Record Details
Death by dissolution: Sediment saturation state as a mortality factor for juvenile bivalves
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Death by dissolution: Sediment saturation state as a mortality factor for juvenile bivalves |
| Names |
Green, Mark A.
(creator) Waldbusser, George G. (creator) Reilly, Shannon L. (creator) Emerson, Karla (creator) |
| Date Issued | 2009 (iso8601) |
| Abstract | We show that death by dissolution is an important size-dependent mortality factor for juvenile bivalves. Utilizing a new experimental design, we were able to replicate saturation states in sediments after values frequently encountered by Mercenaria mercenaria in coastal deposits (Ωaragonite = 0.4 and 0.6). When 0.2-mm M. mercenaria were reared in sediments at Ωaragonite = 0.4 and 0.6, significant daily losses of living individuals occurred (14.0% and 14.4% d⁻¹, respectively), relative to supersaturated-control sediments (3.9% d⁻¹). For 0.4- mm M. mercenaria, significant mortality occurred under the most undersaturated conditions (Ωaragonite = 0.4, mortality = 9.6% d⁻¹), although mortality at Ωaragonite = 0.6 was not significant (mortality = 2.7% d⁻¹; control-saturated mortality = 0.2% d⁻¹). For the largest size-class investigated, 0.6 mm, we show significant mortality for clams under the most undersaturated sediments (Ωaragonite = 0.4, 2.8% d⁻¹). To test if buffered sediments would increase survivorship of juvenile bivalves during periods of recruitment, we manually manipulated sediment saturation state by adding crushed Mya arenaria shell to a mud flat in West Bath, Maine, U.S.A. Although we increased the average sediment saturation state within retrieved cores from Ω = 0.25 ± 0.01 to only 0.53 ± 0.06, numbers of live M. arenaria in buffered sediment increased almost three-fold in 2 weeks. Buffering muds against the metabolic acids that cause lowered saturation states may represent a potentially important management strategy to decrease dissolution mortality. |
| Genre | Article |
| Topic | Dissolution |
| Identifier | Green, M. A., Waldbusser, G. G., Reilly, S. L., Emerson, K., & O'Donnell, S. (2009). Death by dissolution: Sediment saturation state as a mortality factor for juvenile bivalves. Limnology and Oceanography, 54(4), 1037-1047. Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://www.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_54/issue_4/1037.pdf |
