Spatial and Temporal Patterns of the Nonnative Green MusselPerna Viridisin Cienfuegos Bay, Cuba

Abstract

ABSTRACT The green mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus 1758), a native of the Indo-Pacific, has been introduced to the Atlantic basin and Caribbean Sea. It was reported first in Cienfuegos Bay, Cuba, in 2005. This species has proliferated quickly and now constitutes an economic as well as ecological problem, interfering with the operations of a local thermoelectric plant. The objectives of this study were to document the spatial and temporal variation in P. viridis density across Cienfuegos Bay and to examine the relationship between P. viridis density and water-quality patterns within the bay. The presence and relative abundance of P. viridis were surveyed qualitatively in Cienfuegos Bay in January 2011. Four sites were selected for additional investigation, and mussel density was estimated 6 times during 2011 and 2012. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen also were measured. We found that P. viridis density differed across Cienfuegos Bay both temporally and spatially, and that, although salinity may p...