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The brown mussel Perna perna in the native mussel beds of Cerro Verde (Uruguay)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2009

Alvar Carranza  and
Ana Inés Borthagaray
Alvar Carranza*
Affiliation:
Investigación & Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, C.P.11.400, Montevideo, Uruguay UNDECIMAR, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, C.P.11.400, Montevideo, Uruguay
Ana Inés Borthagaray
Affiliation:
Investigación & Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, C.P.11.400, Montevideo, Uruguay Departamento de Ecología and Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ecología y Biodiversidad (CASEB), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile. (Equal authorship)
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A. Carranza, Investigación & Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, C.P.11.400, Montevideo, Uruguay email: alvardoc@fcien.edu.uy
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Abstract

Uruguayan mussel beds are located along the estuarine gradient caused by the interaction of the Río de la Plata run-off and the Atlantic Ocean, changing in species composition across this gradient. In the oceanic portion of the gradient, the exotic Perna perna showed a sequence of local extinction–colonization episodes since at least the second half of the 20th Century, thus altering the dominance relationships within the mussel beds. Owing to its larger size, this species may have caused profound effects on the spatial structure of the mussel beds and consequently on its associated macrofauna. In this vein, we analysed patterns in zonation, abundance and dominance of mussel species in a mussel bed located in the oceanic portion of the Uruguayan coast in relation to tidal and exposure level. We also evaluated if these factors could affect the dominance patterns between mussel species. The main results showed that the dominance of the native mussel Brachidontes rodriguezii was consistent across all tidal levels in all sites in terms of absolute and relative abundance, with the exception of the shallow subtidal at the intermediate site, where P. perna dominated over this species in terms of relative abundance. This suggests that the effect of an invasive mussel is highly dependent on the receptive assemblage, and that the outcome of interspecific competition can also be modulated by small-scale factors.

Keywords

zonation patternscommunity structureUruguayPerna pernamussel assemblages
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e76
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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