Impacts of marine heatwaves on byssus production in highly invasive fouling mussels

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are projected to increase in their frequency, intensity, and duration, causing irre-versible and catastrophic consequences for intertidal ecosystems around the world. The highly invasive fouling mussel, Arcuatula senhousia, can cause marked habitat alteration by constructing extremely intense byssal mats, devastating the biodiversity of many intertidal systems, yet very little is known about its fate under conditions of more frequent, hotter and longer MHWs. Here, we assessed impacts of two scenarios of MHWs (low-intensity with 4 degrees C rise of seawater temperature and high-intensity with 8 degrees C rise, respectively) on the byssal production of A. senhousia. Mussels exposed to low-intensity MHWs did not show any significant differences in the number, length and diameter of byssal threads, compared with those not thermally stressed. Under high-intensity sce-nario, the byssus production was significantly depressed, and byssal threads became fewer, shorter and finer, in line with significant decreases in cumulative length and volume. These findings provide a better understanding of responses of invasive fouling mussels such as A. senhousia to MHWs and make a leap forward in linking climate change and biological fouling in marine ecosystems.

Automated summary

Marine heatwaves are projected to increase and have irreversible consequences for intertidal ecosystems. The invasive mussel, Arcuatula senhousia, can alter habitats but little is known about its response to more frequent and intense heatwaves.