Lab study on the effect of pH and oxygen fluctuations on mussel adhesive plaques with mussels collected from Penn Cove Shellfish in Coupeville, Washington.

Data generated from laboratory experiments that investigated the influence of fluctuating environmental conditions on the attachment strength of byssal threads as they aged. Mussels (M. trossulus) were collected from Penn Cove Shellfish, Quilcene Bay, Quilcene, Washington, USA Penn Cove Shellfish hatchery, Quilcene Bay, Quilcene, Washington, USA [47°47’48.0” N, 122°51”16.6” W] and held in experimental aquaria at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA for up to 14 days. Mussels produced threads over the course of 4 hrs that were aged in fluctuating oxygen and pH conditions for up to 20 days. Adhesive plaques were then pulled to failure to determine adhesion strength. A second cohort of mussels was placed in static pH and Oxygen treatments, recording the number of threads produced by each over one week.