On the trophic role of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) in a Baltic coastal ecosystem and the fate of the organic matter produced by the mussels

Mytilus totally dominates the animal biomass on Baltic hardbottoms since most predators and competitors are excluded due to low salinities. Experiments failed to prove the presence of scavengers on moribund mussels. Since predation is largely lacking, weakened individuals are not removed from the population and these dying mussels respire up to 80% of their meat weight before death, resulting in a drastically reduced energy flow from mussels to destruents. Apart from a considerable output of reproductive products to the pelagic system and an export of shell organics to sediment bottoms, the adult Mytilus population seems to constitute a "dead end" in the food web