Animal Sciences Commons^™

Recruitment Facilitation And Spatial Pattern Formation In Soft-Bottom Mussel Beds, John A. Commito, Ann E. Commito, Rutherford V. Platt, Benjamin M. Grupe, Wendy Dow Piniak, Natasha J. Gownaris, Kyle A. Reeves, Allison M. Vissichelli

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, biogenic structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel biogenic structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial structure similar …