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First published online June 12, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, iii (2009)
Copyright © 2009 The Company of Biologists Limited
doi: 10.1242/jeb.033993

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Inside JEB

ZEBRA MUSSELS HOLD ON TIGHTER THAN QUAGGA MUSSELS

Kathryn Knight

kathryn{at}biologists.com

Love them or hate them, zebra mussels are having a big effect on the ecosystems that they invade. While the bivalves clarify freshwater lakes and rivers, they also smother surfaces, clog pipes and wipe out indigenous mussel populations. But the invaders are themselves coming under threat from the quagga mussel. Concerns about both mussels' relentless occupation of territory have led Suzanne Peyer, Alice McCarthy and Carol Lee from the University of Wisconsin to find out more about the byssal threads that mussels use to secure themselves to a surface (p. 2027).

Exposing the mussels to still and fast flowing water, the team measured how fast the animals synthesised their byssal threads and how tightly they held on. They found that the zebra mussel not only grows byssal threads at a faster rate but also hangs on better in fast flowing water, giving it the edge over the quagga muscle in fast flowing waters.

However, the zebra mussel's investment in its attachments system may not go entirely in its favour. The team explain that growing more byssal threads might be energetically costly for the tenacious mussel, potentially limiting their growth and reproduction, while the easily dislodged quagga mussel is known to grow faster and larger which may allow it to begin reproducing sooner to out compete its rival. Lee and her team suspect that the quagga's greater size could prove to be advantageous for them in calm waters, while zebra mussels should thrive better in fast flows. But the team adds that a third of quagga mussels successfully held on even in the fastest flowing waters (180 cm s^–1). Lee and her colleagues suggest that the quagga mussel may be able to adapt to fast flowing environments, which would allow it to encroach on zebra mussel safe holds, leaving the smaller invader with fewer places to hide from its rival.

References

Peyer, S. M., McCarthy, A. J. and Lee, C. E. (2009). Zebra mussels anchor byssal threads faster and tighter than quagga mussels in flow. J. Exp. Biol.2027 -2036.

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Related articles in JEB:

Zebra mussels anchor byssal threads faster and tighter than quagga mussels in flow

Suzanne M. Peyer, Alice J. McCarthy, and Carol Eunmi Lee
JEB 2009 212: 2027-2036. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Knight, K. PubMed Articles by Knight, K. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?