Top-down Control by Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia demissa) on Plankton Communities in Southeastern U.S. Salt Marshes Estuaries and Coasts

Benthic grazers and suspension feeders, such as oysters and mussels, may play a disproportionate role in controlling algal biomass and plankton community composition in estuarine systems. Nonetheless, their effects on plankton communities remain poorly understood across environmental contexts, in part from a paucity of in situ measurements. Here, we conducted in situ manipulative field experiments to evaluate the effects of the Atlantic ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, on bulk chlorophyll a; absolute cell abundance of plankton groups > 10 μm in diameter (pennate and centric diatoms, dinoflagellates, and heterotrophic nano- and microzooplankton); and relative cell abundance of plankton trophic levels across three salt marsh sites in the southeastern U.S. (Georgia and Florida). Grant no. NA20NOS4200119