The restoration of mussel beds in the Wadden Sea or the Delta is a lot more successful when young mussels are helped a little with low, protective fences on the bottom.
The restoration of mussel beds in the Wadden Sea or the Delta is a lot more successful when young mussels are helped a little with low, protective fences on the bottom. That is shown by research conducted by marine biologist Jildou Schotanus at the Hogeschool Zeeland / University of Applied Sciences in Vlissingen and at NIOZ in Yerseke. She defends her thesis Restoring mussel beds on highly dynamic mudflats at the University of Groningen on Monday February 5th.
Ecosystem Engineers
Mussels are so-called ecosystem engineers. On large banks, mussels shape the environment to their liking. In this way, they facilitate other mussels to settle, meanwhile helping other animals and plants to find a safe place on the sea floor as well. Moreover, mussel beds retain silt and sand and dampen the energy of waves during storms. "For this reason, there are lots of initiatives to restore mussel beds," Schotanus knows. "But it is, usually, a daunting task!"
Rough Conditions
One of the problems in restoring mussel beds is the type of mussel that is used, Schotanus explains. "In the past, adult mussels that were not used to dry conditions of intertidal mud flats were often used for this purpose. But if you suddenly try to get these mussels to settle on a mudflat that is exposed to air during low tide, where they also have to endure much more wave energy, they turn out to be unaccustomed to these conditions. Experiments we have done with very small mussels, the so-called mussel seed, show that these are still flexible enough to adapt to the rougher conditions on the tidal flats."
Read more at Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Photo Credit: beatroot_fsu via Pixabay
