Alexander Wacker
Effects of biochemical food quality on the recruitment of
Dreissena polymorpha in the littoral of Lake Constance:
A field study and a laboratory approach

The zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is of major importance in the freshwater littoral community in Lake Constance. The factors that influence the recruitment of this benthic filter feeder are poorly understood. Food quality might have profound effects on recruitment by changing the timing of reproduction, modifying egg quantity and egg quality, and altering rates of larval growth and metamorphosis. My doctoral thesis investigates three main parameters of the recruitment of D. polymorpha with regard to food quality effects. Field studies were carried out and laboratory systems were established in order I) to estimate the importance of temperature and food for the reproductive investment of mussels in the field, II) to investigate the effects of food quality parameters like fatty acids on newly hatched larvae, and III) to study larval food quality effects on settlement and postmetamorphic growth capacity. The work clearly points out, how the recruitment of zebra mussels is affected by food quality in particular with regard to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

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