Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Growth and mortality rates of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis in Lake Vouliagmeni (Korinthiakos Gulf, Greece): a generalized additive modelling approach

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The temporal patterns and the effect of shell size and depth on growth and mortality rates of the endangered fan mussel Pinna nobilis were investigated in the marine Lake Vouliagmeni (Korinthiakos Gulf, Greece). A total of 160 individuals were tagged and monitored monthly for a period of 17 months. At each visit, the size of the tagged individuals (shell width, w) was measured in situ and recorded. Any mortality event was also recorded and attributed to natural causes or (illegal) fishing. Growth and mortality rates were modeled with generalized additive models, which are non-parametric flexible models that free the researcher from the limiting concept of a strict parametric shape. The use of GAMs allowed the exploration of shapes of growth and mortality response curves in relation to predictor variables and allowed the fitting of statistical models that better agree with ecological theory. Growth rates had a seasonal pattern, with an extended period of very slow growth between late autumn and early spring, i.e., during the cold season, another short period of slow growth during August (when water temperatures reached their maximum values exceeding 29°C), and a peak in growth rates during late spring–early summer, probably related to an optimum combination of temperature and food availability. Growth rates varied with shell size, with a peak at w ∼4.5 cm, followed by a sharp decline to an approximately constant level, with sizes ranging from 9 to 15 cm, and a further decline with larger sizes down to almost zero for w > 20 cm. Growth rates did not vary substantially with depth. Although P. nobilis is a protected species in the EU and its fishing is strictly prohibited, fishing mortality was very high in Lake Vouliagmeni (much greater than natural mortality), especially during the hot season when the lake was crowded by summer visitors. The fan mussels were poached exclusively by free-diving and due to the high turbidity of the lake’s water, fishing mortality was higher in shallow areas (and mostly for large individuals) and was practically zero at depths >9 m. Due to fishing mortality, a size segregation of P. nobilis was observed in the lake: large individuals were restricted to deeper areas, while young and small individuals were more abundant in shallow areas where there was preferential recruitment. Natural mortality was strikingly size dependent and P. nobilis suffered high natural mortality during the first year of life; the probability of death by natural causes quickly diminished as the fan mussels grew in size. No depth-related differences in natural mortality were found.

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
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akaike H (1973) Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In: Petrov BN, Csàaki F (eds) Second international symposium on information theory. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp 267–281

    Google Scholar 

  • Akaike H (1983) Information measures and model selection. B Int Stat Inst 44:277–291

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachelet G (1980) Growth and Recruitment of the Tellinid Bivalve Macoma balthica at the Southern Limit of Its Geographical Distribution, the Gironde Estuary (SW France). Mar Biol 59:105–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertalanffy von L (1938) A quantitative theory of organic growth (Inquiries on growth laws II). Human Biol 10:181–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Brousseau DJ (1978) Population dynamics of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria. Mar Biol 50:63–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckland ST, Burnham KP, Augustin NH (1997) Model selection: an integral part of inference. Biometrics 53:603–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler AJ, Vincente N, Gaulejac B de (1993) Ecology of the pteroid bivalves Pinna bicolor Gmelin and Pinna nobilis L. Mar Life 3:37–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Côté IM (1995) Effects of predatory crab effluent on byssus production in mussels. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 188:233–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craven P, Wahba G (1979) Smoothing noisy data with spline functions. Numer Math 31:377–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galinou-Mitsoudi S, Vlahavas G, Papoutsi O (2006) Population study of the protected bivalve Pinna nobilis (Linaeus, 1758) in Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea). J Biol Res 5:47–53

    Google Scholar 

  • García-March JR, García-Carrascosa AM, Peña Cantero AL, Wang YG (2007a) Population structure, mortality and growth of Pinna nobilis Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca: Bivalvia) at different depths in Moraira Bay (Alicante, Western Mediterranean). Mar Biol 150:861–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García-March JR, Pérez-Rojas L, García-Carrascosa AM (2007b) Influence of hydrodynamic forces on population structure of Pinna nobilis L., 1758 (Mollusca: Bivalvia): the critical combination of drag force, water depth, shell size and orientation. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 342:202–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gompertz B (1825) On the nature of the function expressive of the law of human mortality and on a new mode of determining the value of life contingencies. Phil Trans R Soc Lond 115:515–585

