Effects of suspended sediments on food uptake for zebra mussels in Lake Markermeer, The Netherlands

Until 1992, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were an important food source for diving ducks in Lake Markermeer (The Netherlands). After 1993, the mussel biomass sharply declined, and the current population is in poor condition (maximum shell length 0.5 g L-1. The NS concentrations used in this study are high, but analyses of the near-bottom TSM concentrationsshow that these values occur frequently and may be partly responsible for the poor mussel status in Lake Markermeer