Breeding, planktonic and settlement factors shape recruitment patterns of one of the last remaining major population of Pinna nobilis within Spanish waters
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Author
Prado, Patricia
Andree, Karl B.
Trigos, Sergio
Carrasco, Noelia
García-March, Jose Rafael
Tena, José
Carella, Francesca
Publication date
2019-11-27ISSN
0018-8158
Abstract
The pen shell, Pinna nobilis L., is a critically endangered bivalve threatened by mass mortality events throughout the Mediterranean, but the Alfacs Bay (Ebro Delta) still hosts many healthy individuals. Herein, we study the main factors controlling recruitment patterns in this locality, including gonadal development and abundance of critical life-stages, as well as the effect of environmental factors. Growth records from empty shells suggested a single major peak of recruitment during a period of 11 years, although many juveniles were found in two very shallow sand bars possibly acting as a barrier for water circulation and as a trap for larvae. Collectors deployed outside these sand bar areas showed zero settlers, and the availability of planktonic larvae was very low. Gonadal examination evidenced breeding throughout the summer period with successive hermaphroditism, but 20% of individuals were simultaneous hermaphrodites, a condition that has been associated with environmental stress and that could lead to in-breeding depression and potentially reduced fertility. Yet, given the large size of the population and the wide breeding period observed, planktonic processes causing larval mortality such as freshwater discharges from rice locally important rice agriculture are also proposed as possible impacts accounting for patterns of low larval availability.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
574 - General ecology and biodiversity
639 - Hunting. Fishing. Fish breeding
Pages
38
Publisher
Springer
Is part of
Hydrobiologia
Citation
Prado, Patricia, Karl B. Andree, Sergio Trigos, Noelia Carrasco, Nuno Caiola, Jose Rafael García-March, José Tena, Margarita Fernández-Tejedor, and Francesca Carella. 2020. "Breeding, Planktonic And Settlement Factors Shape Recruitment Patterns Of One Of The Last Remaining Major Population Of Pinna Nobilis Within Spanish Waters". Hydrobiologia 847 (3): 771-786. doi:10.1007/s10750-019-04137-5.
Grant agreement number
INIA/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/E-RTA2015-00004-00-00/ES/Gestión sanitaria integrada de las enfermedades emergentes de bivalvos con interés comercial en el Mediterráneo español/EMERGER
Program
Aigües Marines i Continentals
Aqüicultura
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2831]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/