Meeting Abstract
Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, are important members of intertidal communities and their distributions depend on the ability to respond to environmental stress. Because larvae are typically more sensitive to environmental stress than post-metamorphic mussels, their tolerance to stress will directly affect recruitment of mussels and the resilience of intertidal community structure. Furthermore, stress experienced during larval development may alter the ability of juvenile or adult mussels to withstand stress through latent or carryover effects. To better understand the complex consequences of salinity stress on blue mussels, we monitored the effects of osmotic stress on the growth of pre- and post-metamorphic animals. Larvae at either the veliger or competent, pediveliger stage were exposed to low salinity (20 ppt) or control salinity (30 ppt) for 24 hours and then monitored for 3 weeks following metamorphosis. In a subset of mussels, the 24-hour stress was repeated at 1 week post-settlement to evaluate whether stress incurred during previous developmental stages influences the response later in life. We predict that stressed larvae, at both developmental stages, will show reductions in size pre- and post-metamorphosis compared to unstressed larvae. Furthermore, we expect that stress repeated throughout development will continue to stunt growth and reduce fitness in juvenile mussels.
