HR: 13:45h
AN: NB43C-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Physiological Ecology of Freshwater Mussel Communities: Effects of Temperature on Community Structure and Ecological Services.
AU: * Spooner, D E
EM: dspooner@ou.edu
AF: Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 111 E. Chesapeake St., Norman, OK 73071 United States
AU: Vaughn, C C
EM: cvaughn@ou.edu
AF: Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 111 E. Chesapeake St., Norman, OK 73071 United States
AB: Recent work suggests that freshwater mussel communities significantly influence stream ecosystem function through benthic-pelagic coupling of energy and nutrients. Mussel beds increase sediment organic matter and benthic algal production, facilitating the abundance and diversity of co-occurring benthic invertebrates. The magnitude of these effects appear to be regulated by abiotic factors such as temperature and flow, which influence hydraulic residence time and biological rates of reaction. We are using an integrative approach to examine the role of temperature on measures of physiological condition (metabolic rate, glycogen concentration, RNA: DNA) and measures of ecosystem services (nutrient excretion, biodeposition and clearance rate). Eight different species of unionids were removed from a mussel bed in the Little River, OK and acclimated to four temperatures (5, 15, 25, and 35C) for two weeks prior to the experiment. Measures of condition and ecosystem services were taken for all species at each temperature. Data collected to date suggest that there is significant variation in species-specific thermal performance. These performance curves influence resource acquisition, potentially shaping community structure (species dominance) and subsequent ecological function.
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly