Effects of Nutrition-Mediated Larval Condition on Juvenile Performance in a Marine Mussel

Abstract

The potential for long-lasting effects of larval experience on early juvenile stages is growing in recognition as an important aspect of the ecology of organisms with complex life cycles. For marine species, most studies of recruitment have focused on the numbers of settlers that arrive to a site, largely ignoring the potential variability in larval condition or quality and how such variability may influence the likelihood of recruitment success. In this study, I investigated the effect of larval nutritional history on early juvenile performance, and whether these effects are mediated by conditions in the juvenile habitat for the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. I raised larvae in the laboratory under different food concentrations. Larvae raised with the highest food concentrations were significantly larger in size at metamorphosis and had higher proportional lipid content at metamorphosis than those from lower food concentrations. Half of the newly metamorphosed juveniles were outplanted into intertidal and subtidal habitats for 2 wk. The other half were maintained in the laboratory at two different juvenile rations for up to 20 d. Juveniles raised with high larval food had higher juvenile growth rates and attained larger juvenile sizes than those from lower larval food in all cases. There was a significant positive relationship between size at metamorphosis and juvenile growth for juveniles maintained in the laboratory. Early juvenile growth rates did not change over time (between 10 and 20 d post-metamorphosis). Juveniles raised in higher juvenile rations had elevated growth rates and attained larger final sizes after 20 d than juveniles from low juvenile rations across all sizes at metamorphosis. For juveniles in the field, there was no effect of tidal height on growth for 2 wk post-metamorphosis. Field conditions were more favorable than laboratory conditions for juvenile growth, yet even these more favorable conditions did not compensate for the effects of larval nutritional history on early juvenile growth. Losses of juveniles from both the field and the laboratory were higher for those that had been raised in lower larval food conditions than for those that had been raised in higher larval food, suggesting that vulnerability to early juvenile mortality may also be affected by larval history.

Effects of past, present, and future ocean carbon dioxide concentrations on the growth and survival of larval shellfish

“…1) and that are smaller (Fig. 2) would be susceptible to greater rates of predation and natural mortality (23,24). Hence, within an ecosystem setting, mortality rates of early life history bivalves that develop under modern day and higher CO 2 levels would be expected to be even greater than the rates observed during our experiments.…”

“…Similarly, within an ecosystem setting, larvae that accumulate fewer lipids (Fig. 2) are generally slower to metamorphose (19) and are more likely to perish once settled (23). Finally, individuals with extended metamorphosis times ( Fig.…”

“…To estimate the relative lipid content of larvae, Nile Red stain was used to bind to neutral lipids and fluoresce under an FITC filter on an epifluorescent microscope (23,47). A Nile Red stock solution was made of 1.25 mg of Nile Red crystals in 100 mL of acetone.…”

Relating Size of Juveniles to Survival Within and Among Populations of Chinook Salmon

“…One complication is that the condition an individual attains in one life stage may not confer survival advantages until a later life stage. For example, the condition of juvenile toads (Goater 1994), larval reef fish (Searcy and Sponaugle 2001), or larval mussels (Phillips 2002) influences their postmetamorphic survival. Also, monitoring populations as they undergo metamorphosis or during a migration presents logistical challenges.…”

Delayed upwelling alters nearshore coastal ocean ecosystems in the northern California current

“…Larvae develop until they are competent to settle, then they must be transported back to shore if they are to recruit and begin life as tiny sessile barnacles or mussels. Growth rates, settlement sizes, and survival of mussel larvae, and probably barnacle larvae, depend on phytoplankton concentration that, in turn, depends on nutrients provided by upwelling events (14). Previous work has documented that both barnacles and mussels recruit heavily but intermittently throughout summer in Oregon (9).…”