Distribution of a marginal population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus edulis</Emphasis>: responses to biotic and abiotic processes at different spatial scales |
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Authors: | Mats Westerbom Olli Mustonen Mikael Kilpi |
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Institution: | 1.Novia University of Applied Sciences,Eken?s,Finland;2.Tv?rminne Zoological Station,Hanko,Finland;3.Aronia Research Centre,?bo Akademi University,Eken?s,Finland |
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Abstract: | Physical and biological processes interact to produce pattern in nature. Pattern is scale dependent as processes generating
pattern are heterogeneous in time and space. We tested some causes of variation in abundance and distribution of three marginal
populations of sublittoral blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, in the non-tidal northeastern Baltic Sea. We studied the role of substrate inclination, perennial algae and siltation along
local wave exposure gradients on mussel distribution over a regional salinity gradient. We found marked differences on regional
scales (p < 0.001) with lower densities and biomasses of mussels with declining salinity. Along local gradients, mussel densities increased
with increasing exposure (p < 0.001) and declining slope and sedimentation (p < 0.01). Site specifically, densities of blue mussels and the perennial red algae, Furcellaria lumbricalis, were positively related, results supported by a colonisation experiment. Also, young post-recruits showed significant relations
to adult biomass, wave exposure, algal biomass, bottom slope and sediment cover. Findings showed that the relative importance
of the determinants affecting blue mussels at the edge of their range vary with scale and are affected by the density and
size structure of mussel populations. The study provides an indication of the types of factors that may be invoked as causes
of spatial variation in marginal blue mussel populations and reinforces the need to consider multiple aspects when distributional
patterns are assessed. |
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