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant J (1996) The relationship of bioenergetics and the environment to the field growth of cultured bivalves. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 200:239–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grecian LA, Parsons J, Dabinett P, Couturier C (2000) Influence of season, initial size, depth, gear type and stocking density on the growth rates and recovery of sea scallop, Placopecten magellancius, on a farm-based nursery. Aquacult Int 8:183–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey M, Vincent B (1990) Density, size distribution, energy allocation and seasonal variations in shell and soft tissue growth at two tidal levels of a Macoma balthica (L.) population. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 142:151–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hastie TJ, Tibshirani RJ (1990) Generalized additive models. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Katsanevakis S (2006a) Population ecology of the endangered fan mussel Pinna nobilis in a marine lake. Endang Species Res 1:51–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsanevakis S (2006b) Modelling fish growth: model selection, multi-model inference and model selection uncertainty. Fish Res 81:229–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsanevakis S (2007) Density surface modelling with line transect sampling as a tool for abundance estimation of marine benthic species: the Pinna nobilis example in a marine lake. Mar Biol 152:77–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim YJ, Gu C (2004) Smoothing spline gaussian regression: more scalable computation via eficient approximation. J Roy Stat Soc B 66:337–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1999) Ecological methodology, 2nd edn. Addison Welsey Longman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre L, Demers S (1985) Auxiliary energy, ergoclines and aquatic biological production. Nat Can 112:5–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann A, Overton J McC, Leathwick JR (2002) GRASP: generalized regression analysis and spatial prediction. Ecol Model 157:189–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lessa R, Duarte-Neto P (2004) Age and growth of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the western equatorial Atlantic, using dorsal fin spines. Fish Res 69:157–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinton JS, Bambach RK (1969) Some ecological aspects of bivalve mortality patterns. Am J Sci 268:97–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald BA, Thompson RJ (1985) Influence of temperature and food availability on the ecological energetics of the giant scallop Placopecten magellanicus. I. Growth rates of shell and somatic tissue. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 25:279–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreteau JC, Vicente N (1982) Evolution d’une population de Pinna nobilis L. (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Malacologia 22:341–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakaoka M (1996) Size-dependent survivorship of the bivalve Yoldia notabilis (Yokoyama, 1920): the effect of crab predation. J Shellfish Res 15:355–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakaoka M (1998) Optimal resource allocation of the marine bivalve Yoldia notabilis: the effects of size-limited reproductive capacity and size-dependent mortality. Evol Ecol 12:347–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page HM, Hubbard DM (1987) Temporal and spatial patterns of growth in mussels Mytilus edulis on an offshore platform: relationships to water temperature and food availability. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 111:159–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos MA (1998) Impementing the habitats directive for mollusk species in Spain. J Concol Spec Publ 2:125–132

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2006) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org

  • Richardson CA, Kennedy H, Duarte CM, Kennedy DP, Proud SV (1999) Age and growth of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis from south-east Spanish Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows. Mar Biol 133:205–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson CA, Peharda M, Kennedy H, Kennedy P, Onofri V (2004) Age, growth rate and season of recruitment of Pinna nobilis (L) in the Croatian Adriatic determined from Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca shell profiles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 299:1–16

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker WE (1975) Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations. Bull Fish Res Bd Can 191:1–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodhouse PG, Roden CM, Bumell GM, Hensey MP, McMahon T, Ottway B, Ryan TH (1984) Food resource, gametogenesis and growth of Mytilus edulis on the shore and in suspended culture in Killary Harbour, Ireland. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 64:513–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seed R (1993) Invertebrate predators and their role in structuring coastal and estuarine populations of filter feeding bivalves. In: Dame RF (ed) Bivalve filter feeders in estuarine and coastal ecosystem processes. Springer, Berlin, pp 149–195

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shöne B, Tanabe K, Dettman D, Sato S (2003) Environmental controls on shell growth rates and δ18 O of the shallow-marine bivalve mollusk Phacosoma japonicum in Japan. Mar Biol 142:473–485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair M (1978) Summer phytoplankton variability in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary. J Fish Res Bd Can 35:1171–1185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JK, Nichols FH (1988) Food availability controls seasonal cycle of growth in Macoma balthica (L.) in San Francisco Bay, California. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 116:43–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urrutia MB, Ibarrola I, Iglesias JIP, Navarro E (1999) Energetics of growth and reproduction in a high-tidal population of the clam Ruditapes decussatus from Urdaibai Estuary (Basque Country, N. Spain). J Sea Res 42:35–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uryu Y, Iwasaki K, Hinoue M (1996) Laboratory experiments on behaviour and movements of a freshwater mussel, Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker). J Mollus Stud 62:327–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicente N (1990) Estudio ecológico y protección del molusco lamelibranquio Pinna nobilis L. 1758 en la costa mediterránea. Iberus 9:269–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Vicente N, Moreteau JC (1991) Statut de Pinna nobilis L. en Mediterranee (mollusque eulamellibranche). In: Boudouresque CF, Avon M, Gravez V (eds) Les espèces marines à protéger en Méditerranée. GIS Posidonie publ., Marseille, pp 159–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Šiletić T, Peharda M (2003) Population study of the fan shell Pinna nobilis L. in Malo and Veliko Jezero of the Mljet National Park (Adriatic Sea). Sci Mar 67:91–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widdows J, Fieth P, Worrall CM (1979) Relationship between seston, available food and feeding activity in the common mussel Mytilus edulis. Mar Biol 50:195–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wood SN (2000) Modelling and smoothing parameter estimation with multiple quadratic penalties. J R Stat Soc Ser B 62:413–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood SN (2006) Generalized additive models: an introduction with R. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Florida

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi M (1975) Estimating growth parameters from growth rate data: problems with marine sedentary invertebrates. Oecologia 20:321–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zavodnik D (1967) Contribution to the ecology of Pinna nobilis L. (Moll., Bivalvia) in the Northern Adriatic. Thalassia Yugosl 3:93–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Zavodnik D, Hrs-Brenko M, Legac M (1991) Synopsis on the fan shell Pinna nobilis L. in the eastern Adriatic Sea. In: Boudouresque CF, Avon M, Gravez V (eds) Les Espèces Marines à Protéger en Méditerranée. GIS Posidonie publ, Marseille, pp 169–178

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and comments, which helped to improve the quality of the manuscript. This work complies with the current laws of Greece and EU.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology-Marine Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784, Athens, Greece

    Stelios Katsanevakis

Authors
  1. Stelios Katsanevakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stelios Katsanevakis.

Additional information

Communicated by U. Sommer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Katsanevakis, S. Growth and mortality rates of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis in Lake Vouliagmeni (Korinthiakos Gulf, Greece): a generalized additive modelling approach. Mar Biol 152, 1319–1331 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0781-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0781-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation