Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wilson, A. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Wilson, A. E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Plankton Research Vol.25 no.8 pp.905-915, 2003
© Oxford University Press 2003

Effects of zebra mussels on phytoplankton and ciliates: a field mesocosm experiment

Alan E. Wilson1,*

Michigan State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 1 Present Address: Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

* Corresponding Author: alan.wilson{at}biology.gatech.edu

Many observational studies in North American lakes have documented decreases in phytoplankton abundance after the invasion of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). However, few field experiments have examined in detail the effect of zebra mussels on phytoplankton abundance and species composition over an extended period. Replicated in situ mesocosms were used to evaluate the impact of natural densities of zebra mussels on phytoplankton and ciliate biovolume, and algal species composition over a 5-week period in a habitat that lacked extant mussel populations. Mussel biomass used in the experiment was determined using a regression model based on a data analysis that predicts zebra mussel biomass from total phosphorus concentration. Within 1 week, zebra mussels decreased phytoplankton biovolume by 53% and ciliate biovolume by 71%. The effect of zebra mussels on ciliate biovolume was sustained throughout the study. However, the effect of zebra mussels on phytoplankton abundance gradually waned over the remaining 4 weeks of the experiment, such that the declining effect of zebra mussels could not be explained by a shift towards less edible and/or faster growing algal species. The mussels’ declining condition could help to explain the effect observed over the course of the experiment.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.