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Linking terrestrial and benthic estuarine ecosystems: organic matter sources supporting the high secondary production of a non-indigenous bivalve

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Abstract

The Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, is among the most pervasive invasive species in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Our objective was to study C. fluminea’s functional response in terms of feeding behavior and food selectivity, using the natural variation in organic matter (OM) sources that occur in estuarine environments. Using C and N stable isotopes, we identified and quantified the contribution of different OM sources supporting the production of C. fluminea along the salinity gradient occupied in the Minho River estuary (NW-Iberian Peninsula, Europe), where this species presently dominates the benthic macrofauna biomass. We observed a pronounced shift in the quality of OM available for C. fluminea along the estuarine mixing zone. Stable isotope analysis, POM C/N, and phytoplankton contribution estimates based on C:Chl a revealed that POM was largely comprised of terrestrial-derived OM in tidal freshwater stations (TFW) and was increasingly comprised of phytoplankton, a more palatable food source, towards the polyhaline estuary. A similar shift in the isotopic composition along the estuarine mixing zone was observed in C. fluminea, suggesting a shift in food resources. Accordingly, based on a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model, there was an upstream–downstream counter gradient in the contribution to C. fluminea biomass from terrestrial-derived OM (41–64 % in TFW) and phytoplankton (29–55 % in the brackish estuary). Although the majority of the food sources identified were filtered from the water column (70–80 %), reliance on sediment OM and microphytobenthos provided evidence for deposit feeding by C. fluminea. We conclude that C. fluminea has the ability to adapt to environments with low food quality because it can consume terrestrial-derived OM. This can be a competitive adaptation in systems with perennial low food quality such as the Minho River estuary. Moreover, its ability to couple benthic and pelagic environments and terrestrial ecosystems demonstrates a strong potential to alter food web flows in aquatic ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Eduardo Martins, Joana Campos and the staff at Aquamuseu do Rio Minho for their help while conducting the field work; Anne M. Cotter for preparing POM samples for stable isotope analysis, for running the samples and for all the technical support with the IRMS; Rute Pinto for providing the map of the study area; and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. E. Dias was supported by a Ph.D. Grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. P. Morais was supported by a post-doc scholarship financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (SFRH/BPD/40832/2007). This work was partially supported by the Project MIGRANET SOE 2/P2E288. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. EPA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICBAS – Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Ester Dias

  2. CIIMAR/CIMAR – Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    Ester Dias, Pedro Morais & Carlos Antunes

  3. CIMA – Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Campus de Gambelas, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    Pedro Morais

  4. Aquamuseu do Rio Minho, Parque do Castelinho s/n, 4920-290, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal

    Carlos Antunes

  5. ESG – Escola Superior Gallaecia, Largo das Oliveiras s/n, 4920, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal

    Carlos Antunes

  6. Mid-Continent Ecology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab, US Environmental Protection Agency, 6201 Congdon Blvd, Duluth, MN, 55804, USA

    Joel C. Hoffman

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Dias, E., Morais, P., Antunes, C. et al. Linking terrestrial and benthic estuarine ecosystems: organic matter sources supporting the high secondary production of a non-indigenous bivalve. Biol Invasions 16, 2163–2179 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0655-8

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