MICROSCALE pH AND DISSOLVED OXYGEN FLUCTUATIONS WITHIN MUSSEL AGGREGATIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR MUSSEL ATTACHMENT AND RAFT AQUACULTURE

Mussel mariculture uses the natural attachment strategy of marine mussels by allowing them to aggregate on submerged rope lines that are then pulled to the surface and harvested. Mussels attach to ropes using a network of byssal threads, proteinaceous fibers that adhere to surfaces underwater using a powerful biological glue (adhesive plaque). Plaques use the surrounding seawater as a molecular trigger during adhesive curing, a process that requires a pH greater than 7.0 and an abundance of dissolved oxygen to progress. To ascertain whether mussels experience seawater conditions that are potentially harmful to mussel attachment, this study measured the conditions within mussel aggregations at a mussel farm in Washington state and, then, applied those conditions to plaques to determine whether such conditions are sufficient to weaken attachment. Seawater monitoring demonstrated that mussels infrequently experience acidic (pH KEY WORDS: underwater adhesion, mussel foot protein (Mfp), Mytilus trossulus, mussel raft aquaculture
INTRODUCTION Bivalve mariculture is a rapidly growing industry, with worldwide harvests exceeding a value of 20.6 billion USD per year (FAO 2019, Wijsman et al. 2019). As part of this [...]