Phosphorus cycling by mussels (Unionidae : Bivalvia) in Lake St. Clair

Abstract

The role of mussels in cycling phosphorus in Lake St. Clair during the May–October period was examined by measuring concentrations in the water column and in mussel tissue, and by measuring rates of biodeposition and excretion. Mean rates of biodeposition and excretion for Lampsilis radiata siliquoidea, the most abundant species, were 6.3 µg P (g shell-free dry wt)-1 h-1 and 1.3 µg P (g shell-free dry wt)-1 h-1, respectively; body tissue phosphorus content was 2.7 percent of dry wt. Seasonal changes in excretion rates appeared to be related to the gametogenic cycle of the organism, but seasonal changes in biodeposition rates were not apparent. Phosphorus assimilation efficiency for this species was about 40 percent. Overall, the mussel population in Lake St. Clair filtered about 210 MT of phosphorus, or about 13.5 percent of the total phosphorus load for the May–October study period. Of this amount, about 134 MT was sedimented to the bottom via biodeposition. Mussel biodeposition may be an important source of nutrients to other biotic components in the lake such as macrophytes and invertebrate deposit-feeders.