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Food resource, gametogenesis and growth of Mytilus edulis on the shore and in suspended culture: Killary Harbour, Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

P. G. Rodhouse ,
C. M. Roden ,
G. M. Burnell ,
M. P. Hensey ,
T. McMahon ,
B. Ottway  and
T. H. Ryan
P. G. Rodhouse
Affiliation:
'Shellfish Research Laboratory, Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland.
C. M. Roden
Affiliation:
'Shellfish Research Laboratory, Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland.
G. M. Burnell
Affiliation:
'Shellfish Research Laboratory, Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland.
M. P. Hensey
Affiliation:
'Shellfish Research Laboratory, Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland.
T. McMahon
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University College, Galway, Ireland.
B. Ottway
Affiliation:
Department of Science, Regional Technical College, Dublin Road, Galway, Ireland.
T. H. Ryan
Affiliation:
'Shellfish Research Laboratory, Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland.
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Extract

Mussels, Mytilus edulis L. grow on the shore and are cultured on ropes in Killary Harbour, a fjordic inlet on the Irish west coast. The food resource available to cultured mussels differs from that available to wild mussels on the shore. Although phytoplankton densities as estimated from chlorophyll a concentrations are similar, the shore environment in the inner part of the inlet is characterized by high mean POC concentrations. This is because of the presence of variable amounts ofallochthonous detrital carbon.

The annual cycles of flesh weight and ash content of wild and cultivated mussels were followed over two years. These cycles were related to the reproductive cycle observed by taking histological samples of mussel gonad, by plankton sampling for larvae and by monitoring larval settlement. Shell growth was measured in wild mussels by reading seasonal growth patterns on sectioned shells and in cultured mussels by following progress of the modal shell length of cohorts on ropes.

Wild mussels have a partial spawning in early spring and spawn completely in the summer. Cultured mussels spawn twice during the summer, in the year following settlement. Growth rate of wild mussels decreases with increasing aerial exposure. The fastest growing mussels, at o % exposure, take about 6 years to attain the length attained by the mode of the cultured mussels after 18 months, when they are harvested.

We conclude that wild mussels utilize a mix of phytoplankton and detritus as food during the summer and that large wild mussels can use detritus during the autumn and early winter for an increase in flesh weight and gametogenesis.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , August 1984 , pp. 513 - 529
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1984

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