Mussels as a model system for integrative ecomechanics.

TitleMussels as a model system for integrative ecomechanics.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsCarrington, E, Waite, JH, Sarà, G, Sebens, KP
JournalAnn Rev Mar Sci
Volume7
Pagination443-69
Date Published2015
ISSN1941-1405
Abstract

Mussels form dense aggregations that dominate temperate rocky shores, and they are key aquaculture species worldwide. Coastal environments are dynamic across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, and their changing abiotic conditions affect mussel populations in a variety of ways, including altering their investments in structures, physiological processes, growth, and reproduction. Here, we describe four categories of ecomechanical models (biochemical, mechanical, energetic, and population) that we have developed to describe specific aspects of mussel biology, ranging from byssal attachment to energetics, population growth, and fitness. This review highlights how recent advances in these mechanistic models now allow us to link them together across molecular, material, organismal, and population scales of organization. This integrated ecomechanical approach provides explicit and sometimes novel predictions about how natural and farmed mussel populations will fare in changing climatic conditions.

DOI10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135049
Alternate JournalAnn Rev Mar Sci
PubMed ID25195867