Long-term decrease in Baltic Sea blue mussel shell length

Abstract

Multi-decadal monitoring data and archived biological samples make the rapidly changing Baltic Sea an ideal system for quantifying alterations in ecosystem function. The Baltic Sea blue mussel (Mytilus edulis trossulus) acts as a keystone species by providing food and habitat for other species, and through its filtering activity clearing the water and promoting organic matter and nutrient cycling between benthic and pelagic ecosystems. A decrease in biomass of blue mussels along with altered environmental conditions has been observed in the northern Baltic Sea over a 24-year period (1993–2016), but the size distribution of the mussels was unknown. The present study focuses on retrospective measurements of the individual shell lengths of these archived blue mussels. The mean shell length was found to be significantly lower at the end of the time series than in the beginning (11.1–11.5 mm for the years 1993–1996 compared to 10.3–10.9 mm during 2012–2015), with the proportion of larger mussels decreasing in the population. This 6% decrease in shell length translated into a significantly lower (16%) mean filtration capacity at the end of the time series compared to the beginning, influencing the ecosystem services blue mussels provide.