Graduate Research

David Veilleux's Research Abstract:

COMMUNAL EFFECTS BETWEEN ARGOPECTEN IRRADIANS IRRADIANS , LITTORINA LITTOREA , AND NASSARIUS OBSOLETUS .   1. David Veilleux 2. Dr. Sean Grace 1. Ronald Goldberg 2. Dr. Dwight Smith

1. USDOC , NOAA , National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center , Milford Laboratory, Milford , CT 06460   2. Southern Connecticut State University , 501 Crescent St. New Haven CT 06515

Groups of bay scallops,   Argopecten irradians irradians , and eastern mud snail,   Nassarius obsoletus , and periwinkles Littorina littorea , will be placed in pearl nets to test if the presence of the snails would control biofouling and reduce sedimentation within the suspended culture gear.   Only one species of snail will be used in conjunction with the scallops to determine which is better at controlling fouling and sedimentation.   The nets will be hung for forty days in order to attain settlement of the fouling communities and the level of sediments common to aquaculture gear. We will compare survival and growth of scallops in treatments (n=5) with and without the presence of snails.   The wet weights and shell heights were measured for all animals at the start and finish of the experiment.   The snail's natural grazing patterns may act as bioturbators and may inhibit settlement of larvae and sediments.   This ability to clear the mesh of fouling may therefore increase water flow rates to the scallops enhancing their growth.   The preliminary results from this trial with the eastern mud snail suggest that this simple low-cost approach may improve aquaculture productivity.

James Reinhardt's Research Abstract:

 The effects of exposure and epibiota on the attachment strength of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis .   James Reinhardt and Dr. Sean Grace. Department of Biology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven , CT 06515.

The blue mussel, Mytius edulis , inhabits an exceptionally dynamic environment where physical (water flow) and biological ( epibionts ) factors interact to help structure communities. Knowledge on the interactions between water flow and epibionts attached to M. edulis and how these interact to determine community structure is lacking. In order to better understand community dynamics, it is important to study the effects of epibiota on the host mussel. Biomechanically , epibiota may increase drag forces that are applied to individual mussels by changing the area of the mussel/ epibiont structure projected into the water flow (Witman and Suchenek 1984). This increased drag may lead to dislodgement and death; however, blue mussels may have the ability to modify their attachment strength based on the presence of epibiota . Previous research has shown that M. edulis increased attachment strength when subjected to both biotic and abiotic factors such as predation, location within a patch, season and wave energy (Leonard et al. 1999; Bell and Gosline 1997; Carrington 2002).   The purpose of this study will be to quantify differences in attachment strengths between mussels with epibiota and those without epibiota at two different sites: 1) a wave protected site ( Southport Harbor , CT ) and 2) an exposed site ( Beavertail State Park , RI ), between May 2005 and May 2006.

James at Beavertail State Park , Jamestown , Rhode Island (December 2004)