Dreissena polymorpha Pall. postveligers in submersed macrophyte beds of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, as related to rate and density of settlement, macrophyte preference, water depth, and position within beds

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:146968

Moore, D L ^[1]

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1. Utica College of Syracuse Univ., NY (United States)

Increased water clarity due in large part to the invasion and spread of Dreissena polymorpha Pall., has allowed reestablishment of nearly continuous beds of submersed macrophytes in Put-in-Bay, Ohio. These beds now serve as sites for settlement by Dreissena veligers. Four transects extending from a maximum depth of 4.0 m to a minimum depth of 0.5 m were established in 1994, to document the time of recruitment, density of postveliger settlement, preferred macrophyte as a substrate, and effects of water depth and location within transects on recruitment. Settlement densities were determined for 100 g wet weight samples of macrophytes harvested along transects by snorkel and scuba. Peak settlement occurred 23 August, 11 days after the second planktonic veliger peak, but continued until early October. Maximum densities were greatest in 1.5-3.5 m water nearer the lakeward end of the transects and decreased in 1.0 m water or shoreward in dense submersed macrophyte beds. A maximum density of 15,150 Dreissena/100 g macrophyte occurred on the perennial Myriophyllum spicatum L., although mean settlement densities were greatest for the perennials M. spicatum, Ceratophyllum demersum L., and the annuals Vallisneria americana Michx. and Najas quadalupensis (Spreng.) Magnus. Macrophyte preference as a settling substrate is most probably a reflection of relative macrophyte abundance and position within dense beds rather than a particular plant architecture. Assessment of densities after autumnal vegetational growth is not yet complete.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 146968
• Report Number(s): EPRI-TR--105116; CONF-9502124--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
BENTHOS
BIOLOGICAL FOULING
CONTROL
DIAGRAMS
ECOSYSTEMS
LAKE ERIE
MUSSELS
NUMERICAL DATA