527.
Whiting, N. H., and G. A. Moshiri. 1974. Certain organism-substrate relationships affecting the distribution of Uca minax (Crustacea: Decapoda). Hydrobiologia 44:481–493.
Wieser, W. 1959. The effect of grain size on the distribution of small invertebrates inhabiting the beaches of Puget Sound. Limnol. Oceanogr. 4:181–194.
Wilkins, L. A. 1972. Electrophysiological studies of the bivalve mollusk, Modiolus demissus; II. Ionic basis of the action potential. J. Exp. Biol. 56:293–310.
Wilson, D. P. 1948. The relation of the substratum to the metamorphosis of Ophelia larvae. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 27:723–760.
Wilson, D. P. 1953a. The settlement of Ophelia bicornis Savigny larvae. The 1952 experiments. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 31:413–438.
Wilson, D. P. 1953b. The settlement of Ophelia bicornis Savigny larvae. The 1952 experiments. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 31:209–233.
Wilson, D. P. 1954. The attractive factor in the settlement of Ophelia bicornis Savigny. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 33:361–380.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kraus, M.L., Crow, J.H. Substrate characteristics associated with the distribution of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa (Modiolus demissus), on a tidal creek bank in Southern New Jersey. Estuaries 8, 237–243 (1985). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352204
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352204