Impact of Dreissena fouling on the physiological condition of native and invasive bivalves: interspecific and temporal variations

Abstract

The impact of Dreissena fouling on unionids has hardly been studied in Europe, despite the fact that in some ecosystems (e.g. Lake Balaton, Hungary) infestations of several hundreds to a thousand individuals per unionid have been observed. At present, the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a dominant species in Lake Balaton and in the last decade three other invasive bivalves were introduced, potentially increasing the pressure on native unionid survival. We examined whether the fouling of dreissenids (zebra and quagga (D. rostriformis bugensis) mussels) has a negative impact on native (Anodonta anatina, Unio pictorum and U. tumidus) and invasive (Corbicula fluminea and Sinanodonta woodiana) bivalves and whether there are any interspecific and temporal variations in fouling intensity and physiological condition measured by standard condition index and glycogen content. A significant negative impact was detected on native unionids only in July and September (no impact was detected in May), when the fouling rate was high. For invasive species, a significant negative impact was detected on S. woodiana with a high level of dressenid infestation; whereas no significant impact was detected on C. fluminea. Overall, this study confirms that Dreissena may threaten unionid species including the invasive S. woodiana, although high interspecific and temporal variations were observed. This situation should be taken into account in future ecological and conservational assessments because species respond differently to Dreissena fouling and effects seem to be more pronounced in late summer/early autumn. In addition, this study provides the first evidence that the invasive C. fluminea appear to be less vulnerable to dressenid fouling. Keywords Native unionids Á Dreissena infestation Á Corbicula fluminea Á Sinanodonta woodiana Á Lake Balaton E. Bódis (&) Á B. Tóth

Mechanisms and impact of differential fouling of the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha on different unionid bivalves

“…The effect of burrowing depth has been supported by Bódis et al. (), who found no differences in fouling intensity among unionid species after controlling for shell area. However, the better settlement of dreissenids on A. anatina and S. woodiana compared to Unio spp.…”

“…individuals, compared to Anodonta and Sinanodonta sp. (Bódis et al., ). Alternatively, particularly in the case of A. cygnea , this may also suggest the active avoidance by zebra mussels, which relatively more often attached to conspecifics.…”

Mussels blow rings: Jet behavior affects local mixing

“…It is relevant to note that bottom topography, oscillatory flows, and interactions among exhalant jets may also influence mixing (O'Riordan et al, ; Folkard and Gascoigne, ). Regardless, these results demonstrate that dreissenid mussels use a diverse set of exhalant behaviors, which lead to different levels of local mixing that may support higher productivity and may help to explain their large impacts on aquatic ecosystems (Schloesser et al, ; Bódis et al, ).…”

Benthic macro-invertebrate fauna associated with Dreissena mussels in the Meuse River: from incapacitating relationships to facilitation

“…Similarly, infestation of unionids by Dreissena mussels in the Detroit River resulted in a drop in species richness from 26 to 5 native species during the 1990s (Schloesser et al 1998(Schloesser et al , 2006. However, Sousa et al (2011) and Bódis et al (2013) reported negative impacts of the zebra mussel on the physiological condition of native unionids in Europe. Although dramatic decline of unionids has been reported in some Belarus lakes shortly after zebra mussel introduction (e.g.…”