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Bunt, C.M., H.J. MacIsaac, and W.G. Sprules, 1993. Pumping Rates and
Projected Filtering Impacts of Juvenile Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in
Western Lake Erie, University of Toronto
Reprinted from Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
50: 1017-1022
(1993)
Pumping Rates and Projected Filtering Impacts of Juvenile Zebra Mussels
(Dreissena polymorpha) in Western Lake Erie
Abstract:
Small-bodied (2-11 mm), settled zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha Pallas) comprise up to
90% of individuals inhabiting reefs in western Lake Erie. We assessed pumping rates of
these size classes of D. polymorpha by injecting an inert dye into inhalant
filtering currents and monitoring exhalant flows using high-resolution videography.
Pumping rates ranged between 0.20 and 4.45 mLˇind -1 h -1 and
increased in relation to mussel shell length. Based on 1990 size-frequency distributions
for reefs in western Lake Erie and our pumping rate - shell length regression, small
settled D. polymorpha were theoretically capable of pumping between 39 and 96% of
the water column daily. Small-bodied mussels inhabiting Sunken Chicken Reef were
collectively capable of processing between 110 and 400% of the values previously reported
for Daphnia. Recent changes in water quality in western Lake Erie could be primarily
related to zebra mussel filtering activities, including those of small-bodied individuals.
Entire Paper
Contact: Christopher M. Bunt, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto,
Erindale College, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6
Keywords: Zebra_mussel, Environmental_impacts, Filters
Product Type: Research,
Basic_biology,
Impact
User Type: General
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