Dasboard Mussel Growth
Starting in the spring, from 2017, mussel seed from the Wadden Sea will be sorted by nearly identical length each year and distributed to 24 sites: 12 sites in the Eastern Scheldt and 12 sites in the Wadden Sea. This mussel seed is put into baskets, these baskets hang in a frame around a beacon. The baskets have a total of 6 compartments per location with 60 mussels per compartment and are visited approximately monthly where a compartment of mussels is taken and measured through and the baskets are cleaned thoroughly.
The baskets of mussels are about 30-70 cm above the bottom. The purpose of this sampling is to identify differences in growth potential between different sites. This is possible because the same baseline material was used at all sites per year and because at all sites the mussels hung just above the bottom, so the mussels were unaffected by processes on the plot such as direct competition with other mussels, crumbling stars or foraging. Growth in the baskets will therefore be different from growth on the plots and will often be more positive than the results on the soil plots. However, it deals with the differences between sites and it actually shows how much food was available at the different sites and when this food was available. In addition, it is interesting to show spatial differences in survival.
In this interactive dashboard, we want to share the main results of this monitoring. You can select by location (Eastern Scheldt or Wadden Sea), Growth Parameters: (Length, Fish Weight, Growth Rate) and time period (over which weeks you want to see the results).