Living the high turbidity life: The effects of total suspended solids, flow, and gill morphology on mussel feeding

Unionid mussels from clear-water rivers are often found in turbid waters in which their feeding and reproductive efficiency should be impaired. We examined the feeding response of Lampsilis siliquoidea from a clear and turbid river in response to increased concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) and water velocity in a funnel chamber and a recirculating flow chamber. Four TSS concentrations (0, 5, 20, and 100 mg L−1) and four velocities (0, 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25 m s−1) were used to create 16 experimental conditions corresponding to nine TSS flux (concentration × velocity) levels. TSS flux significantly affected clearance rates (CR); however, the relationship was complex. Increased TSS led to lower CR in mussels from clear and turbid river at all velocities; however, increases in velocity reduced the magnitude of the decline with respect to TSS. Overall, the turbid river mussels were less affected by increased TSS than those from the clear-water rivers. The mussels from the turbid river also differed anatomically (i.e., greater palp:gill ratio; number of cilia per cirri; number of cirri cm−1; and thickness of palp cilia, and less cilia per unit area of palp) from the clear river animals. It is likely that these anatomical differences allow the mussels to feed more efficiently in turbid water, which explains the observed differences in CR response to TSS. These results demonstrate the importance of multistressor approaches in evaluating aquatic organisms, as well as providing a potential mechanism to explain how mussels thrive in turbid rivers.