Zebra and Quagga Mussel Dry Weight Information; Lake Erie 2014
Dates
Publication Date
2020-09-30
Start Date
2014-09
End Date
2014-09
Citation
Keretz, K.R., Kraus, R.T., and Schmitt, J.D., 2020, Zebra and Quagga Mussel Dry Weight Information; Lake Erie 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P941VMIN.
Summary
Impacts of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.) on Great Lakes ecosystems are well documented, and a better understanding of mechanisms that cause variation in mussel abundance is needed. An outstanding question is how much mussel biomass is consumed by fish predation. A significant difficulty for investigating mussel consumption by fish is that mussels in stomachs are often a mix of crushed shell and flesh. Here, we provide information on the relationship between shell-and-flesh dry weight measurements and flesh-only dry weight of two species of dreissenid mussel, quagga (Dreissena rostiformis bugensis) and zebra (Dreissena polymorpha), to be used in formulating conservative estimates of flesh-only dry weight in fish diets. Dry weight [...]
Summary
Impacts of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.) on Great Lakes ecosystems are well documented, and a better understanding of mechanisms that cause variation in mussel abundance is needed. An outstanding question is how much mussel biomass is consumed by fish predation. A significant difficulty for investigating mussel consumption by fish is that mussels in stomachs are often a mix of crushed shell and flesh. Here, we provide information on the relationship between shell-and-flesh dry weight measurements and flesh-only dry weight of two species of dreissenid mussel, quagga (Dreissena rostiformis bugensis) and zebra (Dreissena polymorpha), to be used in formulating conservative estimates of flesh-only dry weight in fish diets. Dry weight analyses were conducted to simulate stomach contents ranging from small (individual mussels) to large (aggregate of mussels). All measurements were taken at the USGS Lake Erie Biological Station in Sandusky, Ohio using quagga and zebra mussels collected from Lake Erie in May, 2014.
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metadata_dreisseniddryweights_v2.xml Original FGDC Metadata
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dreissenidcomp.csv
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Related External Resources
Type: Related Primary Publication
Keretz, K.R., Kraus, R.T., and Schmitt, J.D., 2021, Improved methods for understanding the role of predation on dreissenid population dynamics: Environmental Biology of Fishes, v. 104, no. 5, p. 629–633, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01054-2.
The data were collected in order to provide information needed to convert shell-and-flesh dry weight measurements to flesh-only dry weight of dreissenid mussels. Information may be used to formulate conservative estimates of flesh dry weight in fish diets given the dry weight of the shell and flesh mixture observed in the diet. The use of more precise dry weight over wet weight information is also important when estimating daily ration or addressing bioenergetics questions.
