Colonization and growth of the toxic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima and associated fouling macroalgae on mussels in suspended culture

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 201:147-154 (2000) - doi:10.3354/meps201147 Colonization and growth of the toxic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima and associated fouling macroalgae on mussels in suspended culture J. E. Lawrence1,*, J. Grant1, M. A. Quilliam2, A. G. Bauder2, A. D. Cembella2 1Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada 2Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council Canada, 1411 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3Z1, Canada *Present address: Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada. E-mail: [e-mail] ABSTRACT: We examined the role of substrate interactions and the biological activity of cultured shellfish on the settlement and growth of fouling macroalgae and the toxic epiphyte Prorocentrum lima. Six miniature live-mussel (Mytilus edulis) socks (30 cm long) and 6 dummy socks (created with empty mussel valves) were hung along a horizontal long-line at a sheltered coastal site in Nova Scotia, Canada. After 4 and 9 wk, 3 socks of each treatment were harvested and the biomass of fouling macroalgae and concentration of P. lima cells were determined. Macroalgal fouling, which was almost entirely Pilayella littoralis, was greater on the live-mussel socks than on the dummy socks (ANOVA, p < 0.01) after 9 wk. Densities of P. lima cells g-1 dry wt of fouling biomass were higher on the dummy socks than the live-mussel socks (ANOVA, p < 0.01) during the entire experiment. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis showed the epiphytic material to contain the diarrhetic shellfish toxins dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) and okadaic acid (OA), which had been previously identified in culture mussels from this site. The data suggest that mussel culture provides a microenvironment that favours the colonization and growth of macroalgae, but the growth and colonization densities of the epiphytic dinoflagellate are not directly dependent on that fouling biomass. KEY WORDS: Biofouling community · Prorocentrum lima · Epiphytes · Mussel culture · Toxic microalgae Full article in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 201. Online publication date: August 09, 2000 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2000 Inter-Research.