2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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6/06/2017  |   9:00 AM - 9:15 AM   |  FRESHWATER MUSSELS: A POWERHOUSE OF NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN STREAMS   |  306A

FRESHWATER MUSSELS: A POWERHOUSE OF NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN STREAMS

Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) occur in dense aggregations in streams and create hotspots of biogeochemical activity driven by their filter-feeding activity and excretion. Mussel excretion has a high N:P ratio and mussel aggregations can alleviate N limitation of primary production. Mussel N releases could stimulate rates of nitrification and denitrification in sediments because they increase N availability by filtering N from the water column and translocating it to sediments by excretion and egestion. We measured potential denitrification and gross nitrification rates in two rivers located in southeastern Oklahoma. In each river we selected two reaches with dense mussel aggregations and two control reaches located near the mussel beds, but with no or few mussels. Results show that gross nitrification rates are higher and potential denitrification is less N-limited in sediments near mussel beds. Our results provide further evidence that freshwater mussels are important contributors to ecosystem function that create hotspots of biogeochemical processes. Mussel declines could have significant impact on N export to downstream habitats.

  • C11 Community Ecology
  • C25 Food Webs
  • C10 Biogeochemistry

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Presenters/Authors

James Guinnip (), Kansas State University, jguinnip@ksu.edu;


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Walter Dodds (), Kansas State University, wkdodds@ksu.edu;


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Keith Gido (), Kansas State University, kgido@ksu.edu;


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Caryn C. Vaughn (), University of Oklahoma, cvaughn@ou.edu;


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