Topic 10: Strategies for life in flow: tenacity, morphometry, and probability of dislodgement of two Mytilus species

Xiaoyu Liu BIO 205-L03 Chih-Li Lin

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Introduction
Byssal tenacity of mussels determines their ability to withstand the hydrodynamic forces in the rocky intertidal environment. The co-existing species, Mytilus californianus and M. trossulus, showed different byssal tenacity, which also differs between solitary and bed mussels within a single species. The byssal thread production is being explored as a likely mechanism for increased tenacity. Hydrodynamic forces, determined by the size of mussel and the flow regime to which it is exposed, also plays a role in the survivorship of mussels. It was hypothesized that the probability of dislodgement is higher for M. trossulus than M. californianus, and it is higher for solitary mussels than bed mussels.
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Methods
Mussel tenacity was measured with the method of Denny (1987) for each individual of both solitary and bed categories of M. californianus and M. trossulus. A Kruskal-Wallis test and a 2way ANOVAs were performed to measure the effect of failure location on tenacity. Comparison of morphometry of the two species was done with the Archimedes principle, least-squares linear regressions, and a t-test. A probability of dislodgment was modeled for a given applied water velocity, shell length, and mussel category.
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Results

A1

B1

B2
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C2

D1

E1

E2
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Discussion
The location of mechanical failure of experimentally dislodged mussels was most commonly the substrate. The tenacity of root failures tended to be higher than the other failure locations. The byssal thread number accounts for much of the observed variation in tenacity in solitary versus bed mussels.
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Conclusion
Mytilus californianus has a lower probability of dislodgement and therefore is more likely to live longer and grow larger than M. trossulus. Bed mussels of both species had lower probabilities of dislodgment despite a lower relative tenacity. Two strategies are suggested to increase the survivorship of mussels: one is the increased of byssal thread thickness and reduced shell size; second is the aggregation behavior.
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References
Denny MW (1987) Lift as a mechanism of patch initiation in mussel beds. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 113:231-245 Bell EC, Gosline JM (1996) Mechanical design of mussel byssus: material yield enhances attachment strength. Exp Biol 199:1005-1017