New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Ecology and environmental impact of Musculista senhousia (Mollusca:
Bivalvia: Mytilidae) in Tamaki Estuary, Auckland,
New Zealand
ROBERT CREESE
SIMON HOOKER
SHARON DE LUCA
YVETTE WHARTON
Leigh Marine Laboratory & School of
Environmental and Marine Sciences
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract The introduced, mytilid bivalve Musculista
senhousia (Asian date mussel) occurs on the east coast of New
Zealand in the Auckland region. Eighteen sites were searched within the Tamaki
Estuary: six had extensive mats of mussels and three contained small, isolated
clumps. Core samples were taken monthly during 1994/95 from two of the
mat-forming populations. Densities reached 16 000 m-2 at Bucklands
Beach and 5000 m-2 at Farm Cove. Both populations were dominated by
a single cohort of mussels. Mussels grew to about 20 mm in 12 months, after
which growth virtually ceased. Recruitment was sporadic into existing mats, but
occurred adjacent to the monitored mat at Bucklands Beach in April 1995. The
area occupied by the initial mussel bed at this site decreased by 60% over 1
year. Further core sampling revealed significantly fewer macrofaunal
invertebrates under mussel mats compared to control samples taken from areas of
beach without mussels. Infaunal bivalves were most adversely affected by M.
senhousia, showing an 8-fold decrease in abundance within mats compared to
cores in the control area. Our results reveal that M. senhousia in the
Auckland area has similar life history features to those reported from
populations outside New Zealand. We suggest that any adverse environmental
effects caused by M. senhousia are likely to be local and short-lived.
Keywords Asian date mussel; Musculista senhousia,
environmental impact; ecology; distribution; New Zealand
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1997, Vol. 31:
225-236
0028-8330/97/3102-0225 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1997
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (951K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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