The biogeochemical impact of 3 long-line mussel farms (M1, M2 and M3) in Lysekil, Sweden, was investigated from before farm establishment until 1.5 yr after operation had begun. Sedimentation, benthic N flux, total oxygen uptake (TOU) and sulfate reduction rate (SRR) were all significantly increased below the mussel lines at all 3 farms. Effects of increased sedimentation rates were revealed by sediment profile imaging and were highest at Stn M2. These effects increased significantly with time of farm operation, indicating the accumulation of organic matter within sediments over time. Furthermore, more total particulate organic N deposited at farm stations was recycled into the water column compared to at reference stations (~45 versus ~13%), indicating an increased release of dissolved inorganic N from sediment below the mussel farms. At one station (M2) with the highest increase in sedimentation rate, denitrification seemed inhibited, while at another station (M3), with a less pronounced increase in sedimentation rate, denitrification was in fact stimulated, accounting for 13% of total sediment N removal. Calculations based on estimated values of N removal through mussel harvest and direct measurements of N input through changes in sedimentation, N regeneration from sediment to the water column through benthic fluxes and changes in denitrification showed, in all cases, a net removal of N from the system, as only 26 to 40% of the total amount of harvested N had been added to the sediments during the growth period.

American lobsters (Homarus americanus) imported live into Europe as a seafood commodity have occasionally been released or escaped into the wild, within the range of an allopatric congener, the European lobster (H. gammarus). In addition to disease and competition, introduced lobsters threaten native populations through hybridisation, but morphological discriminants used for species identification are unable to discern hybrids, so molecular methods are required. We tested an array of 79 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for their utility to distinguish 1,308 H. gammarus from 38 H. americanus and 30 hybrid offspring from an American female captured in Sweden. These loci provide powerful species assignment in Homarus, enabling the robust identification of hybrid and American individuals among a survey of European stock. Moreover, a subset panel of the 12 most powerful SNPs is sufficient to separate the two pure species, even when tissues have been cooked, and can detect the introduced component of hybrids. We conclude that these SNP loci can unambiguously identify hybrid lobsters that may be undetectable via basic morphology, and offer a valuable tool to investigate the prevalence of cryptic hybridisation in the wild. Such investigations are required to properly evaluate the potential for introgression of alien genes into European lobster populations. Genetic introgression due to hybridisation with non-native species is a major consequence of human-facilitated introductions that threatens endemic species with reduced fitness and local replacement 1,2. Even where hybridisation between native and introduced species is rare, rapid and extensive genetic introgression can arise 3. Population-level introgression and genetic admixture are not necessarily undesirable-managed interbreeding has been proposed to enhance resilience in key species threatened with extinction 4-but invasive hybridisation is often associated with profoundly harmful effects, including loss of genetic variation and adaptation 1,5. Nevertheless, assessing the conservation threat posed by hybridisation is not straightforward, and is especially challenging when hybrids themselves are fundamentally difficult to identify 5,6. Investigation of hybridisation and management of its impacts require tools to distinguish hybrids from pure species strains, and the increasing availability of molecular markers presents a powerful resource to assess the extent of crossbreeding and introgression in wild populations subject to introductions 7,8. The European lobster (Homarus gammarus) is renowned for its high value as a seafood commodity, but stock collapses have severely diminished the productivity of fisheries throughout extensive portions of the species' range 9. In Europe, recent annual landings of H. gammarus of ~5,000 tonnes are dwarfed by those of its transatlantic congener, the American lobster (H. americanus), which supports vast harvests of >150,000 tonnes per year 10. To satisfy European demand for lobster that native H. gammarus landings cannot fulfi...

The European lobster (Homarus gammarus) forms the base of an important fishery along the coasts of Europe. However, stocks have been in decline for many years, prompting new regulations in the fishery and also restocking efforts. An important feature of any restocking effort is the assessment of success in the number of released juveniles that stay and become adult over time. Here, we tested the power of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA marker panel developed for population assignment to correctly infer parentage on the maternal side of lobster larvae, in the absence of known fathers, using lobsters included in a current restocking effort on the Swedish west coast. We also examined the power to reconstruct the unknown paternal genotypes, and examined the number of fathers for each larval clutch. We found that the 96-SNP panel, despite only containing 78 informative markers, allowed us to assign all larvae to the correct mother. Furthermore, with ten genotyped larvae or more, confident paternal genotypes could be reconstructed. We also found that 15 out of 17 clutches were full siblings, whereas two clutches had two fathers. To our knowledge, this is the first time a SNP panel of this size has been used to assess parentage in a crustacean restocking effort. Our conclusion is that the panel works well, and that it could be an important tool for the assessment of restocking success of H. gammarus in the future.

The European lobster (Homarus gammarus) forms the base of an important fishery along the coasts of Europe. However, stocks have been in decline for many years, prompting new regulations in the fishery and also restocking efforts. An important feature of any restocking effort is the assessment of success in the number of released juveniles that stay and become adult over time. Here, we tested the power of a SNP DNA marker panel developed for population assignment to correctly infer parentage on the maternal side of lobster larvae, in the absence of known fathers, using lobsters included in a current restocking effort on the Swedish west coast. We also examined the power to reconstruct the unknown paternal genotypes, and examined the number of fathers for each larval clutch. We found that the 96-SNP panel, despite only containing 78 informative markers, allowed us to assign all larvae to the correct mother. Furthermore, with 10 genotyped larvae or more, confident paternal genotypes could be reconstructed. We also found that 15 out of 17 clutches were full siblings, whereas two clutches had two fathers. To our knowledge, this is the first time a SNP panel of this size has been used to assess parentage in a crustacean restocking effort. Our conclusion is that the panel works well, and that it could be an important tool for the assessment of restocking success of H. gammarus in the future.