Nutrient Regeneration by Zebra Mussels: Implications for the Phosphorus Budget of Lake Pepin, Upper Mississippi River
Abstract
Changes in suspended seston and soluble nutrients were examined as a function of zebra mussel density in flow-through sediment-water microcosms to determine impacts on nutrient recycling. Overall, zebra mussels removed >70 percent of the suspended seston and >80 percent of the total chlorophyll a input to the microcosms. Declines in organic nitrogen in microcosms were accompanied by density-dependent increases in nitrate-nitrite nitrogen. Research described in this technical note suggests that microflora associated with the sediments in the microcosms were responsible for transforming ammonium nitrogen, an excretory product of zebra mussels, into nitrate nitrogen. Declines in total phosphorus in the microcosms also coincided with density-dependent increases in the concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and its rate of regeneration, suggesting enhanced nutrient cycling via excretion. These studies examined the influence of varying zebra mussel densities on particulate matter and soluble nutrient dynamics in laboratory sediment-water microcosms for application to ongoing investigations of nutrient loadings and water quality in Lake Pepin.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA360093
Entities
People
- Harry L. Eakin
- John W. Barko
- William F. James