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Importance of Ribbed Mussels for Salt Marsh Climate Adaptation And

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Importance of Ribbed Mussels for Salt Marsh Climate Adaptation And Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Importance of Ribbed Mussels for Salt Marsh Climate Adaptation and Water Quality Management in Atlantic Estuaries Geospatial variation of ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) nutrient removal and vertical marsh building ecosystem services across the salt marsh landscape A technical report submitted to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Atlantic Ecology Division and funded by the EPA Regional Applied Research Efforts (RARE) program. 2015 PDE Report No. 15-09, July 2015 Page i Geospatial and seasonal variation in the capture, flux and fate of seston and associated nitrogen by ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) in representative mid-Atlantic salt marshes. Danielle Kreeger, Ph.D. Joshua Moody Partnership for the Delaware Estuary 110 South Poplar Street, Suite 202 Wilmington, DE 19801 Elizabeth Watson* Marnita M. Chintala U.S. EPA, Atlantic Ecology Division 27 Tarzwell Dr. Naragansett, RI 02882 *(current) Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science; Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University; 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Acknowledgments: Numerous staff and students at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and EPA ORD assisted with field and laboratory research, especially Angela Padeletti, Kurt Cheng, Jessie Buckner, LeeAnn Haaf, and Mary Casella. We are deeply grateful to Irene Purdy and Kathleen Drake at EPA Region II, and Suzanne Ayvazian at AED for their support of this work via Regional Applied Research Effort Grant Number 83523301. Suggested citation: Kreeger, D., J. Moody, E. Watson and M. Chintala . 2015. Geospatial and seasonal variation in the capture, flux and fate of seston and associated nitrogen by ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) in representative mid-Atlantic salt marshes. Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Wilmington, DE. PDE Report No. 15-09. 135 p. PDE Report No. 15-09, July 2015 Page ii Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................................................... x EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Salt Marshes ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Importance of Salt Marshes ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Status and Trends of the Delaware Estuary’s Salt Marshes ........................................................................................ 6 Mid-Atlantic Salt Marshes ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Salt Marsh Ecosystem Services ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Mid-Atlantic Salt Marshes .............................................................................................. 9 Ribbed Mussels ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Ecology of the Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa) ..................................................................................................... 10 The Ribbed Mussel and Salt Marsh Accretion ................................................................................................................ 11 The Ribbed Mussel and Nitrogen Cycling ......................................................................................................................... 12 Spatial Variation of Ribbed Mussels in Salt Marshes ................................................................................................... 13 Study Approach ...................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Task 1. Physiological Rate Functions of Ribbed Mussels ........................................................................................... 14 Task 2. Spatial Distribution of Ribbed Mussels Across the Marsh Platform ...................................................... 15 Task 3. Geospatial Variation in Physical and Biological Traits of Study Marshes............................................ 16 Task 4. Analysis of Correlations Between Ribbed Mussels and Marsh Processes ........................................... 16 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Study Site Locations ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 Salt Marshes .................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Habitats ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Site Position .................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Transect Placement ................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Study Plot Placement ................................................................................................................................................................ 30 Field Data Collection and Processing ............................................................................................................................ 31 Ribbed Mussel Lip Counts ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 Ribbed Mussel Density and Size Demographics Excavation..................................................................................... 31 Estimation of Ribbed Mussel Biomass in Field Plots ................................................................................................... 32 Aboveground Biomass .............................................................................................................................................................. 33 Belowground Biomass .............................................................................................................................................................. 33 Plant and Soil Nitrogen............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Porewater and Nutrient Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 34 PDE Report No. 15-09, July 2015 Page iii Horizontal Vegetation Obstruction ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Accretion Above Feldspar Marker Horizon ..................................................................................................................... 35 Real-Time Kinematic Elevation Surveys ........................................................................................................................... 35 Site-Wide Habitat Delineation ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Physiological Data Collection and Processing ........................................................................................................... 36 Water Collection for Seston Analysis and Bivalve Feeding ....................................................................................... 36 Collection of Seston for Particle Counting ........................................................................................................................ 37 Physiological Rate Experiments with Ribbed Mussels ............................................................................................... 37 Clearance and Filtration Rates .............................................................................................................................................. 38 Allometric Scaling of Physiological Rates ........................................................................................................................
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