Mytella charruana

Mytella charruana is a bivalve, commonly known as the charru mussel. This species was discovered in Central and South America and by Alcide d’Orbigny, A French naturalist in 1842.[1][2][3] They are less than an inch long (2.5 cm), and range from brown to black in color. [4][5]

Mytella charruana
Mytella charruana (d'Orbigny, 1842) 2013
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Genus: Mytella
Species:
M. charruana
Binomial name
Mytella charruana
(d'Orbigny, 1842)

Habitat

The charru mussel is native to Panama, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, but is invasive to Southeastern U.S., the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India. Specifically, the indigenous range of the mytilid Mytella charruana extends along the Eastern coast of South America from Venezuela to Argentina and in the Pacific from Sonora, Mexico to El Salvador. It is also said that they are native to the Galapagos Islands, the Pacific coast from Mexico to Ecuador and, again, the Atlantic coast from Argentina to Venezuela.[6][7]

Climate tolerance

Mytella charruana can survive best in temperatures from 20℃ - 23℃ with a survival rate of 83-88%, but have been found in temperatures between 13℃-36℃. Higher temperatures around 28℃ - 36℃ have about a 0-24% survival rate⁵. Any temperature at or higher than 36℃ has a survival rate of 0%. There is low 38% survival rate in cold temperatures at 13℃.[8]

Salinity tolerance

M. charruana can survive at salinities as low as 2 ppt (parts per thousand) and as high as 22.5 ppt. They can also survive large fluctuations in salinity for long and short periods of time.[8]

Morphology

M. charruana contain byssal threads, these rope-like structures are made from collagen and act like tethers. Byssal threads can reach approximately 160% of a mussels length. These threads help mussels adhere to solid surfaces.[9] Like other bivalves, M. charruana has a protective shell made from calcium. Two interior adductor muscles are used to open and close the shell.[10]

Life cycle

M. charruana has a spawning period between July and October. Embryos develop into free-swimming larvae, then mature into a bivalve veliger that resembles a small clam. The veliger matures, and under certain conditions may experience sexual reversal. Insemination and fertilization has not been observed in M.  charruana.[11]

Ecology

The charru mussel Mytella charruana is an epifaunal tropical and subtropical mussel colonizing rocky substrates in estuaries primarily along the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts of South America.[8]

Feeding

M. charruana feed on phytoplankton and deleterious materials which are macronutrients.[12]

As an invasive species

History

Since the charru mussel is Native in warmer climates, such as Central and South America, the species has  invaded other close by warm waters. M. charruana populations moved to southeastern United States, specifically Florida and Georgia and has since been found at these areas. The population density is much lower than that of their native habitats where M. charruana densities can reach to more than 11,036 mussels m⁻².[6] In 2014-2015, M. charruana has been reported to have invaded the Philippines, specifically in Manila South Harbor, Manila Bay, Luzon Island.[13] Subsequently, these mussels have appeared in Singapore in 2016, [14] in Thailand in 2018, [15] and in India in 2019.[16]

Dispersal vectors

Charru mussels have great dispersal ability and appear to readily colonize a variety of habitats. This ability facilitated this mussel in becoming an important invasive species in several regions of the world.[6][8]

References
  1. d'Orbigny, Alcide D. (1842). Coquilles et échinodermes fossiles de Colombie (Nouvelle-Grenade), recueillis de 1821 à 1833, par m. Boussingault et décrits par Alcide d'Orbigny.
  2. Keen, A.M. (1966). West American mollusk types at the British Museum (Natural History), III. Alcide d'Orbigny's South American Collection. The Veliger, 9 (1):1-7.
  3. Sealife, Base. "Search SeaLifeBase". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  4. Masterson, J. "Mytella charruana". Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  5. "Preventing Invasive Species: Decontamination of Invasive Bivalve Species" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  6. Hoffman, Eric A.; Schneider, Kimberly R.; Brodsky, Sasha A.; Walters, Linda J.; Yuan, Wei S. (2016). "Synergistic Effects of Salinity and Temperature on the Survival of Two Nonnative Bivalve Molluscs, Perna viridis (Linnaeus 1758) and Mytella charruana (d'Orbigny 1846)". Journal of Marine Biology. 2016: 1–14. doi:10.1155/2016/9261309.
  7. M.L. Boudreaux and L.J. Walters (May 2006). "Mytella charruana (Bivalvia: Mytilidae): A new, invasive bivalve in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida". ResearchGate. Nautilus 120(1):34-36. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  8. M.A. Rice, P.D.Rawson, A.D. Salinas and W.R. Rosario (November 2016). "Identification and Salinity Tolerance of the Western Hemisphere Mussel Mytella charruana (D'Orbigny, 1842) in the Philippines". ResearchGate. Journal of Shellfish Research 35(4):865-873. Retrieved 2019-02-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Waite, J. Herbert; Qin, Xiao-Xia; Coyne, Kathryn J. (1997-09-19). "Extensible Collagen in Mussel Byssus: A Natural Block Copolymer". Science. 277 (5333): 1830–1832. doi:10.1126/science.277.5333.1830. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 9295275.
  10. D.P. Mendiola, S.M. Santander-deLeon, N.C. Anasco and C.C. Baylon (2017). "Shell morphology and anatomy of the Philippine charru mussel, Mytella charruana (deOrbigny, 1842". Asian Fisheries Science vol. 30, pp. 185-194. Retrieved 20 Sep 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. Stenyakina, A.; Walters, L. J.; Hoffman, E. A.; Calestani, C. (2010). "Food availability and sex reversal in Mytella charruana, an introduced bivalve in the southeastern United States". Molecular Reproduction and Development. 77 (3): 222–230. doi:10.1002/mrd.21132. ISSN 1098-2795. PMID 19967719. S2CID 36709075.
  12. Strachan, Maia (October 2012). "A comparative study on the effects of barite, ilmenite and bentonite on four suspension feeding bivalves". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 64 (10): 2029–2038. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.06.023. PMID 22831859.
  13. "First record of the Charru mussel Mytella charruana d'Orbignyi, 1846 (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) from Manila Bay, Luzon, Philippines". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  14. Lim, J.Y., T.S. Tay, C.S. Lim, S. Lrr, S.L. M. Teo, and K.S. Tan (February 2018). "Mytella strigata (Bivalvia: Mytilidae): an alien mussel recently introduced to Singapore and spreading rapidly". Molluscan Research 38(7):1-17.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Sanpanich, K. and F.E. Wells (May 2019). "Mytella strigata (Hanley, 1843) emerging as an invasive marine threat in Southeast Asia". Bioinvasion Records Vol 8.
  16. P. R. Jayachandran, A.B Pillai, G. Oliver, H.P. Joseph, M. Jima, K. Harikrishnan S.B. Nandan. (October 2019). "First record of an alien invasive biofouling mussel Mytella strigata (Hanley, 1843) (Mollusca: Mytilidae) from Indian waters". Bioinvasions Records Vol 8.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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