Quantifying Feeding Behavior of Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia demissa) in Two Urban Sites (Long Island Sound, USA) with Different Seston Characteristics

The Atlantic ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, is found in salt marshes along the North American Atlantic Coast. As a first step to study the possibility of future cultivation and harvest of ribbed mussels for nutrient removal from eutrophic urban environments, the feeding behavior of ribbed mussels in situ was studied from July to October 2011. Two locations approximately 80 km apart were used as study sites: Milford Harbor (Connecticut; 41°12′42.46″N, 73°3′7.75″W) and Hunts Point (Bronx, New York; 40°48′5.99″N, 73°52′17.76″W). Total particulate matter was higher at Hunts Point than at Milford Harbor, but the organic content was higher at Milford than at Hunts Point. The relatively low quantity of organic content in Hunts Point seston resulted in a much higher production of pseudofeces by mussels. Mussel clearance and absorption rates were higher at Milford Harbor than at Hunts Point. Nevertheless, mussels at both sites had the same absorption efficiency, suggesting that mussels are able to adapt to conditions at both locations. Ribbed mussels decreased clearance rate when the seston quantity was high at both sites. At Hunts Point, ribbed mussels increased the gut transit time of ingested particles when the amount of inorganic particulates in the water increased. This study does not quantify nutrient removal capacity of G. demissa; however, the environmental tolerance demonstrated here, and current lack of commercial harvest, suggests that this species may be a good candidate for nutrient bioextraction in highly impacted urban environments.