Stable isotope compositions of recent Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) shells: paleoenvironmental implications

Abstract

Stable carbon and oxygen isotope studies are among the major proxies in investigations of recent and ancient freshwater environments. Mollusc shells are one the most frequently studied carbonates. In the present paper, stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) shells, regarded as the most aggressive freshwater invader worldwide, is compared with the stable isotope composition of ambient water. Macrophytes with modern D. polymorpha shells attached were sampled twice, in June and August 2011, from four transects established within the littoral of Lake Lednica (western Poland). The macrophytes were sampled between 0.5 and 7 m of depth at each site from the restricted area of the lake bottom. In order to avoid the influence of ontogeny on the results obtained the stable isotope compositions of shells of equal or nearly equal sizes within one population were compared. A significant spread was observed in the stable isotope signatures in the D. polymorpha shells, particularly in the δ13C values derived from one population. The spread in δ13C and δ18O values was observed in both juvenile and adult shells; however, it increased with age. It is suggested that stable isotope investigations of D. polymorpha shells should not be performed on single shells, as the isotope values will not be representative of the coeval individuals within population. While the shells of D. polymorpha were close to oxygen isotope equilibrium with the ambient water, they were characterised by a 1.5–2 ‰ depletion in 13C relative to δ13CDIC. Both the spread in δ13C values in the shells and the 13C depletion observed in the shells are interpreted as resulting from a strong metabolic influence on shell composition. Because the offset observed between dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and shells is relatively constant, the stable carbon isotope composition of D. polymorpha shells may reflect environmental conditions and thus may be used as a palaeolimnological proxy.