The effects of sudden sediment burial on juvenile green-lipped mussels
Journal: Marine Biology
Year: 2026

Accelerated human-driven sedimentation is a significant stressor for bivalves and has been implicated in the lack of recruitment and recovery of New Zealand green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus). In June 2024, the short-term effects of sediment burial on juvenile green-lipped mussel behaviour, growth, and survival were assessed. Juvenile mussels (1.4 ± 0.01 mm shell length) provided by SpatNZ Ltd were buried with a 1 mm layer of < 63 μm silt–clay sediment for 4–8 days. Mussel crawling behavio